Reporting fraud is two separate jobs with two separate audiences: your bank, which decides whether you are reimbursed, and the police reporting service, which records the crime. Doing one does not do the other, and the order matters.
Your bank comes first
Call the number on your card. Say plainly that you have been the victim of a scam, give the exact payment details, and ask for three things: an attempt to recall the payment, the case to be logged as a scam claim, and the decision in writing. Ask for the case reference before you hang up. Then change any passwords the fraudster may have obtained and check for new payees, new devices and forwarding rules on your email.
Then the police reporting route
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101. You will get a reference; keep it with your file. Reports are assessed for links to other cases, which is why detail — account numbers, phone numbers, domains, times — is worth more than narrative.
Build the file once
- A timeline: every contact, call and payment with dates and times.
- Screenshots of adverts, messages, dashboards and websites before they disappear.
- Bank statements marking each disputed payment.
- The names, numbers, emails and account details the fraudster used.
- Every letter from the bank, including the final response.
Where else to report
Texts forward to 7726 free of charge. Suspicious emails go to the national suspicious email reporting service. If a firm claimed to be authorised, the FCA consumer helpline on 0800 111 6768 can confirm and can log the impersonation. If your bank's decision is wrong, the Financial Ombudsman Service is free.
We publish process, not advice, and we do not put readers in touch with paid representatives.
Firm warnings published each month
98 in this window · down 17 on the month before
- 2Apr
- 1May
- 2Jun
- 4Jul
- 53Aug
- 36Sept
Counted from the warning notices in our own archive. One notice can name several trading styles.
The wider record
Counts from our own archive, for context around this report. Not an estimate of fraud across the UK.
Clone firms as a share of our Warning List archive
Clone firms copy the name or details of a genuine authorised business.
- Clone of an authorised firm17(16%)
- Not recorded as a clone89(84%)
Contact details recorded against warned firms
One firm can appear in more than one row.
Website recorded76(35%)
Website recorded: 76 entriesPhone recorded39(18%)
Phone recorded: 39 entriesEmail recorded85(39%)
Email recorded: 85 entriesNo contact details held16(7%)
No contact details held: 16 entries
Open the data page to see how each figure is counted.
How this report was made
- Updated
- 3 times
- Primary sources
- 5 sources
- Following this subject
- 0 readers
- Reader comments
- 0 comments
Checked against the published record
FCA
Financial Conduct Authority Warning ListPrimary record of firms the FCA says may be operating without authorisation.
FCA
FCA Financial Services RegisterAuthoritative check on whether a firm is authorised and for what.
PSR
Payment Systems Regulator — APP fraud reimbursementThe reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment fraud.
FOS
Financial Ombudsman ServiceFree, independent adjudication and published decision data.
Action Fraud
Action Fraud reporting serviceThe UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
Sourcing. Every claim is tied to a published record — a regulator's notice, a court or ombudsman decision, or a document we hold. We quote a headline and a short summary and link the original.
Right of reply. Firms and people we criticise are put on notice before publication and their response is carried in the piece.
Independence. No affiliate links, no sponsored placements and no referrals to solicitors or claims firms. The only routes we point to are free. Read the full method · first published 14/08/2026
Trust and sourcing
- Bylined
- Editor approved
- Not flagged for review
Legal review
Not required
No individual or firm is criticised, so no right of reply was required.
Source URLs behind this report
- FCA
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/warning-list-unauthorised-firms
Primary record of firms the FCA says may be operating without authorisation.
- FCA
https://register.fca.org.uk/
Authoritative check on whether a firm is authorised and for what.
- PSR
https://www.psr.org.uk/
The reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment fraud.
- FOS
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/
Free, independent adjudication and published decision data.
- Action Fraud
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
The UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
What changed in each update
First published 14 August 2026 at 08:00 · last updated 17 August 2026 at 10:00
Added the current free reporting routes and clarified what the reimbursement rules do and do not cover.
Payment Systems RegulatorChecked against the source record and refreshed the figures and dates in the panels. No findings changed.
FCA Financial Services RegisterFirst published.
FCA Warning List
Updates and change log
- First published
- Last updated
Added the current free reporting routes and clarified what the reimbursement rules do and do not cover.
Payment Systems RegulatorChecked against the source record and refreshed the figures and dates in the panels. No findings changed.
FCA Financial Services RegisterFirst published.
FCA Warning List
Sources for this report
- FCA Financial Conduct Authority Warning List — Primary record of firms the FCA says may be operating without authorisation.
- FCA FCA Financial Services Register — Authoritative check on whether a firm is authorised and for what.
- PSR Payment Systems Regulator — APP fraud reimbursement — The reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment fraud.
- FOS Financial Ombudsman Service — Free, independent adjudication and published decision data.
- Action Fraud Action Fraud reporting service — The UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
Sources for this report
Financial Conduct Authority Warning List
FCA
Primary record of firms the FCA says may be operating without authorisation.
Read the original sourceFCA Financial Services Register
FCA
Authoritative check on whether a firm is authorised and for what.
Read the original sourcePayment Systems Regulator — APP fraud reimbursement
PSR
The reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment fraud.
Read the original sourceFinancial Ombudsman Service
FOS
Free, independent adjudication and published decision data.
Read the original sourceAction Fraud reporting service
Action Fraud
The UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
Read the original source
We link directly to the original source wherever possible. A source may update its own page after we publish; we show the date we last recorded or updated the citation.
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About the author
Helen Marsden — Helen has reported on retail financial services and consumer credit in the UK for fifteen years. She signs off every story on this site and is responsible for corrections.
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