Report a scam or fraud
If you’ve been scammed, you should report the scam to us. Don’t feel embarrassed about reporting a scam – scammers are clever and scams can happen to anyone. Reporting a scam helps track down and stop scammers. This prevents other people from being scammed.
You should:
- protect yourself from further risks
- gather all the details of the scam
- report the scam to us
Protect yourself from further risks
Before you report a scam, there are steps you can take to protect yourself from things getting worse. The scammer might have infected your computer with a virus, or stolen passwords and financial information. To stay safe you should:
- reset your passwords
- let your bank know your financial information might have been stolen
- make sure you update your anti-virus software
You could also get an IT professional to check your computer.
Gather all the details of the fraud
Write down the details of your scam. This will help you remember all the important information when you report it.
Make sure you include:
- who you’ve been in contact with – write down names, numbers, and addresses if you have them
- why you’re suspicious
- what information you’ve shared – for example, passwords, PINs, or bank details
- whether you’ve paid any money
- how you’ve paid – for example, credit card or bank transfer
Report the scam to us
You can either report a scam by:
What we’ll do when you report a scam to us
Once we’ve all the information we need, we’ll pass this to the Federal Trade Commission, the European Anti-Fraud Office, or the corresponding official authority of your residence country. We don’t investigate scams ourselves solely.
What the Federal Trade Commission does
Federal Trade Commission gathers information about scams to take legal action against scammers.
The Federal Trade Commission will decide whether to investigate. They might contact you for more information. They could prosecute the scammers or stop them from operating depending on what they find. Even if the Federal Trade Commission doesn’t contact you, they might still use your evidence to take action in the future.
What the European Anti-Fraud Office does
If you are a resident of the European Union you should report scams to the European Anti-Fraud Office. This increases the chance of scammers being caught and stopped.
Anti-Fraud Office can get the Fraud Intelligence Bureau to investigate scams.