How to Report Online Fraud in India, Pakistan, the UAE, the UK, and the US

Learning how to report online fraud matters just as much as learning how to avoid it. A report creates an official record, may help investigators freeze stolen money, and feeds the data that regulators and police use to map scam networks. Many victims never report at all — because they feel embarrassed, or simply because they don’t know which portal or hotline applies to them. This guide fixes that. Below are the official reporting routes for five countries, plus how to report fraudulent apps and scam ads to the platforms that host them.

How to Report Online Fraud: Prepare Before You File

Whichever country you report in, the process goes faster if you gather this evidence first:

Screenshots of messages, posts, emails, profiles, and payment pages — include dates and the scammer’s full contact details or URLs
Transaction records: bank or UPI statements, card statements, crypto wallet addresses and transaction hashes
Phone numbers, email addresses, social media handles, and website links used by the scammer
A short written timeline: what happened, when, and how much money was involved

Do not delete the originals. Save chat histories as exports where possible, and keep receipts. Reporting early improves your chances — in financial fraud cases, banks can sometimes freeze money before it moves further.

India: National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and the 1930 Helpline

India’s official channel is the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) at cybercrime.gov.in, run by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It accepts reports on all cybercrime, with special focus on financial fraud and crimes against women and children. Reports filed on the portal are converted into FIRs and handled by the law enforcement agencies of the relevant state or union territory.

If money has just been taken, call the national toll-free 1930 helpline first. The Ministry of Home Affairs has confirmed that the 1930 helpline is operational for help in lodging online cyber complaints, and it connects to the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), which works with banks to stop fraudsters from siphoning off funds. Speed matters here: reporting a fraudulent transfer quickly gives banks a chance to put the money on hold before it disappears through mule accounts.

Steps:

Call 1930 immediately if money was debited — this is the fastest route for financial fraud.
File a detailed report on the portal: choose the financial-fraud category, describe the incident, and attach evidence.
Note the complaint ID and use it to track the case. The portal also offers a “Suspect Search” tool to check phone numbers, URLs, and email IDs against I4C’s repository of known scammer identifiers.

Pakistan: FIA Cybercrime Wing

In Pakistan, cybercrime falls under the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime Wing, operating under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016. The official online route is the FIA Public Services Portal at complaint.fia.gov.pk, where you can register a complaint and track its status.

What you will need: your full name, CNIC number, contact details, the category of the crime, a clear description of what happened (date, time, platform), and any supporting evidence such as screenshots, transaction receipts, URLs, or chat records. You receive a complaint reference number for tracking.

For serious or urgent cases — threats, blackmail, or large financial loss — visiting an FIA Cybercrime Reporting Centre in person (Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and other major cities) with your CNIC and printed evidence is often faster. Separately, nuisance calls, spam SMS, and scam phone numbers can be reported to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) through its complaint system, so the number can be blocked or investigated at the network level.

The UAE: Dubai Police eCrime and Other Emirates

In the UAE, the reporting channel depends on where the incident occurred. For Dubai, the dedicated route is the Dubai Police eCrime service — the cybercrime reporting channel of Dubai Police, accessible through the official Dubai Police website and the Dubai Police smart app. Go to dubaipolice.gov.ae and look for the eCrime / cybercrime reporting service; you will need your Emirates ID details and contact number (verification may use UAE PASS), a description of the incident, and evidence such as screenshots, emails, and transaction records. You get a reference number to track the report.

Notes for other emirates:

Abu Dhabi Police runs its own online complaint services for incidents in Abu Dhabi, including the “Aman” confidential reporting service.
The UAE Ministry of Interior also provides a federal e-services channel covering all seven emirates through its app and website.
For emergencies or active crime, the police emergency number is 999; for non-emergency police assistance in Dubai, call 901.

Note that Dubai Police does not accept cybercrime reports by email — the official portal, app, or in-person channels are the recognized routes.

The UK: Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud)

In the UK, the national reporting service for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland is now branded Report Fraud (the service previously known as Action Fraud), at actionfraud.police.uk. If you have lost money or been targeted by online fraud, file a report there — you will receive a crime reference number, and the report feeds the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau’s analysis of fraud networks.

If you live in Scotland, report to Police Scotland instead. If a fraud is in progress or you are in immediate danger, call 999; for non-emergency police matters call 101. Businesses and charities under an active cyberattack can call 0300 123 2040.

Remember: reporting to Report Fraud is not the same as getting your money back — but without a report, investigators have no data to work with, and victims have no crime reference number for insurance or bank disputes.

The US: FBI IC3 and FTC ReportFraud

In the United States there are two complementary reporting routes, and for serious fraud you should use both:

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov — the FBI’s central hub for cyber-enabled crime. The IC3 says it is the main intake form for complaints “from cyber-enabled frauds and scams to cybercrime” and encourages people to file even if unsure the complaint qualifies. Reports help the FBI investigate, track trends, and in some cases freeze stolen funds.
FTC ReportFraud at reportfraud.ftc.gov — the Federal Trade Commission’s reporting portal for scams, fraud, and bad business practices. Reports are entered into the Consumer Sentinel database, shared with over 2,000 law enforcement partners, and used to detect patterns and bring cases.

File the IC3 complaint for the criminal side and the FTC report for the consumer-protection side. Keep both confirmation numbers.

Reporting Fake Apps, Fraudulent Ads, and Scam Content to Platforms

Scams increasingly live inside apps and ads. Reporting them to the platform removes them faster than any single police report:

Google Play: Open the Play Store app, go to the app’s detail page, tap the three-dot menu, choose “Flag as inappropriate,” pick a reason, and submit. Google’s own help page confirms this is the mechanism for reporting policy violations and illegal content to Google’s team for review and potential action.
Apple App Store: There is no direct public form for reporting an App Store app, but you can flag a problem with a purchase through Apple’s “Report a Problem” portal (reportaproblem.apple.com) signed in with your Apple ID. For scams involving Apple impersonation, Apple instructs users to forward suspicious emails or SMS screenshots to reportphishing@apple.com, and suspicious FaceTime-related fraud to reportfacetimefraud@apple.com. You can also tap Report Junk under suspicious iMessages.
Fraudulent ads: Report scam ads directly on the platform where you saw them (Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, X all have in-product reporting for misleading or fraudulent ads), and also file with the consumer regulator in your country from the list above. Screenshot the ad, the advertiser’s page, and the URL it links to before reporting — ads get taken down, and your evidence may be the only copy.

Red Flags Checklist: When to Report Immediately

You were contacted out of the blue with an investment, job, prize, or “official” warning — and asked to pay, share bank details, or install an app.
Someone pressured you to act within minutes or hours, threatening account closure, arrest, or a lost opportunity.
You were told to move money to a “safe account,” pay by gift cards, or send crypto to an address you were given.
A website, app, or message used a real bank’s, government agency’s, or company’s branding but the URL, email, or payment details don’t match the official ones.
After sending money, the contact disappeared, became hostile, or demanded additional “fees” or “taxes” to release your funds.

How to Verify and Protect Yourself

Report fast, then tell your bank. Your bank or payment provider may be able to reverse or freeze a transaction — but only if it knows quickly. Also check whether the same scam is listed in your country’s official alert pages before assuming it’s unique.
Use only official channels. Type portal addresses yourself or use the links verified in this article. Scammers create fake “fraud reporting” websites to harvest a second round of victims.
Watch for recovery scams. Anyone who contacts you claiming they can get your money back for an upfront fee is almost certainly running a second scam. Legitimate agencies do not ask for payment to process your report.
Verify the people pitching you. Before investing or transacting, check registration with your country’s securities regulator (for example, the SEC’s Investor.gov in the US, FINRA BrokerCheck, or the FCA register in the UK).
Lock down your accounts. After any fraud attempt, change passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and review bank statements for unfamiliar transactions.

Conclusion

Knowing how to report online fraud in your country turns a bad experience into useful action. Keep this guide bookmarked: report to the right portal, keep your evidence, keep your reference numbers, and report fraudulent apps and ads at the platform level too. A single report may not recover your money — but thousands of reports are what let investigators connect the dots and shut scam operations down.

Sources

National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (India) — https://cybercrime.gov.in/
Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (10 Dec 2024) — confirms the toll-free 1930 helpline and the NCRP — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2082765&reg=48&lang=2
Federal Investigation Agency, Public Services Portal (Pakistan) — https://complaint.fia.gov.pk/
Dubai Police — https://www.dubaipolice.gov.ae/
Report Fraud, UK (the national service for England, Wales and Northern Ireland) — https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) — https://www.ic3.gov/
Federal Trade Commission, ReportFraud — https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
Google Play Help, “Flag an app or review on Google Play” — https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2853570?hl=en
Apple Support, “Recognise and avoid social engineering schemes” (includes reportphishing@apple.com and Report Junk guidance) — https://support.apple.com/en-in/102568

Last reviewed: October 2026

This article is for education only and is not financial or legal advice.