How do I report a scam in the UK?
Short answer
Dial 159 first — it connects you securely to your own bank's fraud team and cannot be spoofed. Then report to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040, or Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland. Forward suspicious texts to 7726 and emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, both free.
Verified · 5 cited sources
The order matters more than most people realise. Action Fraud is the best-known destination and the least useful for recovering money — it collates reports for the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau rather than investigating individual cases. Its value to you is the crime reference number, which banks, insurers and credit reference agencies commonly require.
Your bank is the only party that can move money back, and speed is decisive. 159 is a short code run by Stop Scams UK that routes you directly to your own bank's fraud team. Because you dial out rather than receive a call, it cannot be spoofed — which also makes it the right response if someone claiming to be your bank rings you.
Since October 2024, mandatory reimbursement rules made by the Payment Systems Regulator require banks and payment firms to reimburse most victims of authorised push payment fraud on Faster Payments and CHAPS. Claims must be made within 13 months of the final payment, and firms must generally pay within five business days. Firms may apply an excess and can refuse where the customer was grossly negligent, a deliberately high bar, and customers classed as vulnerable are protected from both.
If you paid by credit card and the purchase was over £100 and up to £30,000, a Section 75 claim makes the card provider jointly liable with the seller and works even if the retailer has folded. Debit and credit card chargebacks are a separate route with their own time limits.
If your bank refuses, escalate free to the Financial Ombudsman Service on 0800 023 4567. Its decisions bind the firm but not you. You generally have six months from the final response letter.
- 159 — connects securely to your own bank's fraud team; cannot be spoofed
- Action Fraud for the crime reference number others require; 101 in Scotland
- Mandatory reimbursement for most APP fraud, with a 13-month claim window
- Section 75 for credit card purchases over £100 and up to £30,000
- Financial Ombudsman Service free if the bank refuses — six months from the final response
People also ask
Sources & provenance
Facts verified
- 1.159 — Stop Scams UK IndustryStop Scams UKUsed for: How 159 works and why it cannot be spoofed
- 2.Report fraud OfficialCity of London PoliceUsed for: Action Fraud's role, jurisdiction and the crime reference number
- 3.APP fraud reimbursement requirement RegulatorPayment Systems RegulatorUsed for: Mandatory reimbursement, 13-month window and the gross negligence exception
- 4.Report a scam email or text OfficialNational Cyber Security CentreUsed for: report@phishing.gov.uk and the 7726 text service
- 5.How to complain RegulatorFinancial Ombudsman ServiceUsed for: Six-month escalation window and the free binding-on-the-firm process
The role of each body, the reimbursement rules and Section 75 come from the sources cited. The reimbursement excess and maximum claim value have been the subject of continuing regulatory consultation — check the PSR for the current position. The advice to call 159 before reporting elsewhere is our ordering, based on which step can actually recover money.
Facts on this page are taken from the sources listed above — UK government departments, devolved administrations, regulators, statutory bodies and official statistical releases. Comparisons, judgements and "which option suits whom" conclusions are AI-assisted analysis written over those sources; they are marked in the text and listed as an AI-analysis entry in the sources, not attributed to any authority. Rates, thresholds, fees and processing times change, usually at the start of a tax year in April; figures are current as at the review date shown and should be confirmed with the responsible body before you rely on them. Much of what follows differs between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — where it does, this site says so.