Where to report a scam, wherever you live — kept up to date, because these services change and printed books cannot.
If it has just happened
Do these in order. Every minute counts.
Stop. Put the phone down. If somebody is connected to your computer, switch off the internet, then the computer.
Call your bank — on the number from the back of your card, from a different phone if you can. Say:
"I think I have been scammed. I need the fraud team, please."
Freeze or cancel any card they saw or were told about.
Change your passwords — email first — from a device they have not touched.
Write everything down while it is fresh. Keep every message. Delete nothing.
Tell one person. You should not be alone with this.
Report it — find your country below.
Do not send any more money, for any reason. And if somebody contacts you offering to recover what you lost, for a fee — that is a second scam. Nobody legitimate ever charges up front to recover money.
Call your bank first, before or while you report. Freezing the money quickly matters more than anything else you will do today.
Find your country
If your country is not listed, or a detail here has changed, see how to find it yourself — it takes about two minutes.
United States
If you are over 60 — start here1-833-372-8311 National Elder Fraud Hotline, run by the Department of Justice. Staffed by case managers who will stay with you. More about the hotline
Report onlinecomplaint.ic3.gov — the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. No public phone line. reportfraud.ftc.gov — the Federal Trade Commission, a separate route. Phone 1-877-382-4357.
Report a scam — England, Wales, Northern Ireland0300 123 2040 reportfraud.police.uk — run by City of London Police. This service replaced Action Fraud in January 2026. Textphone 0300 123 2050.
Scotland
Not covered by the above. Call Police Scotland on 101, or 999 if a crime is in progress.
If your bank refuses to help
Financial Ombudsman Service — 0800 023 4567, financial-ombudsman.org.uk. Free and independent.
Canada
Report a scam1-888-495-8501 Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Monday to Friday 10:00–16:45 ET.
Online: reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca. Report to your local police as well.
If your bank refuses to help
Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) — the external complaints body for federally regulated banks.
Australia
Report a scamscamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam — run by the ACCC; reports feed the National Anti-Scam Centre. There is no reporting phone number. Emergencies 000.
Cybercrime with a criminal element
ReportCyber, at cyber.gov.au — routes to police.
Check a financial firmfsp-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz. Important: being on this register is not the same as being licensed by the FMA — scammers exploit that difference.
If your bank refuses to help
Banking Ombudsman Scheme — 0800 805 950, bankomb.org.nz
Ireland
Report a scam
Ireland has no national online fraud reporting form and no national fraud hotline. Report in person at your local Garda station. Serious cases go to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau. garda.ie
Check a financial firmregisters.centralbank.ie — Central Bank registers, including a list of unauthorised firms.
If your bank refuses to help
Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman — 01 567 7000, complaints.fspo.ie. Complain to your provider first.
Consumer advice
CCPC helpline — 01 402 5555
India
Report financial fraud — call immediately1930 The national cyber-fraud helpline. Calling within the first hour makes a real difference to whether money can be frozen.
Check a firm, or report an unregistered onesachet.rbi.org.in (Reserve Bank of India)
If your bank refuses to help
RBI Ombudsman, via cms.rbi.org.in. For share brokers and market firms: SEBI SCORES, scores.sebi.gov.in, 1800 22 7575.
Philippines
Report a scam1326 The government anti-scam hotline, run by the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center. Also available through the eGov PH app.
Also
The PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group and the NBI Cybercrime Division both take reports. Report at your nearest station as well.
Singapore
Report a scam — 24 hours1799 ScamShield Helpline. Online at scamshield.gov.sg. Emergencies 999.
Check a financial firmeservices.mas.gov.sg/fid — MAS directory. MAS also publishes an Investor Alert List of firms to avoid.
If your bank refuses to help
FIDReC — +65 6327 8878, fidrec.com.sg. Free to consumers.
Malaysia
Report a scam — call immediately997 National Scam Response Centre. Call as soon as possible — speed determines whether the receiving account can be frozen. Call your bank's own 24-hour hotline as well.
If your bank refuses to help
Financial Markets Ombudsman Service — fmos.org.my
South Africa
Report a scam
There is no single national fraud reporting service. Report at your nearest SAPS station and get a case number — your bank will ask for it. Police emergencies 10111.
Check a financial firmfsca.co.za — search the register of financial services providers.
If your bank refuses to help
National Financial Ombud Scheme — 0860 800 900, nfosa.co.za. Free. This scheme replaced the separate banking and insurance ombudsmen in 2024.
Nigeria
Report a scam+234 99 044 000 Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Also +234 809 332 2644. Website efcc.gov.ng. You can also report at a Nigeria Police Force station.
Kenya
Report online fraud and phishing+254 703 042700 National KE-CIRT/CC, also +254 730 172700. ke-cirt.go.ke
Report a crime
Directorate of Criminal Investigations, or your nearest police station — ask for an OB number, which your bank will need.
United Arab Emirates
Report a scam
Reporting is handled by each emirate. Dubai: eCrime, Dubai Police. Abu Dhabi: Aman, Abu Dhabi Police. Nationwide: the MoI UAE app, or the My Safe Society app. Full list at u.ae. Emergencies 999.
If your bank refuses to help
Sanadak — 800 72 623 25, sanadak.gov.ae. Complain to your bank first and wait 15 days.
Europe
Important
There is no European body that takes fraud reports from individuals. Europol does not accept public reports — do not waste time trying. Report to your own country's police.
Find your country's reporting serviceEuropol's directory lists the national reporting site for every member state.
Cross-border consumer disputes within the EU
European Consumer Centres Network — eccnet.eu. Free advice in 24 languages. For consumer disputes, not criminal fraud.
Emergencies anywhere in the EU112
If your country is not listed
You can find it yourself in about two minutes.
Search for your country's name together with "report fraud" or "report a scam".
Before using anything, check the web address belongs to your government — usually your national ending, often with "gov" in it. If you are not certain it is official, do not use it.
Ignore the advertisements at the top of the results. Some of them are recovery scams.
If that fails, call your non-emergency police number and ask where fraud should be reported. They answer this every day.
Your bank will also tell you.
And one that works from anywhere: econsumer.gov takes cross-border complaints, supported by consumer agencies in more than 65 countries. It shares reports with enforcement agencies — it will not get your money back or reply to you personally.
Get the free scam-check card
A single card for your wallet: the six ways money is taken, the two habits that stop most scams, and space for the three numbers you would need in a hurry.
You will also get a short note whenever something important changes — a new kind of scam, or a reporting service that has moved.
One email at a time, no more than a few a year, and you can stop whenever you like.
Something changed?
If a number here is wrong, or a service has moved, please tell me at [YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS]. Readers keep this page more current than I could on my own, and a correction helps everybody who arrives here after you.
About the book
Five Steps Ahead explains how scams actually work — the five things every scam does, whatever story it tells — so that you can recognise one you have never heard of. It covers phone calls, messages, romance and friendship scams, investment offers, and voices copied by computer. It is written for adults, in plain language, and it never suggests that being caught means being foolish.
[LINK TO BUY]
Before you publish — delete this box
Placeholders to fill in: the email form address, your contact email address, the buy link, and the "last checked" date.
Verify these before going live. Everything above came from official sources, but a few entries could not be confirmed on the page itself and a few services were changing:
United States — reportfraud.ftc.gov showed a service-interruption notice when checked. Confirm it is live, and confirm the 1-877-382-4357 number.
India — the 1930 helpline and the RBI ombudsman route are very widely published but could not be confirmed on the official page directly.
Malaysia — two official pages disagree on whether 997 is 24 hours or 8am–8pm. I have avoided stating hours.
Malaysia — the Financial Markets Ombudsman Service was renamed from the Ombudsman for Financial Services; its site did not load. Confirm before linking.
Canada — OBSI listed without a URL or number; confirm and add.
Philippines, Nigeria, Kenya, UAE — regulator registers and ombudsman routes could not be verified, so they are deliberately omitted rather than guessed. Add them if you can confirm them.
Australia — the ReportCyber URL and its hotline were not verifiable; only the general cyber.gov.au address is given.
Set a reminder to re-check this page every six months. That is the whole reason it exists rather than being printed in the book.