When, Where and How to report a scam?

At some point in their lives, everyone is duped. Most consumers, unfortunately, have no idea where or how to report fraud. As a result, con artists get away with little more than a slap on the wrist and continue to defraud others.

Furthermore, authorities do not take online scams seriously because the vast majority of them go unreported.

It is essential that you take the time to report the scam so that you have a possibility of getting your money back, but also so that others are not defrauded. We’ve compiled a list of authorities in each country that deal with cybercrime in this post.

Gather evidence of the fraud

Step 1: Make a list of the events in numerical order.

When you’ve been scammed, the process can take weeks or months, involving email correspondence, payment, and delivery, among other things. It can be beneficial to sit down and think about the sequence of events that lead up to the scam. For Example: 

1. Saw an advertisement on Instagram for something.
2. You placed the order.
3. Received an email from the company.
4. The deadline for delivery was missed.
5. Emailed the company twice but no response.
6. Made a complaint to the bank and the amount was refunded.

It may appear to be a simple task but it allows you to gather as much useful information as possible, which could be essential when reporting a scam. It can also assist to identify the parties involved and approaching them for a resolution.

Step 2: Make a copy of any websites and any other online files and documents relevant to the scam.

This is a vital phase that includes gathering the following information:

1. Emails
2. Electronic files
3. Save relevant webpages
4. Take screenshots of online evidence that is hard to save

Step 3: Gather non-electronic proof of the fraud. If you have purchased a product or service, proof such as receipts, bank statements, and other documents may be available.

It’s best to be thorough when gathering this information, as even minor facts might help authorities in locating and interrogating the fraudster.

What is the best way to report a scam? 

That may appear straightforward, but due to the worldwide nature of the internet, victims, criminals, and goods are frequently located in three distinct locations. If you have been intimidated by the scammer, however, you should alert local law enforcement right once. 

As a result, we’ve compiled a list of law enforcement and other entities you can contact to report an online scam. To make it easier for you to identify the most relevant organisation, we’ve organised it by country/region.

International/global organisations

1. Econsumer.gov allows you to press charges against and help to identify internationally running scam schemes.
2. About Fraud is a global community for fraud professionals.
3. Europol supports European Union members in their fight against terrorism, cybercrime and other serious and organised forms of crime.
4. Merchant Risk Council is a network of over 550+ companies focused on fraud prevention, payments optimization and risk management.

Argentina	Argentine Association for the Fight Against Cybercrime (AALCC) Defensa de las y los consumidores
Australia	Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Australia’s Cyber Security Center eSafety Commissioner Scamwatch Scamnet
Austria	Bundesministerium für Inneres – against-cybercrime@bmi.gv.at
Belgium	Local Police can help you in case you or the scam is originating from Belgium. Report Belgie Federal Public Service Economy
Brazil	Centro de Estudos, Resposta e Tratamento de Incidentes de Segurança no Brasil Igarape Institute
Bulgaria	CyberCrime.bg is the Bulgarian authority to report Cybercrime.
Canada	Consumer Protection Ontario will assist you on how to spot common consumer or financial scams, and how to report them as well as help if you have been scammed. Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is Canada’s main agency collecting information and criminal intelligence on matters such as marketing fraud, advance fee fraud, Internet fraud.
China	Chinaz Guanjia is free Tencent security management software. Through this website, you can as well report fraudulent websites. Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Internet Society of China (ISC) LieWang Platform
Croatia	Ministry of Interior is the authority to talk to in case of Croatian-based scams or fraud.
Cyprus	The Cypriot Police – Online form / Tel: +357 22808200, +357 22808461 – is the authority to communicate with in case of Cypriot-based online scam or fraudulent website.
Czech Republic	Police website if you face a Czech scam scheme or website.
Denmark	The Danish authority to talk to in case of scam is the Danish police, here is the Police website.
Estonia	Contact of the Estonian Police in case of scam or fraud.
Finland	Police website – Finnish and English
France	Internet-signalement.gouv.fr is the French government website where to report a scam in France. Authorite des Marches Financiers (AFM) Ministry of Economic Affairs & Finance – SignalConso Ministere of the Interior – Internet Signalement Signal Arnaques
Germany	Bundeskriminalamt – SO-4 Zentralen Anspechstellen Cybercrime
Greece	Police – Cyber Crime Division is the police branch to communicate with in case of Greek-based scam or fraud.
Hungary	In case of Hungarian-based scam or fraudulent website, you can contact the Hungarian Police through their website.
India	India has a Cybercrime Reporting Portal you can refer to in case of Indian-based scams.
Ireland	If you are facing a scam you think is Irish-based, you can take contact with the Irish National police – English and Gaeilge. FraudSmart is a fraud awareness initiative aiming at raising consumer and business awareness of the latest financial fraud activity and trends.
Italy	You can communicate with the Italian Police in case of Italian scam or fraud: Commissariato di P.S.
Japan	@Police Consumer Affair Agency
Latvia	Report Cybercrime (email link) Report Spam (email link)
Lithuania	The Lithuanian Police website is accessible in several languages – Lithuanian, Polish, Russian and English – in case of Lithuanian-based scam.
Luxembourg	If you are facing a scam or fraud you think is based in Luxembourg, you can take contacts with the Police through their website.
Malta	Malta has a Government website you can communicate with in Malti and English in case of scam or fraud based in Malta.
Mexico	Condusef PROFECO Asociación de Internet MX
The Netherlands	The Dutch authority to talk to in case of fraud is the Police through their website – Dutch and English. Fraudehelpdesk (consumers) is a national source of information and an effective weapon against fraudsters for consumers. Fraudeinfodesk (businesses) the same service is here for businesses.
New Zealand	The New Zealand Consumer Protection association is accessible hereby. Netsafe is New Zealand’s independent, non-profit online safety organisation to communicate with in case of Scams, Bullying, Abuse. CERT NZ takes care of responding to cybersecurity threats in New Zealand.
Nigeria	Economic and Financial Crimes Commission National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Poland	You can access the Polish Police website in case of Polish-based scam or fraud. Here is the link to the Prosecutor’s office (Prokuratura Krajowa).
Portugal	The Portuguese Police force is reachable through this website in case of Portuguese originating scam or online fraud.
Romania	You can communicate with the Romanian Police website through its online form in case of online fraud involving Romania.
Saudi Arabia	Consumer Protection Association Saudi Arabia
Singapore	ScamAlert is a non-profit organisation committed to promoting public awareness and concern about crime.
Spain	You can contact the Policia Nacional in case of scam, fraud or crime involving Spain.
Slovenia	The Slovenian Police can be contacted through this website in case of scam or fraud from Slovenia.
Sweden	The Swedish Police force can be contacted through this website.
United Kingdom	Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. Citizens Advice Consumer Service give people the knowledge and confidence they need to find their way forward, whoever they are and whatever their problem. Financial Fraud Action (FFA) is responsible for leading the collective fight against financial fraud on behalf of the UK payments industry. Get Safe Online is the UK’s leading source of unbiased, factual and easy information on online safety.
United States	The United States Department of Justice has stated the following when it comes to different kinds of online crimes/scams (as of publication). Computer Intrusion (i.e. hacking)/ Password trafficking/ Child Pornography or Exploitation/ FBI local office U.S. Secret Service Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Internet fraud and SPAM/ Internet harassment FBI local office U.S. Secret Service Federal Trade Commission (online complaint) if securities fraud or investment-related SPAM e-mails, Securities and Exchange Commission (online complaint) Internet Crime Complaint Center

Other resources include:

1. US-CERT – Reporting is also available via the hotline (1-888-282-0870). Phishing attempts can be directed to phishing-report@us-cert.gov.
2. Anti Fraud News: news site about frauds.
3. BBB Scam Tracker: huge list of scam reports. 
4. Complaint List: complaints forum.
5. Complaints Board: leave a complaint.
6. Federal Trade Commission (government): learn about recent scams and how to recognize the warning signs.  
7. Online Threats Alerts: An anti-cybercrime community alerting the public to online scams, fraud, and other web threats.
8. Scam: Scam reporting forum.
9. Stop 419 Scams: forum on 419 Scams and Scammers
   Exposing 419 Scams & Scammers
10. Stop Scams (government):  
11. MyWOT: Safe Web Search & Browsing
12. National Crime Prevention Counsil (NCPC): focusses on (children) education around scam (prevention).
13. Rip and Scam: large list of different forms of scams.
14. Scamadviser
15. Scam Detector: lists 1.000 different scams.
16. Scam Identifier: check a website if it is a scam.
17. Scam Rate: check a website if it is a scam.
18. Top Reviews Site: lists scams.
19. Spam laws  “dedicated to providing accurate and up-to-date information on issues affecting Internet security”.
20. Slam the Online Scam: Fight Back Against Online Scams, Hackers and Cyber Attackers.

If there are any organizations or contacts on this list that aren’t included; please let us know about them through our social media handles.

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