How to Report Financial Fraud in Your Country

Report financial fraud to your bank or card issuer first, since they can act on your account immediately, then file a report with your country's national fraud-reporting body. Which body that is depends entirely on where you live: it's the FTC and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center in the United States, Action Fraud in England and Wales, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in Canada, Scamwatch in Australia, and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal in India. If your country isn't one of these, the fix is simple: search "[your country] fraud reporting" alongside your national police or consumer-protection agency, since nearly every country has a nearest equivalent even when it isn't a household name.

The rest of this page breaks down what each body actually does, since "report it to the government" undersells how specific and useful these channels can be.

Why reporting matters even if you don't expect your money back

It's honest to say up front: filing a report does not guarantee you get money back, and for some payment methods (see our guide on what recovery actually looks like) recovery is genuinely unlikely regardless of what you do. But a report is not wasted effort. Fraud agencies use the volume and pattern of reports to flag repeat scam operations, freeze receiving accounts faster for the next person, and in some cases build the evidence that leads to prosecutions months or years later. A single report rarely changes an outcome; the aggregate of reports is what these systems are built to use.

United States: the FTC and the FBI's IC3 do different jobs

The Federal Trade Commission's reporting portal, reportfraud.ftc.gov, is the general consumer-fraud intake point: scams, unwanted calls, imposter schemes, and most of the topics on this site. Reports feed the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network, a shared database used by thousands of law enforcement agencies.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, at ic3.gov, is the channel for fraud that happened online or used internet-based tools specifically. This covers most modern scams, since nearly all of them now involve email, text, a fake website, or a messaging app at some point. If you're unsure which to use, either is a reasonable starting point; you are not required to pick perfectly.

United Kingdom: Action Fraud, with one important carve-out

Action Fraud, reachable online or by calling 0300 123 2040 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm), is the UK's national reporting center for fraud and cybercrime, covering England and Wales. Reports also feed into the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau for pattern analysis.

If you're in Scotland, Action Fraud does not cover you. Report directly to Police Scotland instead, since this distinction is easy to miss and matters, since a report filed with the wrong body can sit unactioned.

Canada, Australia, and India: the national bodies to know

• Canada: the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) takes reports online or by phone, and coordinates with law enforcement and the National Cybercrime Coordination Centre.
• Australia: Scamwatch, run by the ACCC, is the national reporting channel for scams involving theft of money or personal information.
• India: the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (also reachable through the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre) handles online financial fraud, phishing, and unauthorized transactions, and is designed to route reports to the right investigating agency.

If your country isn't listed here

There is almost certainly still a right body to report to, even if it isn't one of the five above. Two starting points work in most places:

1. Your national police force's fraud or cybercrime unit. Most countries have one, even if it isn't branded as prominently as Action Fraud or Scamwatch.
2. A consumer-protection or financial-regulator agency, which in many countries handles fraud reporting alongside its other consumer duties. If you're in the European Union, Europol's "Report Cybercrime Online" tool is a useful starting point that routes to the correct national authority for member states.

Searching "[your country name] + report fraud" alongside the word "police" or "consumer protection" will surface the right body in almost every case. The goal is simply not to assume a US or UK term applies where you live: "the FTC" and "Action Fraud" are specific to their own countries, not global terms.

What to have ready before you report

Whichever body you're reporting to, having the following ready speeds up the process and makes your report more useful:

• The date and rough time of the contact or transaction
• The amount involved, if any money moved
• Screenshots of messages, emails, or call logs where available
• Any account number, phone number, or website the fraud came from
• What you shared, if anything (a password, a code, a card number), though you should never re-enter or repeat sensitive details like passwords or full card numbers into the report form itself unless the official form specifically requests it

If your accounts haven't been secured yet, do that first. Our guide on what to do if you gave a scammer your bank details covers the containment sequence, which should happen before or alongside filing a report, not after.

A note on how to use this

The agencies named here were verified as of this writing; contact details and portals occasionally change, so confirm the current link before relying on it for anything urgent. This page is general information, not a guarantee that any specific agency will act on your particular report. Please also read our full Disclaimer, and see our companion resource on where to get real help after fraud for a fuller walk-through.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to report fraud to the police even if I already told my bank?
Yes, they serve different purposes. Your bank can act on your account and attempt to recall a payment; a national fraud-reporting body collects the pattern data used to catch and stop the broader scam operation, which your bank's fraud team doesn't have visibility into on its own.

Will reporting fraud get my money back?
Not directly, and not guaranteed. Reporting is separate from recovery; see our guide on what recovery actually looks like for how refunds actually work by payment method and country. Reporting still matters because it feeds the data these agencies use to disrupt repeat operations.

What's the difference between the FTC and the FBI's IC3 in the US?
The FTC handles general consumer fraud reports across many categories. The IC3 focuses specifically on internet-facilitated crime. Most online scams qualify for either, so reporting to one is a reasonable choice if you're unsure which fits better.

I'm in Scotland: do I still report to Action Fraud?
No. Action Fraud covers England and Wales only. In Scotland, report directly to Police Scotland instead.

What if my country doesn't have a well-known fraud-reporting agency?
Search for your national police force's fraud or cybercrime unit, or a consumer-protection agency, using your country's name alongside those terms. Nearly every country has a reporting channel even if it isn't internationally well known; if you're in the EU, Europol's online cybercrime reporting tool is a good starting point.

Aron Benjamin