You were defrauded.
Here is what actually happens next.
Clear, current guidance on reporting fraud in the UK, what the law and the APP scam reimbursement rules provide, and which recovery routes are genuinely worth your time. Written for the moment after it happens, when everyone is telling you something different.
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Four tracks that run at the same time
Criminal reporting, bank reimbursement, regulatory complaints and civil recovery are separate systems with separate clocks. Progress in one does not advance the others, so start them in parallel.
Report to the right body
Report Fraud (or Police Scotland), your bank and — for investment losses — the Financial Conduct Authority each play a different role. Reporting to only one of them is the most common early mistake.
The 72-hour planUnderstand what the law gives you
Fraud under the Fraud Act 2006, compensation and confiscation orders, the Victims' Code, and the civil remedies that actually move money — Norwich Pharmacal orders, freezing injunctions and proprietary tracing claims.
UK legal frameworkPursue recovery realistically
APP scam reimbursement of up to £85,000, section 75 and chargeback claims, Financial Ombudsman complaints, and when a court claim is worth the cost. Including honest odds.
Recovery routesAvoid the second scam
Victim lists get resold. "Asset recovery" firms, fake regulators and clone law firms target people who have already lost money. Learn the markers before they reach you.
Recovery-room fraudThe first two weeks decide most of it
Funds move through mule accounts within hours, and platforms purge records on their own schedule. Almost every recovery that works starts with something done early.
Stop the bleeding
- Call your bank's fraud team on 159, or the number on the back of your card — never a number the caller gave you.
- If you sent the money yourself, say it is an APP scam and ask them to contact the receiving bank to freeze the funds. Note the time you called.
- Freeze or lock the affected cards and accounts; uninstall any remote-access software and take the device offline.
- Stop all contact with the fraudster, but do not delete anything yet.
Preserve the evidence
- Screenshot every message, profile, transaction, wallet address and receipt before accounts vanish.
- Download bank and platform statements covering the whole relationship, not just the last transfer.
- Write a plain timeline: dates, amounts, names, phone numbers, URLs, and what you were told each time.
- Change passwords from a clean device, starting with your email, and turn on two-step verification.
Report to the right bodies
- Report to Report Fraud online or on 0300 123 2040 — or to Police Scotland on 101 — and keep the crime reference number.
- Put your reimbursement claim or complaint to your bank in writing, even if you already phoned.
- If it was an investment, check the firm on the FCA Register and Warning List, and report it to the FCA.
- Forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and scam texts to 7726.
Open the civil and complaint tracks
- If your bank refuses or stalls, ask for its final response in writing so you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
- Speak to a solicitor about a Norwich Pharmacal order or freezing injunction while the trail is warm.
- Check your credit reports with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and consider Cifas Protective Registration.
- Diary your deadlines: 13 months from the last payment for APP reimbursement, and six years for most civil claims (five in Scotland).
Know what you are describing
Naming the scheme accurately changes who has jurisdiction, which offence applies, and what evidence matters. These are the patterns most reported in the UK.
Investment & crypto fraud
Often called "pig butchering": a long grooming period on a dating app, WhatsApp or Telegram, or an advert using a celebrity's face, followed by a fake trading platform that shows fabricated gains. Withdrawals fail, and you are told to pay "taxes" or "unlock fees" to release funds.
Romance fraud
A relationship built over weeks or months, always with a reason not to meet in person, ending in escalating requests for money — medical emergencies, customs fees, travel costs, or an investment "opportunity" they want to share with you.
HMRC, police & government impersonation
Calls, texts or emails claiming to be HMRC, the DWP, the police or the National Crime Agency, threatening arrest, a court summons or deportation unless you pay at once. "Courier fraud" is the police version: a fake officer asks you to withdraw cash or buy gold for a courier to collect as "evidence".
Bank impersonation & "safe account" scams
Someone claiming to be your bank's fraud team says your account is compromised and asks you to move money to a "safe account", read out a one-time passcode, approve a payment in your banking app, or install remote-access software so they can "help".
Purchase scams
The most commonly reported APP scam in the UK: goods, tickets, pets, cars or holidays advertised on social media or marketplaces, paid for by bank transfer, and never delivered. Often the seller pushes you away from the platform's own payment system.
Tech support & broadband scams
A pop-up or cold call — often claiming to be your broadband provider or Microsoft — warns that your computer is infected or your internet will be cut off. The "technician" takes remote control, shows you fake evidence, then bills you or opens your online banking and moves money.
"Hi Mum" & emergency scams
A WhatsApp or text message from an unknown number: "Hi Mum, I've dropped my phone, this is my new number" — followed by an urgent bill that must be paid today. Voice versions increasingly use AI cloning taken from social media videos.
Job & task scams
A remote "job" that involves rating products, boosting apps or processing payments. Small early payouts build trust before you are asked to deposit your own money, usually in crypto, to unlock commissions.
Property, conveyancing & rental fraud
Conveyancing fraud intercepts emails between you and your solicitor and swaps the bank details for a deposit or completion payment. Title fraud sells or mortgages a property using a stolen identity. Rental fraud takes deposits for homes the "landlord" does not control.
If someone offers to recover your money
Recovery-room fraud is the second wave, and it is aggressive. Victim details circulate on lists that get resold, so contact often arrives within weeks of the original loss — frequently by phone, impersonating a real organisation.
No UK police force, regulator or ombudsman ever charges a fee to return your money. Any up-front payment, "bond", retainer in crypto, or guaranteed recovery is fraud.
That applies to calls claiming to be us. We only call people who registered with us, we always quote your reference, and we never ask for payment. If you are unsure, hang up and call the number on our contact page.
How to verify a call from us →This was not your fault
These operations are staffed, scripted and rehearsed. Many are run from compounds using trafficked labour, refined against thousands of targets. Being deceived by a professional deception system is not a character flaw.
Shame is what keeps fraud unreported, and unreported fraud is what lets it continue. Victim support services are free and confidential. If you are in crisis, call Samaritans free on 116 123, day or night.
Support services across the UK →Talk it through with someone who does this every day
Bring what you have — even if it is only a name and a date. We will work out what happened, who needs to hear about it, and whether there is anything realistic to chase.
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