UK guide · checked 30 August 2026

After a scam, the order matters.

End contact, call the bank when money is involved, and use another device if this one was accessed. Then choose what you lost or exposed.

First move

End contact and open the official app or website for the bank or service yourself.

Instructions based on the FCA, NCSC, the government's Stop! Think Fraud campaign, and the police Report Fraud service.

Incident / UK / 05 routes
Stop
access
Money sent
Bank details
Device
Identity
1/14 adults in England and Wales experienced fraud in the year ending September 2025

The right route

What reached the scammer?

Select everything that applies. The plan removes duplicates and puts each step in priority order.

Your choices stay here. The page does not send, save, or add them to the address. You can print or copy the plan.

Choose what happened

Your plan

No route selected.

    Why this order

    Contain access first, then report.

    A police report records the crime. The first few minutes may call for a different action. The bank may try to stop the payment, the provider recovers the account, and an exposed device stays out of sensitive work.

    1. End contact. The scammer loses the chance to request another payment, code, or form of access.
    2. Use official details. Call the bank from the card, statement, or official site. Open the account provider's page yourself.
    3. Close the exposed route. Money, accounts, devices, and identity need different actions. Several routes may apply.
    4. Keep evidence and report. Conversations and payment references help the bank, the police, and any later complaint.

    Fraud represented 45% of estimated crime in England and Wales in the year ending September 2025. The figure comes from the UK Fraud Strategy 2026 to 2029.

    Money and payments

    The bank needs to know immediately.

    Say whether you made the payment because you were deceived or do not recognise it at all. Different rules apply. In both situations, delay can reduce the chance of stopping or tracing the money.

    What to say on the call

    Say that this is fraud. Give the amount, time, payment method, payee name, and reference. Ask for a case number and note the call time. If you shared card details or security codes, tell the bank while the balance still looks unchanged.

    £85,000mandatory reimbursement cap for an eligible APP payment
    5 working daysusual time from the claim for an eligible payment
    35 working dayslatest outcome when the provider needs more information

    These figures do not guarantee reimbursement. Protection may apply to eligible Faster Payments or CHAPS transfers between UK accounts made from 7 October 2024. Report the scam promptly and within 13 months of the payment. A provider may apply an optional excess of up to £100, but cannot apply it to a vulnerable consumer. It may choose to reimburse more than £85,000. Cards, cash, crypto, and overseas payments follow other rules.

    If the bank refuses the claim, ask for its decision in writing and make a formal complaint to the bank first. You may go to the Financial Ombudsman Service after the bank's final response or when its response deadline has passed. Submit within six months of the final response.

    Read the Payment Systems Regulator rules and limits.

    Accounts and passwords

    Email can open the rest of your accounts.

    Start with email when it has been compromised. An attacker can change the recovery address, add a rule that forwards messages, and request password resets for other services.

    1. Use official recovery. Open the provider's site yourself. Do not use the link in the suspect message.
    2. Check forwarding and recovery details. Remove rules, addresses, and phone numbers you do not recognise.
    3. Change the password on a trusted device. Change it on every site where you reused it.
    4. Sign out other sessions. The option may appear under security, devices, or activity.
    5. Turn on 2-step verification. Store recovery codes somewhere safe.
    6. Warn contacts. Ask them to ignore recent messages and send no money or codes.

    Follow the NCSC account recovery guide.

    Accessed device

    Do not change passwords on the screen the scammer saw.

    If you installed a program, allowed remote control, or suspect malware, do not sign into accounts on that device. Use a different trusted phone or computer for banking and account recovery.

    Computer

    Close the remote-access program and run a scan with the antivirus product already installed. Follow its result. If it cannot clean the system, you may need a reinstall or technical help.

    Phone or tablet

    The government guide recommends a factory reset for an infected device. A reset erases photographs, messages, apps, and other data. Before erasing a phone, use another trusted device to confirm that you can recover every linked online account, app, and smart device. Do not enter those credentials on the suspect device. Get technical help if you cannot confirm access.

    Do not make a new backup after infection and restore it later. The backup may preserve the problem. Get technical help if you cannot establish what was installed.

    Read the Stop! Think Fraud steps for an infected device.

    ID and personal data

    The contact may end today. Identity misuse can start later.

    A passport, driving licence, bill, or statement can be used for accounts, credit, or contracts. Tell the document issuer, then watch for applications made in your name.

    1. Tell the issuer. HM Passport Office, DVLA, the bank, or another authority can say whether the document should be cancelled or replaced.
    2. Check all three credit files. Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion may hold different information. Checking your own file is free and does not lower your score.
    3. Dispute what you do not recognise. Tell the agency and lender about unknown addresses, accounts, or applications.
    4. Consider extra protection. Cifas Protective Registration is a paid service that prompts Cifas members to check applications using your details more closely.

    Read the official identity theft recovery route.

    Reporting in the UK

    Where you live or where the crime happened changes the route.

    If you live in Scotland or the crime happened there, call Police Scotland on 101. Otherwise, use Report Fraud for fraud affecting England, Wales, or Northern Ireland. An online report takes around 20 minutes and produces a crime reference number. A bank or insurer may ask for it. Reporting does not guarantee an investigation.

    Other cases · England · Wales · Northern Ireland

    Report Fraud

    Report online or call 0300 123 2040, Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm.

    You live in Scotland · the crime happened in Scotland

    Police Scotland

    Call 101 to report and ask for guidance. Advice Direct Scotland can also provide practical support.

    What to keep

    Conversations, website addresses, phone numbers, usernames, receipts, bank references, crypto wallet addresses, and exact times may help. Take screenshots before blocking an account when this does not delay the bank or require further contact.

    After the first hours

    The second scam may claim to repair the first.

    Victim details circulate among criminals. A new caller may claim to be the bank, the police, Report Fraud, or a firm that recovers money. End the call and verify the organisation through its published details.

    No bank or public body asks you to move money to a "safe account". Never give a full password, PIN, or one-time code.

    Shame helps the scammer

    Fraud uses pressure, trust, fear, and believable situations. Being deceived does not change who committed the crime. Tell someone you trust what happened, especially when messages continue or the steps feel difficult to complete alone.

    Victim Support offers confidential help, including language support, even if you have not spoken to the police. In England and Wales, call 08 08 16 89 111 for free. The service does not replace 999 in an emergency.

    Sources and limits

    What this guide can establish, and where it stops.

    The guide orders public instructions for UK consumers. It cannot determine whether the bank will reimburse a payment, whether a device is infected, or whether personal data has been used. It asks for and receives no incident details.

    Last checked: 30 August 2026. Next scheduled review: 30 November 2026. A change to FCA or PSR rules, Report Fraud, or NCSC recovery guidance triggers an earlier review.