If you've just been scammed in the United Kingdom, the next 24 hours decide whether you ever see your money again. Banks freeze funds when they receive a verified report quickly; they almost never act on a story alone. This is the GACS reporting workflow for the United Kingdom, with every official agency, phone line, and form you actually need.
Step 1 — Stop the bleed (first 60 minutes)
- Stop sending money. Every "tax", "clearance fee", or "small top-up" is part of the same scam.
- Screenshot everything before it disappears. Chat threads, profile photos, payment confirmations, the broker dashboard, the wallet address, the URL bar. Save them to a folder named with today's date.
- Call your bank's 24/7 fraud line — not the branch. Ask them to attempt a recall on the most recent transfer and put a temporary block on outgoing wires.
- Run the [free Safe Scanner](/safe-scanner) on the website, wallet, phone number, or token symbol. If it's already in the GACS blacklist, take a screenshot of the warning — it strengthens every report you're about to file.
Step 2 — Official agencies to report to in the United Kingdom
These are the right places for the United Kingdom residents. File with the first one in the list; the others are escalations depending on the scam type.
- [Action Fraud](https://www.actionfraud.police.uk) — national fraud reporting (Eng/Wales/NI) — call 0300 123 2040
- [Police Scotland](https://www.scotland.police.uk) — Scotland residents — dial 101
- [FCA ScamSmart](https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart) — unauthorised brokers and clone firms
- [NCSC Report a scam website](https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/about-this-website/report-scam-website) — phishing sites and emails
Under the UK Contingent Reimbursement Model, most major banks must refund authorised push-payment fraud victims — insist on a CRM Code review.
Step 3 — Use the GACS reporting workflow
Filing once is good. Filing once *and* warning the next victim is how the scam dies. Our workflow is built around that.
- [Report the scam on GACS](/report) in about 60 seconds. Paste the site, wallet, phone number, or handle, add a one-line story, attach the screenshots. Three independent reports auto-promote the entity to critical and it shows up in every future Safe Scanner check.
- [Find the right authority for the United Kingdom](/report-scam/gb) — pre-filled with the agencies above, the helpline numbers, and a one-paragraph templated statement you can paste into their intake form.
- Don't take the second hit. Within hours of being scammed you will be DM'd by "recovery experts" offering to get your funds back for a fee. They are the scam's sequel — read the Recovery-Scam guide before paying anyone anything.
- If you've already sent money and you're panicking, open the Panic Guide. It walks you through the bank call, the police report, and the data-preservation checklist in one screen.
Step 4 — Lock down your identity
If the scam touched your ID, address, or bank details, treat it as identity theft until proven otherwise.
- Place a credit-file freeze with the credit bureaus that operate in the United Kingdom.
- Change every password that shares the email you used on the scam platform; turn on 2FA via an authenticator app, not SMS.
- Re-issue any card or SIM that was visible in screenshots or KYC uploads.
Step 5 — Help the next victim
Every report you file on GACS becomes a permanent, indexable warning page at /scam/<slug>. That page outranks the scammer's own site in Google within weeks for branded queries — which is the single highest-leverage thing you can do after a fraud. Share it on whatever forum, WhatsApp group, or community you found the scam in.
Frequently asked questions about reporting scams in the United Kingdom
- *Will the police actually investigate small amounts?* Often no — but the police reference number is what your bank, your insurer, and any future civil case will ask for. Always get the number.
- *Can I report anonymously?* On GACS, yes. With the official the United Kingdom agencies above, anonymous tip-offs are accepted, but recovery and refund processes require an identifiable victim.
- *I sent crypto — is it gone?* Possibly not. Major exchanges respond to police preservation requests when the wallet is on their platform. Speed (hours, not weeks) is everything. The Stolen Crypto Recovery guide explains exactly what works.