What should I do if I think I'm being scammed?

MSE_Laura_F

This is a question that pops up a lot on the Forum. If I think I'm being scammed, what should I do?

MSE_Katie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAICRaUaC4Y

Transcript of video above:

If you think you've been scammed or you're in the midst of being scammed, the most important thing you need to do, immediately, is end all contact with the scammer. End the conversation online, hang up the phone - whatever it is and however you're talking to them, don't give them any more to go on.

Secondly, go straight to your bank using a known phone number. That could be a phone number on your card for the fraud line, or it could be on your bank statement, but never use numbers that the person you've been speaking to has given you.

To make it easier, you can also dial 159, which can put you straight through to a group of major banks who are part of this scheme, and get you straight to the fraud department.

Lastly, you might want to report the scam to Action Fraud. Now, Action Fraud doesn't deal with every case individually so you need to know you can't always expect to hear back from them, or for them to pick up your case. But what it does do is help put the pieces together to investigate patterns of scams, and you might be able to help somebody else avoid this scam entirely.

Katie Watts - MSE Scams Expert

This question and answer came about during the MSE Forum 'Ask An Expert' event. It won't be updated so may no longer be correct at time of reading. This info does not constitute financial advice: always do your own research on top to make sure it's right for your circumstances

Ask an Expert: Scams (Jan 2023)