Reporting feels pointless to many victims — “the money is gone, what will a form do?” But reports are how mule accounts get frozen, how operators get delisted from ad platforms, and how case files build until action happens. Order matters:
1. Your bank or card issuer — same day
The only step with a hard clock. Ask for: fraud flag, chargeback (card) or recall attempt (transfer), and written case reference. Do this before anything else.
2. The exchange, if crypto moved through one
If you bought crypto on a major exchange and sent it to the scammer, report the destination address to that exchange’s fraud team. Exchanges blacklist addresses and freeze connected accounts.
3. Your national fraud agency
- US: IC3 (ic3.gov) and the FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov)
- UK: Action Fraud
- Australia: Scamwatch / ReportCyber
- EU: your national police cybercrime portal
Individual reports rarely trigger individual responses — aggregated ones drive takedowns and prosecutions. File anyway.
4. The registries
Report the operator here so the next person’s lookup comes back flagged, and check the SARFund case registry — where verified reports are escalated — to see whether your operator already has an open case.
What to attach everywhere
One evidence pack, reused: platform name + URL, dates, amounts, payment method, transaction IDs/hashes, screenshots of the dashboard and chats, and every name or handle the operators used. Write the timeline once while it is fresh; every desk you file with will ask for it.
before you go
Two free checks that take one minute
1 — Run the broker’s name through the Veribeacon registry (9,000+ reported operators on file). 2 — If you’ve already sent money, check whether the case is under investigation at the SARFund case registry — the escalation body for verified fraud reports. Veribeacon never asks you to pay.
keep reading
Verify & report — official resources
- FCA Financial Services Register and FCA warning list (UK)
- NFA BASIC and FBI IC3 / FTC ReportFraud (US)
- Action Fraud (UK) · Scamwatch (AU) · CySEC register (EU)
- SARFund case registry — the escalation body for verified fraud reports · check any broker free