How to Report Possible Fraud

When you're the victim of fraud, you could lose money.

It's always a stressful situation to be the victim of a fraud or scam. If you feel that you have been taken advantage of, your best course of action is to report it. Even if you're not completely sure, reporting the possible fraud will allow the proper authorities to investigate the claim and determine whether or not the party you reported has committed fraud. That way, no one else will be a victim of the scam in the future.

Instructions

1. Notify the U.S. government's Internet Crime Complaint Center if you want to bring Internet fraud to the attention of the federal government.

2. Contact your local FBI office to report a fraud that involved a local person or business, not the Internet.

3. Report any fraud that involved your bank account to your bank immediately. If it involved your credit card, you should notify your credit card company as well. These accounts will most likely need to be frozen immediately.

4. Notify the Better Business Bureau of any fraud that involved a business, whether the business is Internet-based or not. This will help consumers from being taken advantage of in the future.

5. Contact your local district attorney or state Attorney General's office for your state if the fraud involved a definite crime. For example, if your identity was stolen, you need to report the scam as a crime.

6. Report fraud that involves identity theft to the National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch. This organization is dedicated to stopping identity theft, and any information you provide can help this cause.

References

• Consumer Fraud Reporting: How to Report a Fraud or Scam

Resources

• Internet Crime Complaint Center
• Federal Bureau of Investigation: Your Local FBI Center
• Better Business Bureau
• National Fraud Information Center