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Payment Scams

Guides covering bank transfer fraud, advance fee scams, fake invoices, and APP fraud in the UK. Learn how to verify payment requests and protect your money.

Payment scams are the costliest fraud in the UK. Most are authorised push payment (APP) fraud — the scammer doesn't hack your account, they trick you into authorising the payment or sending a bank transfer yourself, often by posing as your bank, a seller, a builder, or even the police. The golden rule: never move money because a call, text or email told you to — verify any payment request through a separate, trusted channel first.

Got a payment request you're unsure about? Paste it into our free AI scam checker for an instant verdict.

The most common UK payment scams

Bank transfer and 'safe account' scams are the big one — our bank transfer and APP fraud guide explains the pattern and recovery options. Other frequent tricks include advance-fee scams, overpayment scams, invoice fraud, PayPal 'friends and family' scams, QR-code (quishing) scams and chargeback fraud.

Fake banking-app messages impersonate the apps people trust — Monzo, Revolut, Starling, Wise and Apple Pay — to push you into sending money or sharing codes.

How APP (authorised push payment) fraud works

In APP fraud the criminal convinces you to send the money yourself, so it looks authorised:

  • They impersonate someone you trust — your bank's fraud team, a tradesperson, a solicitor mid-house-purchase, a seller, or 'the police'.
  • They invent a reason to move money now: your account is 'compromised', an invoice's bank details have 'changed', or a fee is due.
  • The classic line is to move your money to a 'safe account' — there is no such thing, and your bank will never ask you to do this.
  • Because you pressed send, the payment is harder to reverse than a stolen-card transaction — which is exactly why scammers prefer it.

How to check a payment request safely

  • Stop and verify independently. Hang up or close the message and contact the bank, company or person on a number or address you already have — never one supplied in the message.
  • Use Confirmation of Payee. If the account name doesn't match who you think you're paying, don't send.
  • Beware changed bank details. For invoices or deposits, confirm any 'new' account details by phone with a known contact before paying.
  • Call 159. The free 159 service connects you securely to your bank to check whether a call or request is genuine.
  • Ask the checker. Run the message through our free AI scam checker first.

What to do if you've sent money to a scammer

  • Contact your bank immediately — the sooner you report, the better the chance of stopping or tracing the payment. A claim normally must be made within 13 months of the last relevant payment.
  • Under the Payment Systems Regulator's protections, qualifying UK-to-UK Faster Payments and CHAPS APP claims made by individuals, microenterprises and charities have been covered since 7 October 2024. Reimbursement is normally expected within five business days of a claim, but a stop-clock of up to 35 business days, a possible excess of up to £100 (not for vulnerable consumers) and an £85,000 mandatory cap can apply. Card, cash and cheque payments, unauthorised fraud and ordinary civil disputes are outside this APP scheme. Complicity or gross negligence may prevent reimbursement; the PSR describes gross negligence as a high bar and says it does not apply to vulnerable consumers.
  • Report it to Report Fraud and keep all evidence — messages, payment details, account numbers.
  • Change passwords for any account whose details you shared and turn on two-step verification.
  • Watch for a follow-up 'we can recover your money' approach — recovery scams target people who've just been defrauded.

How to report payment fraud in the UK

Report to your bank first — they hold the reimbursement process and can try to stop the payment. Use the free 159 service to reach your bank's fraud team securely. Then report to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040 (in Scotland, Police Scotland on 101). Forward any scam texts to 7726, and report phishing emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.

All payment scams guides

Common questions

What is APP fraud or a push payment scam?

Authorised push payment (APP) fraud is when a scammer tricks you into sending money yourself, by bank transfer, rather than stealing it. They impersonate your bank, a seller, a tradesperson or the police and invent an urgent reason to pay — often telling you to move money to a 'safe account'. Because you authorised the payment, it can be harder to reverse, which is why it's the costliest scam type in the UK.

Can I get my money back if I was scammed into a bank transfer?

Possibly. Mandatory protections apply to qualifying UK-to-UK Faster Payments and CHAPS APP claims by individuals, microenterprises and charities. Reimbursement is normally expected within five business days of a claim, but exclusions, a stop-clock of up to 35 business days, a possible excess of up to £100 (not for vulnerable consumers) and an £85,000 mandatory cap can apply. Report promptly and normally within 13 months of the last relevant payment.

What is the 159 number?

159 is a free, secure service — backed by Stop Scams UK and the major banks — that connects you straight to your bank's fraud team, much like 101 for the police. If you get a call, text or email about a payment and you're unsure, hang up and dial 159 to check whether it's genuine before moving any money.

Someone overpaid me and wants a refund — is it a scam?

Very likely. The overpayment scam works by 'paying' you too much (often with a fake transfer, cheque or reversed payment) and asking you to refund the difference before the original payment is shown to have failed. Never refund an overpayment until the money has genuinely and irreversibly cleared in your own account, and be wary of any buyer who overpays 'by mistake'.

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