A country-by-country guide for victims in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the EU
If you are in the United States and have been scammed, see What To Do If You've Been Scammed (US) for the US-specific guide. This article is the companion resource for everyone else: a practical directory of reporting agencies for victims in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union.
Reporting matters even when you do not expect to recover your money. Fraud agencies use complaint data to track criminal networks, coordinate with law enforcement, shut down fraudulent infrastructure, and issue public warnings that protect other potential victims. Filing a report takes 10 to 15 minutes. What you submit today can stop the same thing from happening to someone else tomorrow.
Each country or region covered here has its own national intake body. This guide tells you where to go, what each agency handles, and what to have ready before you start.
Before you contact an agency
Act on your finances first. Regardless of your country, contact your bank or payment provider as soon as possible, before you file a report anywhere else. The faster you report to your bank, the more options they have to dispute or reverse the transaction. Time limits apply, and some of the strongest recovery rights lapse quickly.
Gather your evidence before you file. Every reporting system will ask for some combination of the following:
The date and approximate time of contact with the scammer
The amount lost and the payment method used (bank transfer, credit card, gift card, cryptocurrency, etc.)
All communication records: messages, emails, screenshots, call logs
The scammer's phone numbers, email addresses, usernames, and website URLs
Transaction reference numbers and payment receipts
Having this information assembled before you start the online form makes the process faster and the resulting record significantly more useful to investigators.
United Kingdom: Action Fraud
Agency: Action Fraud (National Fraud & Cyber Crime Reporting Centre)
Website: actionfraud.police.uk
Phone: 0300 123 2040 (Monday–Friday, 8am–8pm; from outside the UK: +44 300 123 2040)
Report text scams: Forward suspicious texts to 7726
Action Fraud is the UK's central reporting point for fraud and cybercrime. It is operated by the City of London Police and feeds all reports directly to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), which analyses patterns across the full national dataset and routes viable cases to the appropriate police force for investigation.
You can report online 24 hours a day, seven days a week using Action Fraud's guided reporting tool, which is designed to be completed without any specialist knowledge. If you prefer to speak to someone, the phone line operates during business hours with trained advisers who can walk you through the process. You do not need to report to your local police separately; Action Fraud handles the intake and directs cases to the right force.
What Action Fraud handles:
Online scams, phishing, and email fraud of all types
Investment fraud, pension scams, and boiler room fraud
Romance fraud and social media scams
Identity theft and account takeover
Business email compromise and CEO fraud
Tech support scams and remote access fraud
Any other fraud regardless of the amount lost or the method used
Bank transfer fraud and reimbursement: If you were deceived into voluntarily sending money to a scammer via bank transfer (known in the UK as Authorised Push Payment fraud, or APP fraud), this is a separate category with specific protections. Under Payment Systems Regulator rules that came into force in October 2023, UK banks and payment firms are required to reimburse most APP fraud victims, up to £85,000, within five business days of a confirmed claim. Contact your bank first, describe the payment explicitly as APP fraud, and ask about reimbursement under the PSR scheme. The Financial Ombudsman Service (financial-ombudsman.org.uk) is available if your bank does not respond adequately.
Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
Agency: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre / Centre antifraude du Canada (CAFC)
Website: antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca
Report online: antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm
Phone: 1-888-495-8501 (toll-free; Monday–Friday, 9am–4:45pm Eastern Time)
Bilingual: Full service in English and French
The CAFC is Canada's central intake agency for fraud and cybercrime. It is a joint operation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and the Competition Bureau. Reports feed a national database accessible by law enforcement agencies across every province and territory, and the CAFC regularly issues public fraud alerts based on complaint patterns.
What the CAFC handles:
Mass-marketing fraud, advance-fee scams, and prize or lottery fraud
Investment fraud, Ponzi schemes, and romance scams
Identity theft, phishing, and credential harvesting
Business email compromise and invoice fraud
Online purchase fraud, rental scams, and marketplace fraud
Any other fraud regardless of province, territory, or amount
After filing with the CAFC: If the scam exposed your personal financial information, place a fraud alert or credit freeze with both of Canada's credit bureaus:
Equifax Canada: equifax.com (search "credit freeze Canada")
TransUnion Canada: transunion.ca/fraud
If the fraud involved a regulated investment product (a brokerage account, a securities offering, or cryptocurrency sold as a security), also report to your provincial securities regulator. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) maintains a full directory of provincial regulators at securities-administrators.ca.
Australia: Scamwatch and ReportCyber
Australia divides scam reporting between two complementary agencies depending on the nature of the incident.
Consumer scams
Agency: Scamwatch (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission)
Website: scamwatch.gov.au
Report online: scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam
Scamwatch is Australia's national scam reporting service, operated by the ACCC. Reports are shared with the National Anti-Scam Centre (NASC), which was established in 2023 to coordinate disruption of scam activity across financial institutions, telecommunications providers, and digital platforms. Scamwatch data directly informs scam alerts, platform takedown requests, and ACCC enforcement action.
What Scamwatch handles:
Investment scams, romance scams, and relationship fraud
Online shopping, marketplace, and classified ad fraud
Identity theft and impersonation scams (fake government agencies, banks, tech companies, delivery services)
Phone and text scams (including SMS phishing)
Prize, lottery, and advance-fee fraud
Any other consumer scam regardless of the amount or method
Cybercrime and digital intrusion
Agency: ReportCyber (Australian Cyber Security Centre)
Website: cyber.gov.au/report
If your incident involved hacking, malware, ransomware, unauthorised access to your accounts or devices, or any compromise of your digital systems, report to ReportCyber in addition to (or instead of) Scamwatch. The Australian Cyber Security Centre handles cybersecurity incidents that extend beyond pure consumer fraud, and reports feed into national threat intelligence.
Bank transfers and reimbursement in Australia: Contact your bank first for any funds transferred to a scammer. Under Australia's ePayments Code and the Scam-Safe Accord signed by major banks in 2023, financial institutions are expected to have robust fraud detection and dedicated dispute processes. Your bank's fraud team is the right first contact; if you are not satisfied with the outcome, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) at afca.org.au handles banking disputes and can adjudicate reimbursement cases.
For identity theft: IDCARE (idcare.org) is Australia's national identity and cyber support service. It provides free, personalised support for people whose personal information has been compromised, including guidance on credit bureau steps and government identity document replacement.
New Zealand: Consumer Protection and CERT NZ
New Zealand's reporting system is divided by type of incident, with two complementary agencies covering the main categories.
Financial fraud and consumer scams
Agency: New Zealand Police
Online reporting: police.govt.nz
Non-emergency phone: 105
Guidance resource: Consumer Protection (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment)
Website: consumerprotection.govt.nz/scams
For financial fraud (including scams involving bank transfers, online purchase fraud, investment fraud, and identity theft), New Zealand Police is the primary intake body. Filing a police report creates the official crime reference number required for bank disputes, credit bureau filings, and any formal insurance claim. Consumer Protection's website provides guidance on specific scam types and the steps to take after different scenarios; it is a useful first stop if you are unsure where to begin.
Banking disputes: If your bank does not resolve a fraud dispute to your satisfaction, escalate to the Banking Ombudsman at bankomb.org.nz. The Banking Ombudsman is an independent dispute resolution service that can review complaints against New Zealand banks and make binding determinations on unresolved cases.
Cybercrime and cyber-enabled fraud
Agency: CERT NZ (Computer Emergency Response Team New Zealand)
Website: cert.govt.nz
Report online: cert.govt.nz/report
CERT NZ handles cybersecurity incidents including phishing, malware, account compromise, and ransomware. Reports contribute to national threat intelligence and help CERT NZ work with platforms and internet providers to take down malicious infrastructure. If your scam involved a phishing link, device compromise, or account takeover, file with CERT NZ in addition to the police.
European Union: ECC-Net and National Agencies
The EU does not have a single consumer fraud reporting agency. Reporting happens at the national level, with one EU-wide resource available specifically for cross-border consumer disputes.
Cross-border consumer fraud
Agency: ECC-Net (European Consumer Centres Network)
Website: ec.europa.eu (search for "European Consumer Centres Network ECC-Net")
Coverage: All 27 EU member states, plus Iceland and Norway
ECC-Net helps consumers resolve disputes involving traders or businesses registered in a different EU country. If you paid a company based in one member state while living in another (for example, an online purchase from a retailer registered in Germany while you live in the Netherlands), ECC-Net can assist with the cross-border dispute process. It is a free mediation and guidance service, not a law enforcement agency.
Important: Scammers actively impersonate ECC-Net, targeting known fraud victims with offers to recover lost funds in exchange for a fee. The real ECC-Net does not make unsolicited contact, does not charge fees, and does not offer fund recovery services. If you are contacted by someone claiming to be ECC-Net and offering paid assistance, you are being targeted by a recovery scam.
Domestic fraud within your EU country
For scams that occur entirely within your country, report to your national consumer protection authority, cybercrime police unit, or national fraud reporting service. Most EU member states have a dedicated unit. Examples of the agencies handling consumer fraud in the largest EU countries:
Country Agency Notes Germany Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) National criminal police; cybercrime division handles online fraud France Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr National platform specifically for cyber fraud victims Spain INCIBE National Cybersecurity Institute; handles cybercrime and fraud reporting Italy Polizia Postale Postal Police; long-established specialist online crime unit Netherlands Fraudehelpdesk National fraud reporting and consumer advice service Ireland Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau Part of An Garda Síochána; handles all cyber-enabled crime
For all EU countries, filing a report with your local police or national cybercrime authority creates the official record needed for bank disputes and any further legal action.
EU-level law enforcement
Europol EC3 (European Cybercrime Centre): europol.europa.eu
Europol coordinates law enforcement operations across EU member states against serious and organised cybercrime. Individual consumers cannot file a direct complaint with Europol, but you can submit a tip to EC3 via the Europol website if you have information about an organised criminal group you believe is operating across borders. In practice, reporting to your national authority is the most effective step, as they escalate to Europol when the case warrants it.
Data protection rights in the EU
If your personal data was obtained fraudulently or exposed in a breach, you have additional rights under the GDPR. Your national Data Protection Authority (DPA) can advise on those rights and, in some cases, take enforcement action against companies that mishandled your data. A full directory of EU DPAs is at edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members.
For US victims: see What To Do If You've Been Scammed (US).