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.
Think you’ve been a victim?
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.
Worried about a card payment?
If you’ve made a card payment and there’s a problem with it, talk to the company you paid first
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:
- Log in and select the transaction you need help with
- Select ‘Help with this transaction’
- Complete the questions
For more information about when you can claim and how to do it, visit our page about getting support with debit card purchases.
If you don’t recognise a payment, check if it could be genuine
Not all unrecognised payments are fraudulent. Before you contact us, please consider if it could be:
- A payment you made to a company trading with a different name
- A payment made by someone else who shares your account
- A recurring card payment that you’ve agreed to for an online service, in an app or as part of a free trial that has now ended.
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.
What is a scam
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.
Common questions about reporting fraud
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If there are transactions on your account that you don’t recognise, please call us. The number you need to call depends on the type of fraud you need to report.
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.
Fraud – the next steps
1. Before you call
Check your statements and find the transactions you’d like us to investigate, so you can report them all in one go.
2. Once you’ve reported the fraud
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.
3. We also might send you a disclaimer
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.
4. We’ll contact you with the outcome
Once we’ve finished our investigation, we’ll send you a letter with the outcome.
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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’re in Scotland, please report the fraud to the police by calling 101
- If you’re in England, Wales or Northern Ireland:
- For fraud that’s part of another crime, like bag theft, please report it to the police online or by calling 101
- Otherwise, please report it to Action Fraud online or by calling 0300 123 2040.
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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.
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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 service4. 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.
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To help protect your money, you’ll need to follow the steps on our lost or stolen phone page.
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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.
Common questions about reporting scams
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If you think you’ve been scammed, please call us. The number you need to call depends on how you made the payment.
Scams – the next steps
1. Call us
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.
2. We’ll investigate
We’ll look into your claim and share the details with any other banks involved.
We might ask you to send us any evidence you have.3. We’ll contact you
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.
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If you think you might have paid a scammer, contact us first using one of the numbers above.
Once you’ve done that:
- If you’re in Scotland, please report the scam to the police by calling 101
- If you’re in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, please report it to Action Fraud online or by calling 0300 123 2040.
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Please contact us on the numbers above to report fraud on your account.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Please report the scam to the other bank. We can only investigate if you paid the scammer directly from your account with us.
Keeping your money safe
Learn about our guarantee for the Barclays app and Online Banking, and how we can help protect you from fraud.
Protect yourself from fraud and scams
Help protect your money. Find out what to look out for and learn steps you can take to avoid fraud and scams.
Report suspicious emails and texts
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
Keep your mobile devices safe
Protect yourself from fraudsters by learning how to use your device’s security features and how to stay safe online.
