Bank transfer scam: what should you do immediately?
If you have been tricked into sending a bank transfer to a fraudster, speed matters. Contact the payment provider first, preserve the evidence and do not let embarrassment delay the report.
Contact your bank or payment provider immediately using an official number or app route. Ask it to treat the transfer as a scam and attempt recovery. For eligible UK APP fraud through Faster Payments or CHAPS from 7 October 2024, reimbursement rules can require the provider to refund qualifying victims up to £85,000, subject to the rules and exclusions.
Call the bank before you investigate the scam yourself
The first objective is to stop or recover money, not to prove exactly how the fraudster found you. Contact the sending bank or payment provider immediately and say clearly that you were tricked into authorising a transfer. Give the amount, time, recipient details and transaction reference. Ask whether the payment can be stopped or whether the receiving provider can be contacted to freeze remaining funds.
Use a trusted contact route: the banking app, the number on the back of your card or the provider’s official website. Do not call a number contained in the suspicious text, email or social-media conversation. Fraudsters sometimes continue the attack by pretending to be the bank’s fraud team after the first payment.
Understand the newer APP reimbursement rules
Authorised Push Payment fraud is different from an unauthorised card transaction because the victim was manipulated into approving the transfer. For qualifying payments made on or after 7 October 2024 through Faster Payments or CHAPS, new reimbursement protections apply. The FCA explains that eligible victims can be reimbursed up to £85,000 and should usually receive money within five working days, although complex cases can take longer.
Coverage is not universal. Different rules can apply to overseas payments, internal transfers within the same provider, crypto transactions and cases where the customer is not eligible under the reimbursement framework. Providers can also examine whether required consumer standards were met. Do not decide for yourself that you are “not covered”; report the case and ask the provider to explain its decision in writing.
Preserve evidence before messages disappear
Save screenshots of messages, adverts, invoices, websites, social profiles and the beneficiary details you were given. Export chats where possible and write a short timeline while events are fresh. Keep call logs and the names or reference numbers of bank staff. If the fraudster asks you to delete messages, stop communicating and preserve them instead.
The FCA also advises reporting scams to the appropriate fraud-reporting and police channels. The route differs in Scotland from the rest of the UK, so use the current official guidance. A police or fraud reference does not replace the bank claim, but it can support the record of what happened.
If the bank refuses reimbursement
Ask for the refusal and the reasons in writing. If you believe the bank applied the rules incorrectly or handled the case poorly, make a formal complaint. A final response should explain how to take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service where eligible. Keep the complaint focused on facts: what you were told, what warnings appeared, what you did, when you reported the scam and why you disagree with the bank’s conclusion.
Do not pay a recovery company upfront simply because it promises to retrieve stolen money. Scammers target previous victims with “recovery” schemes. If you need help, use trusted free consumer-support routes and verify any firm before sharing bank statements, identity documents or additional money.
Preserve evidence and contact the right organisations in the right order
If you authorised a transfer because of a scam, speed matters. Contact the sending bank immediately through a trusted channel and say clearly that you believe you are the victim of an authorised push payment scam. Give the beneficiary details, amount, time and payment reference. The bank may be able to contact the receiving institution or take recovery steps. Do not spend the first hour arguing with the scammer or waiting for them to “refund” you.
Save messages, emails, adverts, usernames, telephone numbers, invoices and screenshots before accounts disappear or conversations are deleted. Keep original files where possible rather than only cropped images. Report the fraud through the appropriate UK reporting route and follow any instructions from your bank. If the scam involved an investment, crypto platform, impersonated firm or marketplace, record exactly what claims persuaded you to pay because that context can matter when the case is assessed.
Current reimbursement protections for eligible APP scam payments made through Faster Payments or CHAPS can be significant, but reimbursement is not a reason to take new risks. Eligibility, exclusions, the consumer standard of caution and claim limits still matter. If you are dissatisfied with the bank’s response, use its formal complaints process and preserve the final-response letter for any later Financial Ombudsman referral.
Sources and verification
Victoria Hughes — Consumer Rights Specialist
After an APP scam, people often spend the first hour replaying the conversation and blaming themselves. That hour is better spent contacting the bank. Recovery prospects can depend on speed, and the bank needs a clear statement that the transfer was induced by fraud. I would use two parallel tracks: money recovery and evidence preservation. Report the transaction, then save every message and build a timeline. Do not keep arguing with the fraudster in the hope of extracting a confession; you may only give them more information. The post-October-2024 reimbursement framework is significant, but customers should not reduce it to “all scams are automatically refunded”. Eligibility, payment method and conduct still matter. If a claim is rejected, insist on a reasoned written decision and use the complaint process where appropriate. I also warn victims about the second scam: supposed recovery agents who promise guaranteed success for an upfront fee. Once criminals know someone has lost money, that person can be targeted again. Treat every unexpected recovery offer as a fresh security event. My priority order is bank first, evidence second, wider reporting third. People understandably want to confront the criminal, but that rarely improves recovery and can expose them to a second scam. Never pay an upfront “recovery agent” who contacts you unexpectedly and claims they can unlock the money. A genuine claim should proceed through your bank and recognised complaint channels.
MyBankAnswers uses official provider and UK regulatory sources wherever practical. Information is general and does not constitute financial advice.