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How to Report a Scam

How to Report a Fraud or Scam

If you have observed a scam or been the victim of a scam, spam or fraud and want to report it for enforcement, here is a list of where to report different types of scams in the US, UK, Canada and many other countries. In some cases there is more than one agency to contact. Some scams fit into more than one category, also.

In all cases, you can start by reporting it to us, using this form. We will use the information to warn other consumers and help you to direct it to law enforcement agencies.
Report to the business involved: If the scam uses the name of a business (like Amazon, Chase Bank, Wells Fargo) or you were scammed by someone on their platform (like eBay), you can report it to that business.
Click here for many businesses reporting numbers and email addresses.
FTC: Next, the Federal Trade Commission's online complaint tool is the main tool to reporting a problem or scam to the government.
They won't likely get your money back, but at least you will help them to catch the scammer.
Complain to the company, assuming it is a legitimate company. If you are polite, but persistent, you may get a areplacement or refund.
Another catch-all for bringing internet scams to the attention of the FBI and FTC is the U.S. government's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
at Internet Fraud Complaints Center.
FBI: To report a fraud, scam or crime to the FBI (the Federal Bureau of Investigation), find the phone number for your nearest local FBI office? See this page to find the closest office!

But to protect your finances, identity and in some cases, identity, you will generally also want to report the scam directly to another specific agency - see further down this page for specific directions.

Be sure to contact your bank or credit card company if you have given out credit card numbers, bank account information, etc.

And we will track and post more examples, so once again, please forward a copy to us - see the email address at the top of this page or cut and paste the email into our feedback form!

How to report different types of scams:

In the United States:
- The Federal Trade Commission's online complaint tool is the main tool and your first stop to reporting a problem or scam. You can file a complaint here for many types of complaints, such as scam emails, phone calls claiming to be from the IRS, FBI or another government agency, identity theft scams, spam, telemarketers, educations scams, jobs scams.
- Reporting Advance Fee Frauds (also called Lottery scams, Money Transfer Frauds, Lawyers with deceased clients, widows and orphans with money to transfer, AFF Scams, Nigerian scams, etc.
- Reporting abusive use of email accounts (to send scams or spams or receive responses)
- Filing complaints against a business
- Reporting crimes
- Reporting identity theft
- Reporting medical frauds
- Reporting fake websites (called Phishing and Spoofing)
- Reporting Postal / Mail scams
- Reporting scams on the internet
- Reporting Securities and stock frauds
- Reporting Spam (unsolicited business emails)
- Reporting stolen checks
- Miscellaneous scams
- Other useful U.S. Agencies and Websites
Reporting Spams and Scams in Other Countries

See this page for all other countries

Reporting to Email account providers

You can report spams and scams that are coming from specific email accounts to the providers. For example, if a scammer is using a Hotmail account to send scams or spams or receive replies, you can report it to Hotmail. Be sure to forward the email and copy it's headers (click here to see how) into the email you send to the provider . That helps them to trace the source. See this page for the reporting addresses for the major email account providers.

Reporting Scams to private companies, like Amazon and Banks

Amazon: See this page for detailed information. Quick links: submit a scam report to Amazon. You may also forward phishing emails and other suspected forgeries directly to stop-spoofing@amazon.com.
WalMart - Fraud Hotline fraudprevention@riafinancial.com,
Phone: 855-355-2145
Walmart Gift Cards: gctmrsrch@walmart.com

Scams: AFF - Nigerian, Lottery scams, Money Transfer Frauds, Lawyers with deceased clients, etc.

Write to the Federal Trade Commission: spam@uce.gov - copy them on the email and explain what has occurred since.
U.S. Secret Service: If you ever receive an e-mail or fax from someone you do not know requesting your assistance in a financial transaction, such as the transfer of a large sum of money into an account, or claiming you are the next of kin to an wealthy person who has died, or the winner of some obscure lottery and suffered a significant financial loss related to the advance fee fraud (so-called "Nigerian scam"), please contact your local Secret Service field office. Forward the email to the US Secret Service at 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov or via fax at (202) 406-5031. The Secret Service retains these messages for future investigations. Make sure that you include the scammer's message with its headers (see this page for information about how to do that). Local Secret Service office phone numbers are available in the Field Office Directory and may also be found on the inside cover of your local telephone directory. Any investigation regarding this type of fraud will be conducted on a case by case basis at the discretion of the local Secret Service and U.S. Attorney's Office.
If you have given money to the scammers, or believe a crime has been committed, contact your State Attorneys General

Businesses: Complaints with businesses with fixed addresses

Complaints with any US or Canadian business: Better Business Bureau - Contact the Better Business Bureau where the company is located.

Crimes

Any type of Crime; Write to the Federal Trade Commission: spam@uce.gov and
contact your State Attorneys General. Your state Attorney General or local office of consumer protection is also listed in the government pages of your telephone book

Phishing and Spoofed websites

Phishing and Spam: Internet Crime Prevention & Control Institute, a cooperative effort between Zero Spam Network Corp. and the University of Miami. Staffed by Miami undergraduate and graduate students and Zero Spam employees, works closely with the Secret Service's Electronic Crimes Task Force and ISPs in the United States and abroad to identify and block traffic to machines hosting phishing sites.
- Report A Crime
- FTC Fraud Reporting
And of course, you can notify the company that is being "spoofed" - for example, if you receive a phishing attempt that looks like it came from PayPal, write to the scam reporting at Paypal - click here for the addresses for most major companies that have been spoofed.

Medical Frauds, Illegal Drug Sales and Spam

Medical fraud spam: If you receive medical fraud spam, contact the Food and Drug Administration: webcomplaints@ora.fda.gov
Illegally selling Prescription Medications Online: You can report emails promoting illegal medical products by forwarding those emails to webcomplaints@ora.fda.gov (orclick here to see this FDA website ).
Health privacy and patient safety concerns - If you believe your (or someone else's) health information privacy rights or security have been violated, you can file a complaint with OCR here.
To report Medicare Fraud: HHS Office of Inspector General , Phone: (800) 447-8477, www.oig.hhs.gov (This website provides direction on what should be done if you suspect Medicare fraud.

Miscellaneous scams and frauds

All types of frauds: There are some NON-government organizations that can help: You can also report the problem to law enforcement agencies through the complaint form at the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch or 800-876-7060, TDD 202-835-0778. The information you provide helps to stop identity theft.

Postal scams (actual letters in your mailbox / mail slot / letterbox / postbox)

Fill out the United States Postal Service fraud complaint form and
Contact your State Attorneys General. Your state Attorney General or local office of consumer protection is also listed in the government pages of your telephone book and
Write to the Federal Trade Commission: spam@uce.gov

Scams: Internet Scams

Any type of Crime; Write to the Federal Trade Commission: spam@uce.gov and contact your State Attorneys General. Your state Attorney General or local office of consumer protection is also listed in the government pages of your telephone book
Contact the FBI (United States Federal Bureau of Investigation) at the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
- FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) about filing a complaint with the FBI /IC3

Search engine scam / spam results

If you have information regarding a security problem with any of Google's services, systems, or networks, here's a list of contacts and the services they can help you with.
To report a security problem with:
- Google search results - that are spam or irrelevant
- Gmail
- Orkut (www.orkut.com)
- Blogger
- YouTube: visit the security page
- Google Adsense service or accounts: e-mail adsense-support@google.com
- Google's systems, networks, or applications: visit the security page
- any other product or service at Google

Securities and Stocks

Securities, Stocks, Bonds: If you are aware of a securities (e.g., stocks) scam, insider trading, etc., you will want to contact the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission).

Spam

To forward unwanted or deceptive spam to the Federal Trade Commission; send it to spam@uce.gov, and be sure to include the full email header. Also see the FTC and here to Report Porn Spam. In California, also use caspam@doj.ca.gov. In Missouri, use spamcomplaint@ago.mo.gov. In Virginia, use cybercrime@oag.state.va.us.
If you think you have been taken advantage of by a spam scam, file a complaint with the FTC online at www.ftc.gov. Complaints will help the FTC find and stop people who are using spam to defraud consumers.
Spam and frauds, contact the U.S. Department of Justice
Spam Cop - to complain to a spammer's internet service provider
Phishing and Spam: Internet Crime Prevention & Control Institute, a cooperative effort between Zero Spam Network Corp. and the University of Miami. Staffed by Miami undergraduate and graduate students and Zero Spam employees, works closely with the Secret Service's Electronic Crimes Task Force and ISPs in the United States and abroad to identify and block traffic to machines hosting phishing sites.
- Report A Crime
- FTC Fraud Reporting

Stolen checks

If you have checks stolen, you will obviously need to quickly notify the police and obtain a copy of the police report. You must also promptly notify your bank, and not only void those check numbers, but also close your account and open a new account. The reason for this is your account numbers can used by the criminals to create counterfeit checks, like the ones sent to people in lottery scams. (see this page as an example of what can happen). Also notify the check verification agencies yourself. Here is a list of these agencies:
- National Check Fraud Service: 1-843-571-2143
- SCAN: 1-800-262-7771
- TeleCheck: 1-800-710-9898 or 927-0188 (also see this page for more information)
- CrossCheck: 1-707-586-0551 or (800) 552-1900
- Equifax Check Systems: 1-800-437-5120
- International Check Services: 1-800-526-5380
- CheckRite (800) 766-2748
- ChexSystems (800) 428-9623