What to do if you think you've been a victim of fraud

Report it and seek advice. The sooner you report the fraud, the greater your chance of containing any damage. Some are embarrassed about having been scammed and don’t report it soon enough. 

First steps

Contact Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. Call them on 0300 123 2040, or use their online fraud reporting tool.

If you believe the fraud involves Rathbones, contact your Investment Manager or our Risk team by calling 0151 243 7395 or emailing: riskfunction@rathbones.com.

If the fraud involves debit or credit cards, online banking, or cheques, contact your bank or credit card company as soon as possible.

Next steps and support

If you suspect your email account has been compromised, change your password. Make sure that the new one is unique and strong by using a combination of letters, numbers and special characters.

Change the passwords for any other accounts associated with the email address, for example, Paypal, Facebook, and Twitter.

Register with CIFAS, the UK’s leading fraud prevention service. It manages the largest confirmed fraud database in the country and offers protective registration to victims of identity fraud, or to those who believe their personal data is vulnerable following a breach.

Consider registering with a credit reference agency such as Experian, Equifax or Credit Karma most of which offer subscribers free access to a credit report to check for unusual activity.