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MindDividend Shield · official reporting guide

How to report online scams, check fraud, or payment fraud to police.

If a message, call, website, job offer, investment pitch, check, or payment request looks suspicious, this guide shows how to report it through the right official channel without following the scammer's instructions.

Run a redacted first check

Official reporting guides in 13 languages

Choose the language that is easiest for you. Each page keeps the same safety rule: open official bank, police, platform, or government channels yourself, and remove sensitive details before sharing evidence.

English

Full country and cross-border reporting matrix.

Español

Canales oficiales para denunciar una estafa.

Português

Canais oficiais para denunciar um golpe.

Français

Canaux officiels pour signaler une arnaque.

Deutsch

Offizielle Meldestellen für Online-Betrug.

Italiano

Canali ufficiali per segnalare una truffa.

हिन्दी

सुरक्षित आधिकारिक रिपोर्टिंग मार्ग।

日本語

公式の相談・報告ルート。

한국어

공식 신고 경로와 안전한 절차。

Do these first if money or access is at risk

Stop the requested action

Do not click the supplied link, call the supplied number, send more money, or share a password or verification code.

Contact the real provider

Use the bank, card issuer, payment service, platform, or government contact details that you find yourself on its official website or app.

Preserve evidence safely

Keep dates, sender details, URLs, screenshots, and transaction records. Submit them only through an official reporting form or to local police.

Immediate danger: contact your local emergency service. A reporting website is not an emergency response line.

Beware the second scam after reporting

People who report a loss can be targeted again by someone pretending to be police, a bank, a cybercrime investigator, or a recovery company. An unexpected promise to recover money is not proof of a real authority.

Never pay for recovery

Do not send an upfront fee, cryptocurrency, gift card, or “processing tax” to get money back. Use your bank or payment provider’s official process instead.

Verify the authority yourself

Type the organization’s official domain yourself. Do not use a social-media account, chat link, phone number, or spoofed website supplied by the person contacting you.

Read the FBI IC3 warning

The FBI warns that impersonated officials and deepfake videos can be used to re-target people who already reported a scam.

Official reporting links by country

Choose the country where the incident happened or where you live. If a country is not listed, use the global fallback below and start with local police or the national cybercrime/fraud portal.

United Kingdom

If you live in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland, report cyber crime and fraud through Report Fraud. If you live in Scotland, follow the local police route shown by the service.

Use the official site you type yourself, not a link from the suspicious message.

Australia

Report suspicious activity to Scamwatch. Scamwatch reports are not police reports; if money or personal information was stolen, contact your bank and local police as well.

Canada

Report fraud or cybercrime to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The centre accepts reports from victims and witnesses; local police investigate individual incidents.

Singapore

Submit information to the Singapore Police Force I-Witness service. If you are unsure whether a message is a scam, the SPF directs the public to its anti-scam resources and the ScamShield helpline at 1799.

Taiwan

Use the National Police Agency's 165 Anti-Fraud website or call the 165 anti-fraud hotline for advice and reporting routes.

Germany

Use the German police Onlinewache to report internet fraud or send information. Select the relevant state first; this portal is not for emergencies.

France

For eligible internet scams, use the French Ministry of the Interior's THESEE online complaint service. Some cases, including certain fake-investment scams, require a police station or gendarmerie.

Spain

Use the Spanish National Police online complaint office when the incident fits its eligibility rules. Violence, intimidation, or an offence happening now should go directly to emergency services.

South Africa

Use the South African government's cyber safety and reporting guidance for 419 or lottery scams, and report criminal cases to the South African Police Service through the official route.

Italy

Use the Italian State Police Polizia Postale portal for online-fraud guidance and reporting contacts. If the site does not offer a suitable online form, report in person to the local police or Carabinieri.

Other countries and cross-border scams

Start with your local or national police, cybercrime/fraud portal, consumer-protection agency, and bank or payment provider. For an international or cross-border consumer scam, report it through econsumer.gov, an international consumer-protection reporting portal. Search for the official government domain yourself and verify the address before submitting evidence.

econsumer.gov does not replace a local police report or an urgent bank/payment-provider call.

Primary guidance to verify the next step

These first-party public resources explain the same safe sequence: stop using the suspicious message, open the real service independently, protect the account or payment, and report through the correct official channel. They are reference points, not substitutes for local police, bank, or platform instructions.

What to include in a report

Useful facts

When it happened, how you were contacted, the sender or account identifier, the website or phone number, what was requested, and any payment or account impact.

Keep sensitive data inside the official form

Never paste passwords, one-time codes, recovery keys, full card numbers, or identity documents into a public post or the first-check tool. An official reporting form may request specific evidence; follow that form's own instructions.

Report even when unsure

Many official systems accept attempted scams or witness reports. Reporting patterns helps authorities warn others and connect related incidents.

When a structured handoff is worth considering

Free guidance points you to the official reporting route.
If the situation involves money, identity, account access, evidence, or more than one country, the early-access Personal Action Plan organizes a redacted summary, country-matched official routes, and a one-page decision brief with 15-minute and 24-hour actions. It is a structured handoff, not an investigation, recovery service, or guaranteed verdict. Reference price: USD 19 for one situation; scope and timing are confirmed before payment.

Choose a focused safety guide first

If you are still deciding what happened, use the shortest relevant checklist with a fictional or redacted example before submitting real evidence.

Suspicious link

Inspect the destination without opening it or entering credentials.

Suspicious call

Pause before calling back, sharing a code, or trusting caller ID.

QR code

Check an unexpected QR code before scanning, signing in, or paying.

Recovery offer

Recognize fake refund and recovery agents after an earlier loss.

Frequently asked questions

Where should I report an online scam?

Use the official fraud, cybercrime, consumer-protection, police, or financial-service channel for the country where the incident happened or where you live. This guide links to official routes in 19 countries and adds econsumer.gov as a cross-border fallback for other regions.

How do I report check fraud to police?

Contact the bank or payment provider immediately, preserve the check image, dates, account or sender details, and transaction records, then use the official police or fraud-reporting channel for your country. Do not use contact details supplied by the suspicious message.

How do I report an online scammer to police?

Save the scammer's messages, profile or account identifiers, URLs, phone numbers, dates, and payment records without replying or sending more money. Contact your bank or payment provider first if funds are at risk, then use the police or cybercrime reporting channel on the official government website for your country.

What should I do if money or account access is at risk?

Stop the requested action, contact your bank or real provider through a website or app you open yourself, preserve evidence, and report through the appropriate official channel. Contact emergency services if there is immediate danger.

What evidence should I keep for a scam report?

Keep dates, sender or account identifiers, URLs, phone numbers, screenshots, messages, and transaction records. Submit sensitive information only through the official reporting form that requests it.

Can I use a public scam checker with the original message?

No. Use only a fictional or fully redacted example. Never paste passwords, one-time codes, recovery keys, full card numbers, or identity documents into a public checker or post.

Need to slow down before you report?

Use a fictional or fully redacted example for a first-pass check, then submit the real evidence only to the official channel for your country.

Open MindDividend Shield →

Read the safety and privacy guide.

Share this guide safely

Share the guide itself, not the suspicious message or any private evidence.

Read the cross-country reporting safety discussion →