Recovery fraud

Recovering money: The police or government agencies will never ask for fees to recover money you have lost to fraud.

Transferring money: Your bank or the police will never ask you to transfer money to a safe account.

Couriers: Your bank or the police will never send a courier to your home to collect bank cards, cash or other valuables.

You’re contacted by an agency that knows a lot about the money you lost, but they want a fee first. Genuine agencies never ask for fees to recover money lost to fraudsters.

They’ve contacted you with a web-based email address, such as @Yahoo or @Hotmail. Genuine government or law enforcement agencies and law firms don’t use webmail.

They’ve made their email look genuine by including graphics and using official-sounding language.

If you’ve been a victim of fraud in the past, whoever took your money may keep your contact information and contact you again.

This time, they’ll pose as an organisation that has been made aware of your loss. They’ll claim they can arrest the fraudster, or even recover the money you lost. In either case, they say you’ll need to pay a fee first. This is a form of advance fee fraud; you’ll never get any money back.

If you pay, they’ll keep coming back to you with another cost that has to be paid, before your money can be returned.

If you ask them to take the fees from the money they claim to have recovered, they will give reasons why this isn’t possible. For example, they might tell you that your money is under the control of a court and can only be paid back to you by them.

The fraudsters may also ask you to provide details of your bank account so they can pay your money into it. They will use this information to empty your account.

If you have made a payment: Inform your bank as soon as possible, they can help you prevent any further losses. Monitor your bank statements regularly for any unusual activity.

Identity theft: If you have shared personal or financial information, and suspect your identity may have been stolen, you can check your credit file quickly and easily online. You should do this every few months anyway, using a reputable service provider and follow up on any unexpected or suspicious results. You can also sign up for Cifas services which can help to protect you against fraud.

Brand impersonation: If you think your organisation is being impersonated online, you can contact hosting companies and domain registrars directly yourself to request that the service is taken down. You can find more information here

You could be targeted again: Fraudsters sometimes re-establish contact with previous victims claiming that they can help them recover lost money, this is just a secondary scam. Hang up on any callers that claim they can get your money back for you.

Report it to us online or call 0300 123 2040. If you’ve given the fraudsters your bank account details, alert your bank immediately.