I’ve been scammed: what do I do now?

This guide is for anyone who has lost money in a UK property investment scam, paid by bank transfer between UK accounts, and does not know where to start.

You answer a few questions about your case: whether you have already complained to your bank and what it said, when you made the last payment, whether the account was yours or your company's, and who was involved in the deal (a solicitor, an intermediary, the company you invested in). It gives you your steps in order, with the deadlines that apply to you: reporting it to the police, claiming from your bank and the Financial Ombudsman Service, the property redress schemes, the solicitor's regulator, any security, the liquidators and the Insolvency Service, and how to lean on other victims.

It takes into account the UK reimbursement rules for authorised push payment (APP) fraud, which apply to payments made from 7 October 2024, with a limit of £85,000 and 13 months to claim from the last payment. It comes from my own experience of getting my money back and from that of other victims.

What it doesn't do

• It is not legal or financial advice.
• It only covers UK property investment scams paid by bank transfer. If you paid by card, in crypto or by international transfer, the ways to claim are different and it does not cover them.
• It does not work out how much you will recover or whether your claim will succeed.
• It does not store or send your answers.