Knowing where to report a scam in
the UK is a primary step to end a malicious scheme. Like many countries, the UK
is also plagued by different types of scam. This is the reason why the
government has taken the necessary steps to make reporting a scam easier for
its citizens. The more people file a complaint or report about a scam, the more
information the authorities can access which can be useful in resolving a scam.
To give you an idea where you can report a scam in the UK, check out the list
below;
Report a Scam in the UK
●
Phone Scams
Phone scam
cases are growing at an alarming rate. One of the common types of phone scam is
called vishing. Vishing is when a scammer assumes the identity of a police
officer or a bank representative claiming that your account may have been
compromised and in order to confirm your identity you have to disclose your
personal and financial information. Once the scammer has your information, they
will use this to take advantage of your bank account or use your identity for
their malicious transactions.
To report this type of fraud you may
contact Action Fraud. Action Fraud is the primary centre in the UK for filing
or reporting a scam. The official site of Action Fraud offers an online
complaint form where you can disclose the details of your complaint. In case
you prefer to talk to an official representative of the center, you may call
the Action Fraud hotline at 0300 123 2040. The site provides a national crime
reference number as a control number for your complaint. The details of your
complaint will then be forwarded to local authorities who have jurisdiction in
your area. Depending on the decision of the agency in charge of your case, they
may conduct an individual investigation of your complaint or use your report as
part of their database which will be compared to other scam reports in order to
find a pattern of a circulating malicious scheme.
●
Mail Scams
Mail scams via postal or through
email have one thing in common, they both provide false information and assume a
false identity in order to deceive you and take advantage of your properties
and other valuable resources. One of the primary examples of mail scams is
lottery fraud or sweepstakes fraud. Scammers usually send out letters to
unsuspecting victims claiming that they are an official representative of a
lottery or a sweepstakes company abroad. The letter contains information about your
winning a large sum of money and the legal fees, documentation and taxes that
you have to settle in order to get your winnings. Once you send the fees the
scammer will either stop communication or keep contacting you, making up more
excuses so you’ll keep sending money. By the time you realize you have been
scammed the scammer is already gone with our money.
To report a scam involving mail fraud you may contact your local police. The local police station can help
document the details of your complaint. You may also provide them copies of
your correspondence as part of the evidence. After you file a complaint, you
will be provided a national crime reference number and a copy of your
complaint. You may use this number to follow up on the status of your case. It
is important to report a scam like this as soon as you find out about it. This
way the local police can advise you of any additional remedy that you can take
to help you recover your losses if possible.
These are just one of the few
options where you can report a scam in the UK. There are other agencies and
department where you can file a complaint. Some of them are case specific,
meaning you may only report a scam that is relevant to their department.
