What to do if you've been scammed in the UK

Step 1: call your bank, right now

If you've sent money, shared card details or given someone access to your banking app, contact your bank immediately. Use the number on the back of your card, on your statement or in your banking app. Never use a number from the message or call that scammed you, and never call back on a number someone "helpfully" gave you.

Tell them what happened and when. The faster they know, the better the chance of stopping a payment, freezing the receiving account or blocking your card. Most banks have 24-hour fraud lines.

Step 2: report it

Reporting helps the police connect your case to others and can help your bank's investigation.

You can also forward scam texts to 7726 for free, and scam emails to [email protected]. That helps networks and the government block them for everyone else.

Step 3: lock down your accounts

• Change passwords for your email first (it's the key to resetting everything else), then banking, shopping and social media. Use a different password for each.
• Turn on two-step verification wherever you can.
• If you installed an app because someone told you to (especially a "remote access" or screen-sharing app), uninstall it and tell your bank.
• If you shared ID documents, tell your bank and keep an eye on your credit file for accounts you didn't open.

Our lesson Report, protect, look out for family has the full routine.

Step 4: can you get your money back?

It depends on how you paid.

If you were tricked into sending a bank transfer

This is called authorised push payment (APP) fraud: you pressed "send", but only because a scammer lied to you. Since 7 October 2024, most victims of APP fraud have a right to be reimbursed by their payment provider. The key points from the Payment Systems Regulator:

• the maximum claim is £85,000 (banks can choose to pay more);
• you should report it within 13 months of the payment;
• firms can apply an optional excess of up to £100, but not to vulnerable customers;
• claims should normally be settled within 5 business days, or up to 35 business days if the firm needs more information;
• you may not be reimbursed if you were complicit in the fraud or grossly negligent, which is a high bar and doesn't apply to vulnerable customers.

The lesson APP fraud and getting money back explains how this works in plain English.

If someone used your card or account without permission

That's unauthorised fraud, and you're generally protected. Tell your bank straight away.

If you paid by credit card or debit card for something that never arrived

You may be able to claim through Section 75 (credit card) or chargeback (debit card). See the consumer rights library.

If your bank says no and you disagree, you can complain to the bank, then take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free.

Step 5: watch out for the second scam

This one is brutal. After a scam, victims are often contacted by "recovery" firms, fake police officers or fake lawyers promising to get the money back for a fee. That's a recovery scam, and it's run by the same kind of people (sometimes literally the same people). Real police and real banks never ask you to pay to get your money back, and never ask you to move money to a "safe account".

Step 6: look after yourself

Being scammed can feel humiliating, and that's exactly what scammers count on to stop people reporting. Talk to someone you trust. If money is now tight, free debt advice is available, and our debt help library is free for everyone.

The bit to remember

Bank first, report second, passwords third. Then ignore anyone who contacts you offering to get your money back for a fee. Want to make sure it doesn't happen again? Every lesson and game in the scams library is free.