How Do I Report A Scam?
IMPORTANT STEPS TO TAKE:
Step 1: Contact your bank
Immediately contact your bank and report a scam. You can call the number on the back of your bank card or Google your bank’s fraud department number. (If someone calls you claiming to be from the bank’s fraud department be very careful before giving information as it may be a scammer).
Reporting the scam to your bank within 24 hours ensures you receive guidance rom their fraud team and increases the likelihood of recovering your money.
Scam victims can also call 159 to report any frauds to most banks in the UK, with online banking services such as Monzo also supported by this helpline.
Step 2: Gather information
Gathering information is vital, so keep a note of the criminal’s contact details and save any evidence of communications between you and the scammer.
It can also help to make a note of the date, times and total of the transactions to hand over to anyone investigating.
Make sure to also write down, with times and dates, what initially made you suspicious and any information you may have shared with scammers – including passwords, PINS or bank details.
Another important detail to mark down is the type of scam.
Knowing whether you’ve been the victim of a phishing scam, impersonation scam, romance scam or another type of fraud can help speed up the investigation and scam reporting process.
Step 3: Protect yourself
Some scams involve online criminals gaining access to your computer or phone so they can control it remotely.
This may mean they have infected your devices with malware to steal your bank details and personal information.
If you suspect you’ve ben scammed it’s important to reset your passwords and also to renew any anti-virus programs.
If necessary, you can get an IT professional to check over your computer to make sure that nothing else has been compromised.
As well as reporting the fraud, you can take steps such as adding two-factor authentication to any accounts online and also creating a strong password using numbers and special characters.
Step 4: Where else you can report a scam
If you believe you’re in immediate danger or harm, you should contact emergency services by dialling 999.
You should inform the police by reporting the scam to Action Fraud on their website or calling them on 0300 123 2040.
Action Fraud is controlled by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) who can then pass the case over to the police if they have enough information.
If you have been targeted by an email scam, forward any correspondence with scammers to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service or send it to report@phishing.gov.uk.
Anyone who has been sent a scam text message can forward it to 7226, which will send it to your phone provider.
They can then investigate the message and take stops to ban the sender if the text is found to be fraudulent.
Why Should I Report A Scam?
Fraud is on the rise so it is vital to report a scam to help stop the criminals. We have calculated that in the UK more than £7b of fraud takes place every year.
The Crime Survey for England and Wales found that only 13% of scams were reported to bodies such as Action Fraud last year.
There are two main reasons to report a scam:
- To recover your lost money which has been made easier.
- To protect yourself and stop others falling victim to scams.
With the advance of technology. the amount of fraud is increasing each day. If you report a scam you are helping the agencies that fight fraud build up a picture to stop more people from being conned.
How can I make sure I get my money back after being scammed?
After taking all the necessary steps to report a scam, you can now focus on getting your money back.
Typically, you will be able to claim back all of the missing funds and sometimes claim interest back on any money stolen, starting from the date of the scam.
However, your bank may refuse to reimburse you depending on factors such as the payment method used, the date of the scam, the amount lost, and whether the bank deems you at fault.
At National Fraud Helpline we can take on all the work of reporting your scam to help you get your money back.
Our confidential service and specialist fraud lawyers are trained to guide you through every aspect of the fraud recovery process with a no win, no fee guarantee.
Have you lost money to a scam? Contact us by calling 0333 0033218 or fill out our claims form online. We can report a scam on your behalf AND help claim your money back.
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