What is fraud?
Fraud is when someone steals your bank or personal details, and uses them to authorise a transaction from your account without you knowing. It’s a transaction you don’t recognise.
How to report fraud or a scam
Find out what to do if you’re worried about a card payment, how to report fraud and scams and what happens after you tell us, plus get tips on how to help protect yourself.
Let the company you paid know first if there’s a problem with the goods, services or payment amount. If they can’t or won’t put it right, report the problem to us. You can call us using the number on the back of your card or use the Barclays app1 or Online Banking:
For more information about when you can claim and how to do it, visit our page about getting support with debit card purchases.
Not all unrecognised payments are fraudulent. Before you contact us, please consider if it could be:
If you still think the payment is fraudulent, or you’ve been scammed and have lost money, please report it to us as soon as possible so we can look into it for you. There are different numbers to call depending on whether you’re reporting fraud or a scam, and where you are – you can find them below.
Fraud is when someone steals your bank or personal details, and uses them to authorise a transaction from your account without you knowing. It’s a transaction you don’t recognise.
A scam is where you’re tricked into making a payment to a scammer, who steals the money. Scammers impersonate people and organisations you trust, using emails, phone calls, and texts that seem genuine.
To report fraud on your account, please call us2 on one of the numbers below. We’re here 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Once you’ve reported fraud to us, please also report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. If you’re in Scotland, please call 101.
Check your statements and find the transactions you’d like us to investigate, so you can report them all in one go.
We’ll give you a reference number and then investigate. We’ll send you an acknowledgement letter within seven days and we might give you a temporary refund.
We’ll ask you to send it back within a set number of days. If you don’t, we’ll withdraw any temporary refund you’ve had and close your case.
Once we’ve finished our investigation, we’ll send you a letter with the outcome.
If you’ve been a victim of fraud that’s affected an account or card you have with us, contact us first using one of the numbers above.
Once you done that:
If you’ve been the victim of a fraud or cybercrime but something other than your bank card or account was affected, you should contact us on the numbers above and get in touch with Action Fraud.
Common examples where fraudsters may have targeted you include an investment con, email phishing fraud, shopping website fakery or pension fraud.
You can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or contact them online.
Contact us immediately if your card is lost or stolen. See below for how you can do this in several ways, with phone, online and by app available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you’re not sure whether you’ve really lost your card, you can use the ‘Temporary freeze’ feature in the Barclays app. Find it again, and you can unfreeze it and use it as normal.
How to tell us if your card is lost or stolen:
Online
Once you’ve logged in to Online Banking, select ‘Manage accounts’ on the top menu and then go to ‘Report a lost or stolen debit card’ in the ‘Card services’ list.
Mobile
In the Barclays app, tap ‘Manage cards’ in the side menu and then select ‘Report lost/stolen card’.
Telephone
Call 03457 345 345 (+44 2476 842 099 outside the UK) to report your card lost or stolen. Lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week1.
Branch
You can report your card lost or stolen at any Barclays branch and, in an emergency, we offer an instant debit card replacement service2. Use our our branch locator to find the nearest branch to you that offers this service.
Once you’ve contacted us, we’ll cancel your card and send a replacement card straightaway – you should receive it within five working days. Please remember to keep an eye out for unusual transactions on your statement and report any to us immediately.
To help protect your money, you’ll need to follow the steps on our lost or stolen phone page.
If someone tricks you into downloading software that gives them control over your device or your bank account, you need to disconnect or end the session immediately. There’s usually a button in the software that lets you do this. If you can’t find one, turn off your device and disconnect your wi-fi.
To learn more, visit the Which? guide to remote access scams – it explains what to do next and how you can help protect yourself.
To report a scam, please call us2 on one of the numbers below. We’re here 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You’ll need to share the details of the scam, the account details you sent the money to, and any contact details you have for the scammer.
It’ll support your claim and help us get the right outcome.
We’ll review any evidence you’ve given us, and investigate the scam.
If the scam happened on or after 7 October 2024, we’ll send you an update or a decision within five working days.
If it happened before that, it can take us up to 15 working days to contact you.
If you think you might have paid a scammer, contact us first using one of the numbers above.
Once you’ve done that:
Please contact us on the numbers above to report fraud on your account.
You can speak to Victim Support. They're an independent charity that helps people who’ve been victims of crime. Their specially-trained team can provide you with free and confidential support. You can call our dedicated victim support number on 0808 178 5183. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.
We review each case on an individual basis, so it’s important for you to tell us everything that happened leading up to the scam.
Yes, we’re proud to be signed up to the Contingent Reimbursement Model, a voluntary code effective from 28th May 2019. The code aims to offer you better protection from Authorised Push Payment (APP) scams. An APP is a payment made by you through Faster Payments or CHAPS.
It’s really important that you know how to protect yourself against scams – we’ve got everything you need to stay safe on our fraud and scams page. You can also follow our social media accounts to keep up to date with the latest scams – all of our approved pages have a blue tick. You can also sign up to attend one of our events.
If you get an email or text that claims to be from us but looks suspicious, please forward the message plus any attachments to internetsecurity@barclays.com.
If you’ve used our app to make a payment from an account with another bank, you’ll need to contact the other bank. For any payment made from your Barclays account using any service, please contact us.
Please report the scam to the other bank. We can only investigate if you paid the scammer directly from your account with us.
Learn about our guarantee for the Barclays app and Online Banking, and how we can help protect you from fraud.
Help protect your money. Find out what to look out for and learn steps you can take to avoid fraud and scams.
If you get a suspicious email or text please forward it, along with any attachments if possible, to internetsecurity@barclays.com
You can also get the National Cyber Security Centre to review any suspicious emails you receive. They’ll check the links and remove any websites that are connected to scams. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk
Protect yourself from fraudsters by learning how to use your device’s security features and how to stay safe online.