Fraud Victims Are Being Let Down After the Scam Itself

A Which? survey of 1,501 UK adults who had money stolen to fraud in the past two years, carried out by Deltapoll in June 2026, has set out in detail what happens after the scam itself. The headline is not the fraud. It's what comes next. Only one in ten victims reported the scam to the website, app or platform where it took place, and most of those who tried found it hard going.

Three quarters of victims did tell their bank, and banks were by far the easiest route: only one in five found that difficult. Compare that with the roughly half who struggled to report fraud to the app or website involved. Fewer still went to the authorities. One in six told the police or Police Scotland, 8% used Action Fraud, and only 5% used the Report Fraud service that replaced it at the start of the year. Overall, around three in five people who reported to anyone, anywhere, hit at least one problem doing it.

The cost isn't only financial. More victims said their stress (63%) and mental health (54%) got worse than said their finances did (47%), and a third reported worse physical health too. A quarter changed how they pay for things online afterwards, and one in five stopped buying from social media altogether. People who already had a diagnosed mental health condition, or a longstanding physical or mental health condition, were far more likely to end up unable to afford essentials, in debt, or facing an account closed on them without warning.

That last point matters. Banks can close suspected 'money mule' accounts without notice if they believe criminals are moving funds through them. Some of those accounts belong to people who knowingly took part. Others belong to people recruited through fake job offers or romance fraud who had no idea what the money was for. The system doesn't always tell the two apart quickly.

What this actually means for you

If you're ever a victim, don't assume reporting is simple, and don't assume it's pointless either. The survey shows banks are the most reliable first stop, not the only one worth trying. The gap is in reporting to the platform where the scam actually happened, which is where most people give up or never start.

If you've been scammed:

• Tell your bank first and fast. They had the highest rate of reporting among victims and are central to any chance of reimbursement.
• Report it to the website, app or platform too, even if the process looks clunky. It's the only way fraudulent accounts and listings get flagged, and most people skip this step.
• File a report with Action Fraud, Police Scotland or the new Report Fraud service. It creates an official record. Which? doesn't claim this service has yet solved the reporting problems it describes, and you shouldn't expect instant results, but a record exists either way.
• If your identity was used to open accounts you didn't authorise, check your credit file and correct it.
• If the stress has been heavier than the financial loss, that's common, not a sign you're overreacting. Tell someone. Which? has published guidance on reporting a scam and getting support, and it's worth reading before you need it.

A Fraud Victims Charter is due in 2027, intended to set minimum standards for response times and consistent advice on reimbursement. It isn't in force yet, so it changes nothing about what you should do today.

What this does not fix

None of this stops a scam reaching you in the first place. Reimbursement rules for authorised push payment fraud have improved, but industry reports from Cifas and UK Finance suggest criminals are adapting with hybrid scams and other payment routes that those protections don't cover. A VPN encrypts your connection and hides your IP address from the networks you use, which is useful if you're worried about surveillance or insecure Wi-Fi. It does nothing to stop you being talked into sending money to a fraudster, and nothing to speed up a bank's investigation once you've reported it.

What does help, before anything goes wrong, is checking a suspicious message or link before you act on it. That's a narrower job, but it's one a tool can actually do.