Disclaimer: Our website and publications aim to give you general information to help you make financial decisions. It is not advice, nor can it take account of your own particular circumstances. For advice with a view to making decisions about your own circumstances you should consult a financial or other professional adviser.

© The Financial Services Authority.

Staying safe against scams

Step 2 – Types of scam

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There are measures in place to help protect you when things go wrong, but they often only apply if you have first taken reasonable steps to protect yourself.

Protecting yourself

  • Make sure you know who you’re dealing with. Check our Register to find out whether the firm you want to use is regulated. If you don’t and things go wrong you won’t have access to the UK complaints procedures and compensation scheme. See Making a complaint to find out more.

    To find out how to protect yourself when dealing with firms calling out of the blue, see Share scams (also known as boiler rooms)
  • Be careful with your personal and security details, and keep an eye on your account statements. As long as you take reasonable care and contact your card provider as soon as you realise something is wrong you should be entitled to a refund of any money lost through fraudulent activity (except for the first £50). The Card Watch website has a full list of common questions about plastic card and related fraud – see Related links.
  • Protect your computer against online criminals. Get Safe Online is a government website that has a 10-minute guide for beginners and other advice on how to protect yourself online. It’s a good starting point and they have an online quiz – see Related links.
  • Get more hints and tips on how to protect yourself in different situations, from protecting your personal information to buying services and products on the internet or over the phone. See Stay safe

Industry protection

  • Chip and PIN helps to protect your debit and credit cards against fraud and is used for most transactions in the UK.
  • Some card payment schemes allow you to register for extra security. Verified by VISA and Mastercard SecureCode require you to quote an extra password – chosen by you – when using your card at participating high street and online stores.

See Related links to find out more about both of these.

Unauthorised and overseas firms

Most UK firms offering you financial services have to be regulated, but some try to bypass these requirements.

We regulate most types of financial firm, such as banks, building societies, insurance companies, financial advisers, stockbrokers, mortgage and insurance brokers. We also regulate credit unions in England, Scotland and Wales. The Companies Registry regulates credit unions in Northern Ireland.

We don’t regulate the selling of loans, credit cards, occupational pension schemes or day-to-day banking. These are covered by the Office of Fair Trading, The Pensions Regulator and the Banking Code Standards Board. See What we do

  • Check our Register to make sure firms we regulate are allowed to give financial advice or take deposits before handing over your money. If we don't regulate them and things go wrong you won't have access to the UK complaints procedures and compensation scheme.
  • Check our warning lists of unathorised firms and individuals and overseas firms we know to be targeting UK customers. However, remember these firms are likely to change their name often, so if you can’t find a particular name on these lists that still doesn’t mean it’s genuine. See Unauthorised firms and individuals and Unauthorised overseas firms
  • Find out more about dealing with firms authorised in the European Economic Area (EEA) or overseas – see Lists of unauthorised firms

Next steps

  • Find out whether your personal information has been used to set up a fraudulent loan or bank account in your name. Credit reference agencies can provide you with your personal credit history for a small fee – usually just £2.
  • Make sure the firm you are dealing with is regulated and allowed to do financial business in the UK – see Check our Register
  • Check our Unauthorised firms and individuals and Unauthorised overseas firms lists, where we publish the names of firms both inside the UK and overseas that we know to be targeting UK customers.
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