Typology

Scam types and the offences they engage

Describing the scheme accurately changes which body has jurisdiction and what evidence matters. Find the pattern closest to yours — the legal hook is noted for each.

You may match more than one

Sophisticated operations chain patterns together: a romance approach becomes an investment scheme, which becomes a recovery-room approach months later from the same data. Matching several entries here is normal and worth telling the police.

The offences below are those of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland the same conduct is generally prosecuted as common law fraud.

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.

Legal hook

Fraud by false representation under s. 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, plus the general prohibition (s. 19) and financial promotion restriction (s. 21) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 for unauthorised investment business.

Warning markers

A dashboard shows profits, but every withdrawal attempt triggers a new fee
The firm is not on the FCA Register, appears on the FCA Warning List, or is a clone of a real firm
Pressure to move off the original app to an "account manager" on WhatsApp
Guaranteed or unusually consistent returns

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.

Legal hook

Fraud under s. 2 of the Fraud Act 2006. If you forwarded funds for someone else, the money laundering offences in ss. 327–329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 may be raised — get legal advice immediately rather than staying silent.

Warning markers

Refuses live video, or the video is brief and low quality
Declares strong feelings unusually quickly
Every crisis needs money urgently and privately
Asks you to receive and forward funds — this can make you an unwitting money mule

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".

Legal hook

Fraud under s. 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, impersonating a police officer under s. 90 of the Police Act 1996, and blackmail under s. 21 of the Theft Act 1968 where threats are used to obtain payment.

Warning markers

Demands payment by bank transfer, crypto, vouchers or cash handed to a courier
Threatens immediate arrest or says a warrant is already issued
Claims your National Insurance number has been "suspended" — that does not happen
Spoofed caller ID showing a real government or police number

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".

Legal hook

Fraud under s. 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 and unauthorised access under s. 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. A transfer you were tricked into making is an APP scam; a payment you did not make at all is unauthorised under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 — the difference decides your claim.

Warning markers

Asks you to read out a one-time passcode or approve a notification in your app
Asks you to install AnyDesk, TeamViewer or similar
Tells you to ignore a Confirmation of Payee mismatch or a warning screen
Instructs you to lie to branch staff about the purpose of a payment

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.

Legal hook

Fraud under s. 2 of the Fraud Act 2006. A Faster Payment to a UK account is usually covered by APP scam reimbursement; a credit card payment of £100–£30,000 carries a claim under s. 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Warning markers

The price is well below the market rate
The seller insists on bank transfer rather than card or PayPal Goods & Services
Pressure that other buyers are waiting, or a deposit is needed to "hold" it
The account or profile is new, or the photos appear elsewhere online

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.

Legal hook

Fraud under s. 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, and unauthorised access and impairment of a computer under ss. 1 and 3 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Warning markers

Unsolicited contact about a problem you never reported
Remote-access software requested early in the call
A "refund" that arrives too large, with a request to send the difference back

"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.

Legal hook

Fraud under s. 2 of the Fraud Act 2006. Under the Sentencing Council fraud guideline, targeting a victim because of their vulnerability — including age — raises the offender's culpability.

Warning markers

A new number, and a reason they cannot call or take a call right now
The bill must be paid to someone else's account, today
Secrecy, or a reason not to check with the rest of the family

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.

Legal hook

Fraud under s. 2 of the Fraud Act 2006. Task scams frequently turn victims into money mules, creating exposure under ss. 327–329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 — document everything and take legal advice.

Warning markers

You must deposit your own money to keep earning
Recruitment by unsolicited WhatsApp or Telegram message
Duties involve receiving and forwarding money or goods

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.

Legal hook

Fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 and forgery under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981. Victims of registered title fraud may be entitled to an indemnity from HM Land Registry under Schedule 8 to the Land Registration Act 2002, and your solicitor's insurance may respond — raise both quickly.

Warning markers

Bank details changed by email close to exchange or completion
A landlord who will not show the property in person and wants a deposit by transfer
Letters about a mortgage, sale or Land Registry application you never made

Invoice & mandate fraud

Business email compromise in UK banking terms. An attacker gets into a mailbox, watches invoice traffic, then sends "updated" bank details from a lookalike or the genuine account. Payments land in a mule account and are moved within hours.

Legal hook

Fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 and unauthorised access under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Micro-enterprises and small charities can claim APP reimbursement like consumers; speed matters more than anywhere else — a recall within hours can still work.

Warning markers

Bank details change by email only, never confirmed by a call to a known number
Urgency framed around a supplier deadline or a director's request
A Confirmation of Payee "no match" or "close match" result

Recovery-room fraud (re-victimisation)

The second wave. People who already lost money are targeted by "asset recovery specialists", fake solicitors, or people posing as the FCA, Report Fraud or the police, who promise to get funds back for an up-front fee.

Legal hook

Fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 again, and often breaches of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 or the Legal Services Act 2007 where they claim authorisation they do not have. No UK regulator, ombudsman or police force ever charges a fee to return your money.

Warning markers

Contacted you first, unsolicited, about a loss you never told them about
Any up-front fee, retainer, "bond", or crypto payment to start
Claims a guaranteed recovery, or says they have already located your funds
Uses the name of a real regulator, police force or law firm

Verify before you act

Three checks that catch most investment fraud

Each takes under a minute and is free. Together they filter out the large majority of schemes targeting people in the UK.

Check the FCA Register

Confirm the firm is authorised for the business it is offering. Then call it using the phone number shown on the Register — not the one on the website or in the email, because clone firms copy real firms' names and reference numbers.

FCA Register →

Check the FCA Warning List

The FCA lists firms it knows are operating without authorisation, including clones of genuine firms and crypto platforms. A name on the list ends the conversation.

FCA ScamSmart →

Check Companies House

See when a company was formed, who its directors are, and its registered address. A firm claiming decades of history that was incorporated last month — or has no UK record at all — is a warning.

Companies House →

Recognise your situation here?

Naming the scheme correctly changes who has jurisdiction and what evidence matters. Book a time and we will place your case properly and tell you what is realistically open to you.

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