Fraud is one of the most prevalent financial crimes. It is believed to cause losses of up to $500 billion annually and has become more prevalent as businesses move their operations online. In this article, we shall be working to answer questions based on fraud reporting: how to report a scammer.

A scam is basically a trick or false communication used to defraud someone of his possessions. A scam usually is done for financial gain. It employs deception in achieving its goals. A scammer is basically one who scams other people and who is a better scammer than a fraudster?

Scammers use false promises to lure the victim, they also use a lot of psychology to maneuver the victim into being defrauded.

At this juncture, it's worth mentioning the first rule of com which states that “only a greedy person gets conned.” You must be someone willing to get something big for next to nothing to be enticed into being scammed. Their tactics use mostly get-rich-quick schemes on greedy victims.

Scammers usually reach out to their victims through unsolicited messages via emails, SMS, calls and social media posts.

They also always find cunning ways to ask you to reveal your personal information. They further try to make the offer a very urgent one you have to take advantage of before it's too late; and you'd be asked to pay the fee charged through untraceable unconventional methods like gift cards, wire transfer and cryptocurrencies. Like we iterated earlier, this post is essential to help people understand how to report fraud.

Why Is It Important To Report Scams?

There is no doubt that scams are dangerous, causing untold hardships, financial loss and even health/mental issues to victims. Understanding this gives grounds for the importance of reporting these scams.

Let it be known that scams should be reported to your financial institution, the police or other law enforcement organisations involved in addressing scams and other financial crimes in your country or region.

It is important to report scams for the following reasons: 

• Firstly, It helps more people from falling victim to scams. When you report scams to the authorities, they issue a public communication warning people of scams along the lines of what you suffered, keeping them from falling prey to the same incident.
• Secondly it is important to report scams to help law enforcement investigate and build a strong case against the crime, helping them put more and more scammers behind bars.
• Thirdly, reporting scams helps law enforcement identify the latest trends and tactics used by scammers .
• Also it gives law enforcement authorities and other concerned organisations the opportunity to recover funds and assets lost to scammers.
• It helps organisations, individuals, law enforcement and regulatory agencies continuously improve in their efforts to safeguard the public from the menace of fraud and scammers. 
• It also gives the public the opportunity to hold scammers accountable for their crimes and suffer the consequences of their actions.

With the above in mind, we must emphasize that effectively reporting scams requires understanding the different types of scams, knowing where and how to report them, and gathering the necessary evidence. This brings us to the next phase of this article:

How to Identify Common Scam Types

There are different types of scams exploited by fraudsters to get to their unsuspecting victims. To narrow them down, we shall be covering the most common of them which include: 

1. Online Scams

These scams are those perpetrated via the internet. Here scammers aim to trick people into revealing to them their financial details, personal information or even money. These bait usually comes in offers that to the trained eye looks too good to be true. Knowing the types there are is essential to knowing how to report online fraud. Online scams can come in the form of…

• Phishing emails/texts which are basically communications that appear to be from a legitimate source like a bank or online retailer, tricking victims into providing their personal or transactional information through clicking on malicious links or accessing fake login pages. These links and pages usually come with malwares that steals the victim’s personal information once they come in.
• Social media scams which come in the form of romance scams, fake giveaways and too good to be true investment schemes. They usually create fake profiles, post misleading content asking people to hop onto an offer. These days, they even go as far as using gullible popular social media influencers to do their dirty work.
• Fake websites/online marketplaces are tools in the hands of fraudsters and can either be fake ecommerce platforms mimicking real ones.These platforms give out unbelievable offers to victims with poor quality products or no delivery of the offered product. SOme are clone websites that gain access to one’s personal information during the login process. These online scams often go hand-in-hand with phishing scams, pressure tactics and fake reviews to lure victims in.
• Advance fee fraud, known popularly in Nigeria as 419 scam (named after the section under the Nigerian law that deals with this crime). This kind of fraud is one that plays as a confidence trick. It usually involves scams like the popular Nigerian prince and lottery scams. Advance fee fraud works by the scammer promising the victim a significant share of some fantastical money in return for some small upfront money he or she loans the scammer. If the first contact works and the victim sends the scammer the money, the scammer either invents some more fees he’d have the victim pay or just disappears entirely.
• Tech support scams take place when someone impersonates a technical support agent of a popular tech company, calling or contacting their customers via pop-up messages and telling them that they have identified issues with their computer or software pressuring them to pay for them to fix the issue through a remote access to their system. These scammers go on to steal their sensitive information and may even cause further damage or plant malware on the victim’s computer.

2. Phone scams

Phone scams happen through the use of telecommunications products or services. This type of scam involves scammers calling you directly on your mobile phone posing as well known organisations (especially banks and telecoms service providers). They regularly make the call sound urgent, bringing some sort of issue with your account and having you share some sensitive information with them to make it go away. Many a time, they already have some information about you like your name and address, making it seem to you like they are legitimate and handle your interests in the organisation they pose to be.

3. IRS/government impersonation scams

These are basically individuals impersonating the internal revenue service (IRS) or its equivalent in other countries. They make unsolicited calls to victims posing as taxpayers. They threaten fire and brimstone against the person for failing to pay his taxes and capitalize on the fear people have for the consequences of not paying their taxes up to date. Most times, they use the threat of arrest to obtain money from their victims asking them to pay their taxes through the use of gift cards, debit cards, money order or wire transfer. They also may redirect the victim to a phony IRS website and have him or her pay the amount claimed there; which goes straight to the scammer’s account.

4. Grandparent/relative in distress scams

These scams happen when fraudsters take advantage of the sweet and ready-to-help nature of the elderly to scam or defraud them. This basically happens in the form of a scammer calling an elderly victim claiming to be a family member, especially a grandchild, who is in a dire situation like an arrest, a car accident, hospitalized or more. They demand that the victim sends or wires money immediately to an unknown account to solve the issue, exploiting their emotional connection to them.

5. Door-to-door scams

This involves phoney door-to-door salesmen knocking on your door and trying to convince you to buy a product or service you do not need. Sometimes, they do so to distract you while thieves break into home and steal things. 

6. Mail Scams

Mail scams are generally fraudulent practices exploited by fraudsters through the postal system. Male scalps can come in forms ranging from exciting promotional offers to threats; all in the bid to illegitimately get money from the victims.

7. Investment scams

These scams can come in the form of Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes and more. This comes tends to cajole people to invest money in some fake investment schemes bringing high rewards at low risk. Open investing this money, the fraudster gets to steal their money and disappear into the wind.

How to Gather Evidence Before Reporting

When looking for answers on how to report a scammer, you should put in a few very important things. These things includes the following:

1. Document Everything

Well gathering evidence against scammers, you need to ensure that you document every interaction you have had with this scammer from day one. This includes emails, texts, and screenshots of social media interactions. You need them as evidence against the scammer.

You also need to save phone numbers, names, addresses used by the scammer during his interactions with you.

It is also imperative that you save website urls that were used in your interactions between you and the scammer. Furthermore it is imperative to keep all transactional details between you and the scammer including the dates, amounts sent, methods used to send this money and any other relevant information that can help law enforcement officials arrest and prosecute the scammer.

2. Keep Original Evidence

In your bid to report scammers, you should ensure that you keep original evidence of all dealings with the fraudster full stop and sure you do not alter or delete anything based on your interaction with this scammer. This could cause some unexpected issues during the prosecution.  

3. Organize Your Evidence

In addition to the above, you need to organize your evidence, arranging it in a way that all elements are easy to identify and bring forth. You will need to create a timeline or folder to keep everything organized.

Where And How To Report Scams 

Many people have become victims of scammers but do not know where to report them even after gathering every piece of evidence of the crime. 

• You can report scammers to the agency responsible for fraud or economic and financial crimes. In Nigeria, this agency is the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).  In the United States, the primary agency responsible for dealing with scammers is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In the United Kingdom, the primary agency responsible for handling scammers is Action Fraud. You can call their dedicated emergency number and interact with whoever is at the other end of the line. You may be asked to visit their office in person. You will also need to provide all the evidence they ask for to aid with their investigation.
• Another place you can report being defrauded by scammers is your local law enforcement. When you get to these agencies, you can ensure that you see the office as on duty. You can also give them a phone call to tell them ahead of what you need to provide when you show up.  The police are the first responders to any form of crime and insecurity anywhere, so you need to make them your friend and use them to your advantage. When you get in contact with them, you will need to file a police report and submit any evidence that can help them with the investigation of the crime you reported. The Police too may ask you to come in person, especially to fill a police report. 

When filing a police report, you need to ensure you follow their standard format. You also need to clearly state the details of the incident. Ensure you use clear and precise language and provide all descriptions of the parties involved along with evidence of the interaction.

• On online platforms, like social media sites and ecommerce platforms, you can also report incidents of fraud. You will need to go to the part of the platform (usually in your profile settings to report abuse or fraud. You will need to provide details about the perpetrator and any evidence you have of your dealing with them to the managers of the online platform. Another way to report fraud on online platforms is to call or mail the customer support branch of the online platform. Ensure you provide all details of your interaction with the scammer. These can come in the form of screenshots, communication logs and even the scammer’s information.
• You can also report scams to consumer protection agencies. These agencies stand as the voice of the voiceless consumer and can help you get justice against scammers. You will need to provide them with all information and evidence to help build your case and acquire that justice you deserve.
• Other Organisations like the Better Business Bureau, and specialized fraud reporting websites like Google’s phishing reporting page and the websites of agencies responsible for prosecuting fraud cases in your country or region are very handy in reporting cases of scam. This is also great at reporting internet fraud. Understanding where to report fraud is very key to solving your issue.

Whatever way you get to report being defrauded by a scammer, you need to follow up with whoever you reported to from time to time to check their progress on the issue. You may also need to involve your local law enforcement if you deem it necessary.

How Do You Protect Yourself From Future Scams?

It is not enough knowing how to report a scam; you can protect yourself from becoming the victim of future scam through the following process: 

1.  Be skeptical about any unsolicited offers or requests by any one for you to provide your personal information. Also be wary of offers that seem too good to be true.
2. Always ensure you verify any information that comes your way. This will help you verify the legitimacy of any person or organization interacting with you. Do these before providing any information or money.
3. Ensure you use strong passwords and security softwares on your devices. The easiest passwords to hack are those with your date of birth, wedding anniversaries of there about. Use alphanumeric passwords intertwined with symbols to create a stronger, more secure password. Do not share these passwords with anyone. Also download and upgrade strong anti-virus/computer protection software to keep your system safe from malwares, remote access and other hacks. 
4. Be wary of unusual payment methods while purchasing goods and services online. Do not make wire transfers, pay via gift cards, or cryptocurrency. These are the most preferred modes of payment by scammers. Pay via accountable internet banking platforms like your local online banking platform, paypal and other legitimate digital payment solutions.
5. Ensure you keep your personal information private. Do not share your sensitive information to anyone or post it online or over the phone. Adopt the “do it yourself” approach. It is better to be safe than sorry. You can have support to talk you through the process. 

Conclusion (Recap & Call to Action)

Understanding how to report a scammer may seem like a big deal to many. We do not wish to be the victims of scams, but one must be prepared for any eventuality, helping our scam reporting skill. We have shown different ways to approach this issue, but nothing is safer than avoiding anything that seems suspicious; or reaching out to the proper authorities to confirm the validity and legitimacy of something. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Reporting a scammer to the right authorities is the first step you can take to recover your lost funds or personal effects. Do not be shy to go to them. You deserve justice. 

Understanding that prevention is better than cure is also your first step into living a life and running your business with peace of mind. Trust Youverify to help bring sanity to your business transactions with the best security and compliance solutions tailored to suit the needs of your organisation. Book a demo today and find out why we have been trusted by more than 2,000 organisations worldwide.