What is a scam?
Scams are crimes. They're designed to trick you into giving away money or personal information like your bank details.
Scams come in all shapes and sizes, by text and phone call, email and letter, in person and online. They can be complex and long-lasting or happen very quickly.
You can read about some common scams below. These are just a few examples – not every scam is listed here. For information about more, visit Action Fraud’s A to Z list of scams.
Online shopping scams
Scammers create fake adverts or websites, hooking you in with false celebrity endorsements, offers that sound too good be true (because they are), and branding that resembles a company you know. These look genuine but are designed to steal money or sell you fake or non-existent goods.
Investment scams
Scammers contact you unexpectedly and persuade you to invest in schemes or products that are worthless or do not exist. Once they’ve stolen your money, the scammers stop talking to you.
Someone you know ‘needs help’ scams
Scammers contact you pretending to be a friend, family member or colleague. They say they need help and ask for money immediately, then send you their bank details for payment. They might contact you by text or WhatsApp and claim to be using a new number because they lost their phone. They might even ‘clone’ a loved one’s voice using artificial intelligence and impersonate them in a phone call.
Lottery or competition scams
Scammers email, phone or text you, convincing you that you’ve won a large cash prize in a competition you haven’t even entered. They might use the name and branding of a real competition to fool you. They ask you to pay a fee before claiming your winnings in an attempt to steal your money. Or they ask you to share personal documents like your passport in an attempt to steal your identity.
Computer scams
Scammers claiming to be from a company like Microsoft or Apple contact you and tell you there is a problem with your computer. They persuade you to give them remote access to your computer, download software or pay a fee so they can fix the non-existent problem. Their aim is to access your personal data and steal your money.
If you recognise any of these scams and think you’ve been affected, make sure you report it. You can find out how to report a scam on our webpage.
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