How to Report an AI Scam UK

UK fraud losses reached £1.28 billion in 2025, a 4% rise on the year before. Much of that came from AI-powered scams: voice cloning calls that sound like a family member in distress, phishing emails that now read like genuine bank correspondence, and romance fraud run by automated chatbots working through dating apps around the clock.

If you have been caught by one of these, or suspect you might have been, this guide tells you what to do and in what order. The order matters. Many people lose the chance of a refund, or lose their evidence, because they reported to the wrong place first or deleted messages before anyone could use them.

Our guide to AI phone scams in the UK covers how these scams work. This guide covers what you do after.

Do this first: call your bank immediately

If you transferred money to a scammer, or think your bank details have been shared, phone your bank's fraud team before you do anything else. Speed matters here in a way it does not for the other steps: in some cases banks can stop or reverse a payment if they are contacted within hours of it being made.

The easiest way to reach the right team is to dial 159. That is the Stop Scams UK number, and it connects you directly to your bank's fraud department. It works with most major UK banks, including Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Metro Bank, NatWest, Nationwide, Santander, Starling, and TSB. You do not need to look up any number. Just dial 159 from your mobile or landline.

If your bank is not covered by 159, use the number printed on the back of your debit or credit card.

Tell the fraud team what happened and when. Ask them to note the call and give you a reference number. Do not be embarrassed about how the scam worked. The fraud team will have heard far more complex situations, and they need the full picture to help you.

Gather your evidence before you report

Before you contact any other organisation, collect what you have. Once you start reporting, you will be asked for details, and anything you delete before that point cannot be recovered.

Take screenshots of messages, emails, or social media profiles. Note down dates and times of calls, transfers, or contacts. Save any phone numbers, email addresses, or account names the scammer used. Check your bank statements and write down exactly how much was transferred and when.

Many people feel ashamed and want to delete the evidence. Please do not. The shame belongs with the people who ran the scam, not with you. You will need these records to report the crime, to support a refund claim with your bank, and possibly to help protect someone else from the same operation.

Report Fraud: the UK's national fraud reporting service

In 2024, Action Fraud was replaced by a new national service called Report Fraud. If you have found guides that send you to actionfraud.police.uk, they are out of date. The correct address is reportfraud.police.uk.

You can report online at any time of day, or call 0300 123 2040 Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm. The online form walks you through what happened step by step. It asks for your details, the scammer's details where you have them, which channel the scam used (phone, email, social media), the financial details, and a timeline of events.

Once you submit, you will receive a crime reference number by email. Keep this. Your bank's fraud team will ask for it when you raise a refund claim. It also records your report with the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, which builds intelligence patterns across all UK fraud reports to help investigators identify the people behind large-scale operations.

If you are in Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101 rather than Report Fraud, which covers England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Where to report each type of AI scam

Report Fraud handles the main police record, but each type of AI scam also has a specialist reporting channel. Using both gives investigators more to work with.

Phishing emails and scam texts

Received a convincing fake HMRC, Royal Mail, or bank email? Before you delete it, forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. This goes to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which uses the reports to take down scam websites and issue alerts. Our guide to AI phishing email scams explains how to tell a fake from the real thing.

For scam text messages, forward the entire message (as a text, not a screenshot) to 7726. This is free on most UK networks, and the number is designed to spell SPAM on a phone keypad. Your network provider then works with other companies to block the sending number.

For HMRC-specific scams, you can also email phishing@hmrc.gov.uk or forward the text to 60599.

AI voice clone and phone scams

If you received a call that used a cloned voice, whether of a family member, a bank official, or anyone else, report it to Report Fraud and note the phone number used. If the caller ID appeared to show a number belonging to a real bank or organisation (a technique called spoofing), you can also report this to Ofcom at ofcom.org.uk.

Our guide to AI voice scams covers the tell-tale signs of a cloned call and how to set up a safe word with family members you trust.

Investment scams and deepfake celebrity endorsements

AI-generated videos now routinely show public figures promoting investment opportunities. Martin Lewis, Keir Starmer, and Alan Sugar are among those whose likenesses have been used without their knowledge or consent. If you transferred money after seeing one of these, report it to the Financial Conduct Authority as well as Report Fraud. The FCA keeps a register of authorised firms; anything not on that register is operating illegally in the UK.

AI romance scams

Report to Report Fraud, and also report the profile directly to the platform where you first made contact, whether that was a dating app, Facebook, or Instagram. Most platforms have a "report" button on every profile. Include as much detail as you can about the profile, the messages, and any photos used, which helps the platform remove the account and warn other users. Our guide to AI romance fraud covers the patterns these operations follow and how to check whether a profile photo is AI-generated.

Scam websites and fake adverts

Fake websites used to deliver phishing pages or fraudulent purchases can be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre. The NCSC runs an active takedown programme that removes scam websites from the internet on behalf of people who report them. Scam adverts on social media or search engines can be reported to the Advertising Standards Authority at asa.org.uk.

Will you get your money back?

The answer depends on how the money left your account.

For bank transfers made to a scammer, what banks call authorised push payment (APP) fraud, the rules changed in October 2024. The Payment Systems Regulator now requires all UK banks to reimburse victims of APP fraud within five working days, up to a maximum of £85,000 per claim.

UK Finance data shows that banks reimbursed £354 million to APP fraud victims across 2025, covering both voluntary and mandatory routes. Separately, the Payment Systems Regulator reported that 88% of in-scope APP fraud losses were returned in the first year of mandatory rules (October 2024 to June 2025). "In-scope" means the transfer was made via Faster Payments or CHAPS, you were deceived rather than having knowingly accepted an investment risk, and your bank did not specifically warn you at the point of payment.

Cryptocurrency transfers fall outside this scheme and are much harder to recover. If you paid by credit or debit card for goods that never arrived, a separate process called chargeback applies. Contact your bank about that specifically.

If your bank refuses your refund claim and you believe the decision is wrong, escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service at no cost to you.

What happens after you report?

Your report goes to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, which analyses patterns across all reports received across the UK. The bureau uses this data to identify the organisations behind large fraud campaigns and passes intelligence to specialist police units for investigation.

Most individual reports do not lead to a dedicated investigation into your specific case. It is worth knowing this honestly, because many people expect a call from a detective within days and feel let down when it does not come. What your report does do is add to a pattern that can eventually bring down an entire operation. The NCSC and law enforcement use data from thousands of reports to make arrests and take down infrastructure.

You will receive a crime reference number confirming your report is on record. Keep it with your bank correspondence and use it in any insurance or financial claim.

Where to get support

Being scammed is an upsetting experience, and the feeling of self-blame that often follows is exactly what the people behind these operations are counting on to stop you reporting. You did not fail a test. AI-generated voices, photos, and messages are built to deceive people who are paying attention.

Victim Support offers free, confidential help to anyone affected by fraud in the UK. Call 08 08 16 89 111 or visit victimsupport.org.uk. There is no requirement to have reported the crime first.

Citizens Advice Scams Action provides free practical advice on what to do after a scam, including help with the reporting process itself. Call 0808 223 1133 or visit citizensadvice.org.uk.

Age UK offers specialist advice for older adults targeted by fraud. Call 0800 678 1602, 8am to 7pm, 365 days a year.

If you want to feel more confident recognising AI scams before they reach you, the WellWired guide to AI voice scams and our phishing email guide are good starting points. Our Academy covers the most common tactics in plain English, with no jargon required.