How to Report a Scam

How to Report a Fraud or Scam In Countries Outside of the United States

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.

Of course, 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.

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:

Reporting Spams and Scams in Other Countries

Australia
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
China
Denmark
Germany
Hong Kong
Korea
Malaysia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
United Kingdom

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.

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

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

Phishing and Spoofed websites

Phishing and Spam: Internet Crime Prevention and 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

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 ).

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)

Scams: Internet Scams

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 and 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