Scammed Online? What to Do in the First 48 Hours (UK)

Step 1: Stop all payments — including 'fees to withdraw'

Do not send another penny, whatever the reason given. Fraudulent platforms routinely demand a 'tax', 'clearance fee', 'insurance' or 'account upgrade' before releasing a withdrawal. No legitimate firm operates this way. Each further payment is simply a further loss.

If the fraudsters have remote access to your device, disconnect it from the internet and do not use it for banking until it has been checked.

Step 2: Call your bank immediately

Use the number on the back of your card, not a number from an email or text. Ask the bank to attempt a recall of the transfers and to contact the receiving bank to freeze the funds. If you paid by debit or credit card, ask about chargeback.

For bank transfers to scammers — known as authorised push payment fraud — UK reimbursement rules require most payment firms to refund eligible victims. Report the fraud to your bank as soon as you possibly can; the strength of your position depends on speed.

Step 3: Preserve every piece of evidence

Scam platforms vanish without warning, so capture everything now, before it disappears.

• Screenshots of the platform, your account balance and every chat conversation
• Bank statements showing every transfer, with dates and reference numbers
• Wallet addresses, transaction hashes and exchange account details
• Emails, phone numbers, website addresses and social media profiles used by the scammers
• Names — real or fake — of the 'brokers', 'advisers' or 'account managers' you dealt with

Step 4: Report it

Report to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040 and keep the reference number you are given — banks, the Financial Ombudsman Service and solicitors will all ask for it. If the scam involved an investment, also check the firm against the FCA's warning list and report it if listed or unlisted.

Step 5: Be ready for the follow-up scam

People who have just lost money are systematically targeted a second time by fake 'recovery agents' who claim they can get the funds back for a fee. Victim lists are traded between fraudsters. Any unsolicited contact offering recovery should be treated as another scam — verify any firm independently on the SRA or FCA register before engaging.

Step 6: Get the loss assessed

Once the immediate steps are complete, it is worth establishing whether a regulated party shares responsibility for the loss: a bank that failed to act on clear warning signs, an exchange that onboarded the receiving account without proper checks, or a professional who introduced the investment. That assessment is what we do, free of charge — and where there is no realistic route, we say so rather than taking a fee.

Common questions