Where to Report Cyber Fraud — Global Directory
If you have been targeted by cyber fraud, report it to your government's official agency below. Reporting is free, takes only minutes, and helps protect others. Always report to your local police as well, especially if you have lost money.
This directory covers five regions where the Sikh diaspora and broader Panjabi-speaking community lives in significant numbers. Phone numbers, URLs, and agency scope were verified against each agency's own .gov / national-police domain on 2026-05-07 (helplines re-verified 2026-06-18).
Free helplines — call first if you are not sure
If you are not sure whether something is a scam, or you have just been targeted, you can phone a free helpline and a real person will talk it through with you. You do not have to be a member, and you do not have to decide alone.
| Country | Free helpline | Number |
|---|---|---|
| USA | AARP Fraud Watch Network | 877-908-3360 |
| Canada | Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) | 1-888-495-8501 |
| UK | Citizens Advice consumer helpline | 0808 223 1133 |
| Australia / NZ | IDCARE | 1800 595 160 |
| India | National Cyber Crime Helpline | 1930 |
These helplines give advice and support. To file a formal report, use the country sections below.
What to do first
- If you have lost money — call your bank immediately to stop or reverse transactions. Banks can often hold funds in transit for 24–72 hours.
- Save evidence — take screenshots of messages, emails, websites, and transaction details before deleting anything. Date and time stamps matter.
- Phone a free helpline (above) if you want to talk to someone before you act.
- Report to the agency below for your country.
- Report to your local police as well, especially if money is involved. The local police can act on local jurisdiction; the federal agency tracks the pattern.
- Tell your family — particularly elders and anyone else who may receive similar messages. Most cyber fraud succeeds because the person targeted does not know to ask.
United States
| Agency | What it handles | Website / Phone |
|---|---|---|
| AARP Fraud Watch Network | Free helpline — ask if something is a scam, or get help after being targeted | 877-908-3360 |
| IC3 (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center) | All internet-enabled crimes, online fraud, scams, identity theft, ransomware | ic3.gov |
| FTC | Consumer fraud and scam reporting | reportfraud.ftc.gov |
| FBI Tips | Threats to life, terrorism, national security, ongoing crimes | tips.fbi.gov |
For most cyber fraud incidents — financial scams, romance fraud, identity theft, ransomware — IC3 is the right destination. The AARP helpline is the place to phone first if you simply want to check whether something is a scam. Use FBI Tips only when life is at risk or a federal crime is in progress.
Canada
| Agency | What it handles | Website / Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) | National fraud reporting, intelligence, prevention — and a phone helpline | antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca • 1-888-495-8501 |
| Report Cybercrime and Fraud (RCMP NC3 + CAFC) | National reporting system for fraud and cybercrime; launched Nov 2025 | reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca |
| RCMP NC3 (National Cybercrime Coordination Centre) | Federal cybercrime coordination layer | rcmp.ca/cybercrime |
The CAFC number doubles as both the ask-first helpline and the national reporting line. The Government of Canada consolidated cybercrime + fraud reporting at reportcyberandfraud.canada.ca in November 2025. The legacy URL reportcybercrime.ca still redirects but should not be linked as canonical — use the new canada.ca URL.
United Kingdom
| Agency | What it handles | Website / Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Citizens Advice consumer helpline | Free advice — ask if something is a scam, or get help | 0808 223 1133 |
| Report Fraud (England, Wales, N. Ireland) | If you have lost money or been hacked | reportfraud.police.uk • 0300 123 2040 |
| NCSC SERS (email phishing) | Forward suspicious emails to this address | report@phishing.gov.uk |
| NCSC SMS reporting | Forward suspicious text messages | Forward the SMS to 7726 |
| Police Scotland (Scotland) | If you have lost money or been hacked. Report Fraud does not cover Scotland. | 101 |
In the UK, advice and reporting are separate: phone Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133) to ask whether something is a scam, and Report Fraud (0300 123 2040) to file a report. Important name change (December 2025): the service formerly known as Action Fraud is now Report Fraud, at reportfraud.police.uk. The phone number is unchanged. Any older guidance referencing actionfraud.police.uk should be updated.
Australia & New Zealand
| Agency | What it handles | Website / Phone |
|---|---|---|
| IDCARE | Free support helpline (Australia & New Zealand) — get help after being targeted | 1800 595 160 |
| Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre, ACCC) | Reporting scams and community alerts | scamwatch.gov.au |
| ReportCyber (ASD ACSC) | Cybercrime, security incidents, online abuse | cyber.gov.au/report |
| Australian Cyber Security Hotline | 24/7 live support | 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371) |
IDCARE is the free helpline to phone first — it supports both Australia and New Zealand. Use Scamwatch to report scams, and ReportCyber for active cybercrime (hacked account, ransomware, business email compromise).
India
| Agency | What it handles | Website / Phone |
|---|---|---|
| National Cyber Crime Helpline | 24/7 financial fraud helpline — phone first to freeze fraudulent transactions | 1930 |
| National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (I4C, MHA) | All cybercrimes; special focus on women & children and financial fraud | cybercrime.gov.in |
The 1930 helpline is specifically optimized for financial cyber fraud — banks and the National Cybercrime Coordination Centre can coordinate to freeze attacker accounts within hours if reported quickly. Phone 1930 first if money has just gone; for non-financial cybercrime, use the portal directly.
Glossary
| English | Panjabi | Romanization | Type | Source / note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyber fraud | ਸਾਈਬਰ ਠੱਗੀ | sāibar thaggī | H | ṭhagīā (ਠਗੀਆ) — Old Panjabi root |
| Cybercrime | ਸਾਈਬਰ ਜੁਰਮ | sāibar jurm | H | jurm from Persian/Arabic, modern Panjabi standard |
| Crime | ਜੁਰਮ | jurm | T | Persian/Arabic origin (avoiding Sanskrit-rooted ਅਪਰਾਧ) |
| Scam | ਠੱਗੀ | thaggī | T | Same as fraud; Gurbani-rooted |
| Helpline | ਹੈਲਪਲਾਈਨ | helpline | L | Universal loan |
| Suspicious | ਸ਼ੱਕੀ | shakkī | T | Persian/Arabic origin |
| Complaint | ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤ | shikāyat | T | Persian/Arabic origin |
| Phishing | ਫਿਸ਼ਿੰਗ | phishing | L | Universal loan |
| Report (verb) | ਰਿਪੋਰਟ ਕਰੋ | report karo | H | Anchor glossary |
| Website | ਵੈੱਬਸਾਈਟ | webasāīṭ | L | Universal loan |
| Government agency | ਸਰਕਾਰੀ ਏਜੰਸੀ | sarkārī aiñsī | T+L | sarkār Persian-origin standard, aiñsī loan |
| Bank | ਬੈਂਕ | bank | L | Universal loan |
| Evidence | ਸਬੂਤ | sabūt | T | Persian/Arabic origin |
| Local police | ਸਥਾਨਕ ਪੁਲਿਸ | sthānak police | T+L | Open question for sangat review: ਨਜ਼ਦੀਕੀ (Persian) is an alternative for "local" |
| FBI / IC3 / CAFC / NCSC / ACSC / I4C / IDCARE / AARP | unchanged | — | R | Acronyms / proper nouns |
| Action Fraud → Report Fraud | unchanged | — | R | UK proper noun; renamed Dec 2025 |
Type codes: T = Translated, L = Loan word, R = Retained (acronym/proper noun unchanged), H = Hybrid.
Verification and provenance
Reporting URLs and phone numbers were verified on 2026-05-07 against each agency's own official domain. The free-helpline numbers (AARP, CAFC, Citizens Advice, IDCARE, India 1930) were verified on 2026-06-18 against official or government sources. Verification methodology, source URLs, and anomaly notes (e.g., WAFs blocking the verification client for cyber.gov.au and cybercrime.gov.in — confirmed live via official cross-references) are documented separately in the engineering record at the repository level.
This directory is part of the Digital Seva community fraud-awareness series. It is the source of truth referenced from the scam-specific awareness posts (tech support, WhatsApp family emergency, gurdwara/charity).
Reviewer note
This document is v0.1 — an initial AI-assisted draft. The Panjabi sibling post has not yet been reviewed by the local sangat. We invite Panjabi-speaking community members — especially elders, language teachers, and gurdwara families — to review the Panjabi version for accuracy, cultural fit, and clarity.
Email feedback to gurvinder@securityleader.ai with the subject line "Digital Seva Review — Reporting Centers". Even a single correction or suggestion is valuable.
🌐 A Panjabi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ) translation of this directory is in sangat review. Read the bilingual version at
/blog/pa-in/reporting-centers-onepager.
Gurvinder Singh, CISSP, CISA, GWAPT — SecurityLeader.ai · Digital Seva · ਸਰਬੱਤ ਦਾ ਭਲਾ