Every UK scam-reporting channel explained — with the exact phone number, URL, and what each agency actually does with your report.
Last reviewed: 22 May 2026 · ScamSupport research
Reporting a scam in the UK is not a single action — the right channel depends on what kind of scam it was and what you want to achieve. This guide maps every official route: where to report a scam text, a phishing email, a scam website, a scam phone call, an investment scam, or a scam impersonating a company — each with the exact number or address, and an honest account of what reporting does and does not achieve. If you have lost money, contact your bank first, then report to Report Fraud.
| Scam channel | Where to report | How |
|---|---|---|
| Scam text (SMS) | 7726 (free) | Forward the SMS to 7726 |
| Phishing email | NCSC SERS | Forward to report@phishing.gov.uk |
| Scam website / URL | NCSC | ncsc.gov.uk/report-scam-website |
| Scam call | Report Fraud + 7726 | 0300 123 2040 + text the number to 7726 |
| Investment scam | FCA ScamSmart + Report Fraud | fca.org.uk/scamsmart & 0300 123 2040 |
| Money lost (any type) | Report Fraud + your bank | Bank fraud line first, then 0300 123 2040 |
| Bank refused PSR refund | Financial Ombudsman Service | financial-ombudsman.org.uk |
| Misleading product / company | Trading Standards via Citizens Advice | 0808 223 1133 (free) |
| Data breach / misuse of your data | Information Commissioner’s Office | ico.org.uk & 0303 123 1113 |
| Sextortion of under-18 | IWF Report Remove | iwf.org.uk/report-remove |
| Recruitment-agency scam | EAS (Employment Agency Standards) | gov.uk/eas |
| Premium-rate call charges | PSA + your network | psauthority.org.uk |
The UK’s national fraud reporting centre. Operated by the City of London Police (which leads on national fraud policy). Use Report Fraud for any case involving financial loss or attempted fraud. The phone line is open 24/7. Online reporting at reportfraud.police.uk.
What Report Fraud does with your report: assigns a crime reference number (NFRC + 14 digits), submits to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which aggregates reports nationally. Cases that match patterns or hit thresholds get assigned to local police forces. Many reports remain at intelligence-only level — Report Fraud’s realistic role is national-level pattern detection rather than individual case investigation.
What the crime reference number is for: use it for bank fraud claims (PSR / chargeback), insurance claims, civil recovery proceedings, FOS escalations, CIFAS records. Provides documentary proof you reported.
See our detailed Report Fraud reporting guide for the step-by-step walkthrough.
7726 spells “SPAM” on a phone keypad. Every UK mobile network supports it (EE, O2, Three, Vodafone, Sky, Tesco, Lebara, GiffGaff, BT). Free for all UK customers.
How to forward: long-press the SMS > Forward > type 7726 as the recipient > send. You may receive a follow-up SMS asking for the sender number; forward that too.
What 7726 does with your report: mobile networks aggregate sender numbers, share with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and block known scam sender IDs at the network level. NCSC reports taking down over 100,000 scam URLs each month using combined SERS + 7726 data.
report@phishing.gov.uk)Forward any phishing or scam email to report@phishing.gov.uk. Free. Operated by the National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ.
How to forward: select the email > Forward > type report@phishing.gov.uk as the recipient. Don’t edit the subject or body — NCSC needs the original headers and content for analysis. On mobile, the “Forward as attachment” option preserves headers better; use it where available.
What NCSC does: takes down scam URLs identified in reported emails (typically within 24-72 hours), shares intelligence with relevant industry bodies (banks, regulators, platforms), and feeds into the national cyber threat picture.
Specifically for investment scams. Report at fca.org.uk/scamsmart. The FCA also maintains the Warning List of unauthorised firms operating in the UK.
What FCA ScamSmart does: adds firms to the Warning List, issues consumer alerts, coordinates with overseas regulators on cross-border operations, refers serious cases for FCA enforcement / criminal investigation.
For when your bank, building society, lender, insurer, investment firm or other FCA-regulated financial provider refuses a complaint. Free for consumers. Binding on the financial provider.
File at financial-ombudsman.org.uk. Eligibility: you must have first complained to the provider and received either a final response letter OR waited 8 weeks (whichever is sooner).
Key for: PSR Mandatory Reimbursement refusals, Section 75 disputes, chargeback failures, banking-related complaints. FOS upholds around 78% of APP fraud complaints in the consumer’s favour (2024 published statistics).
If a minor’s intimate images have been shared or are being threatened with sharing: iwf.org.uk/report-remove. The Internet Watch Foundation works with Childline / NSPCC to take down intimate images of under-18s within 24-72 hours, even if multi-platform spread has occurred. Free. No police involvement required to use the tool.
For data-protection breaches and misuse of personal data. ico.org.uk + 0303 123 1113. The ICO is the UK’s data-protection regulator (formerly under GDPR; now UK GDPR + Data Protection Act 2018).
Trading Standards no longer takes direct reports from consumers; route through Citizens Advice consumer service. They triage and forward to Trading Standards.
Use for: misleading product descriptions, consumer-rights breaches, pyramid scheme suspected operations, MLM mis-selling, doorstep selling fraud.
There is no single national register of scam phone numbers, but you have clear routes. If you lost money or shared personal or banking details on a scam call, report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040. To get the number itself acted on, text the scammer’s phone number to 7726 — networks use these reports to block scam numbers — and report it to your own phone provider, most of which have a dedicated reporting route. Recorded “robocall” scams — an automated voice claiming your bank account, National Insurance number or HMRC account is compromised — are always fraudulent: genuine organisations do not cold-call to demand action. Hang up, wait for the line to clear, and call the organisation back on a number you find independently.
When the scam happens inside a platform — a fake seller on a marketplace, a romance scammer on a dating app, a cloned account or advert on social media — do two things. First, report the account, listing or message inside the platform itself: every major platform (Facebook, Instagram, X, eBay, Vinted, Gumtree, Tinder, Hinge, WhatsApp) has a built-in report function, and this is what gets the scammer’s account removed. Second, if money or personal data was involved, also report to Report Fraud. The platform report stops that account; the Report Fraud report feeds the national intelligence picture. A scam website — a fake shop or a lookalike bank site — should be reported to the NCSC at ncsc.gov.uk.
Many scams impersonate a trusted brand. As well as the channels above, most large organisations run their own scam-reporting inbox, and forwarding the scam to them directly assists their takedown work:
reportascam@royalmail.comphishing@hmrc.gov.uk for emails; forward scam HMRC texts to 60599reportphishing@apple.comReporting to the impersonated company does not replace reporting to Report Fraud, 7726 or the NCSC — do both.
Report Fraud, on 0300 123 2040 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland; the line is open 24/7) or online at reportfraud.police.uk. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101. If you have lost money, call your bank's fraud line first.
Forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk, the National Cyber Security Centre's Suspicious Email Reporting Service. Do not edit the email first — the NCSC needs the original headers. Then delete it.
Forward it free to 7726 (the digits spell 'SPAM' on a phone keypad). Every UK mobile network supports it, and they use the reports to block scam senders.
Text the scammer's number to 7726, and report it to your phone provider. If you lost money or shared details on the call, also report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040.
Report it to the National Cyber Security Centre at ncsc.gov.uk — its report-a-scam-website form is free and feeds the takedown of malicious sites.
No — reporting and recovery are separate. Money is recovered through your bank (the PSR reimbursement rules, chargeback, or Section 75), not through the report itself. But the crime reference number Report Fraud gives you is often needed to support a bank or insurance claim.
Yes. Even an attempted scam feeds the national intelligence picture that drives website takedowns, number-blocking and regulator action. A two-minute report to 7726 or report@phishing.gov.uk genuinely helps protect other people.