— Questions and answers
Plain answers to fair questions.
What an entry on UK Scam does and does not mean, how we check evidence, where to report a scam, and how to get something put right.
- Answers
- 30
- Topics
- 7
- Paid removals
- Never
- Corrections
- Free, on evidence
- I.About the file(5)
- II.Evidence and checking(4)
- III.Using the search(2)
- IV.Cases and allegations(6)
- V.Telling us about a scam(3)
- VI.Professional use and Tracer(7)
- VII.Corrections and removal(3)
Our research can draw on court files, Companies House and other official records, regulator documents, lawful open-source research, material readers send us and, where justified, enquiries made in person. Each important claim is judged by what the underlying evidence actually shows, never by how often it has been repeated.
About the file
UK Scam is an independent, evidence-based record of fraud and scam matters with a connection to the United Kingdom.
We look at people, companies, court cases and schemes where there is a genuine public-interest reason to do so: investment and pension scams, crypto fraud, bank and HMRC impersonation, purchase and rental scams, money laundering, regulatory action and the like.
Every entry rests on documents, and every entry tells you which parts are allegations, which are cases still running and which have been decided.
No.
A name in an entry is not a finding that anyone committed fraud or broke the law. Each entry states whether it describes an allegation, an open case, a regulatory or civil decision, or a criminal conviction — and the grade describes the strength of the evidence, never the character of the person.
Everyone named is presumed innocent unless and until a court or competent authority decides otherwise.
How evidence is graded →A structured examination of the evidence about a person, company, transaction, dispute or legal matter.
Depending on the subject, it can draw on court records, Companies House and overseas registry filings, regulator notices, official databases, ownership information, interviews, financial documents and lawful open-source research.
It does not decide guilt or liability. It sets out what the evidence supports, and what remains disputed or unknown.
An Investigation examines one matter, question, transaction, pattern or event.
A Dossier is a wider, structured file on a single person, company or organisation. It can bring several cases, company links, allegations, decisions, replies and sources together in one place.
A Report usually covers one defined case or development.
None of these labels implies that anyone did anything wrong.
Substantial entries go through research, verification and editorial review, and legal review where the matter calls for it.
Legal review is carried out with lawyers qualified in England and Wales and, where a matter reaches other places, in the other jurisdictions involved.
No amount of internal review turns an allegation into a court finding.
Editorial Standards: legal review →Evidence and checking
Court claims, judgments and orders; decisions and notices from regulators and other authorities; company filings in the UK and abroad; contracts, correspondence and payment records; official databases; and other relevant documents.
Interviews, material sent to us and lawful open-source research can also play a part.
How much weight any document carries depends on its origin, its authenticity, its context and its legal status.
We look at where it came from, who issued it, when, whether it is complete, and whether it fits with the other records.
Where we reasonably can, important points are taken back to the primary source — the judgment, the regulator's notice, the registry filing or the original paperwork.
An official document is strong evidence of what it records. It does not make every sentence inside it true.
Source & Verification Policy →Open-source intelligence: gathering and analysing information from sources anyone can lawfully reach.
That includes official registers, court lists and judgments, websites and archived copies of them, public social-media posts and other material that is publicly available.
Anything found this way is checked before we rely on it for an important point.
We set the conflict out rather than choosing the version that makes the better story.
Where reliable sources disagree, the entry can show what each one says, identify the disagreement and state what is still unresolved.
If the evidence will not support a responsible conclusion, the entry says so in plain terms.
Using the search
Yes. We publish searchable entries on people and companies where the evidence is strong enough and there is a legitimate reason to publish.
An entry may list related court cases, allegations, regulatory action, company links and other documented matters.
Approved Research Members can also use Tracer, our restricted research system, within the limits of their access and the rules on lawful use.
Search the file →Our Dossiers, Investigations and Reports refer to related cases and cite the underlying records where that is appropriate.
Where the information is available, an entry may give the court, the jurisdiction, the case number, the parties, the date of filing, the current stage and the main orders or judgments.
We are not a replacement for an official court service or public register. Anyone relying on a detail for legal work should confirm it with the official source.
Cases and allegations
No.
A claim, a complaint, a charge, a police report or a regulator's inquiry does not by itself prove that the allegations in it are true.
We keep allegations, open cases, decisions, convictions, dismissals, acquittals and successful appeals apart. That separation is at the heart of everything we publish.
How evidence is classified →Where the evidence and the public interest justify it: alleged investment and pension scams, crypto fraud, authorised push payment fraud, impersonation of banks, HMRC and the police, romance scams, purchase and rental scams, fake jobs, bribery, sanctions issues, regulatory breaches, hidden ownership and the money trails behind them.
Being researched by us does not mean that a person or company committed fraud or any other offence.
Every allegation is described according to its actual evidential and legal status.
Yes, where there is good reason.
Company research can cover Companies House filings, directors, persons with significant control, overseas registrations, related companies, claims, regulatory activity and other documented business links.
An unusual structure, a company registered abroad, trading in several countries or a history of disputes is not, on its own, a sign of wrongdoing.
We may, where there is a real public-interest matter and a sound evidential basis.
That can mean confirming identity, case history, relevant directorships, regulatory matters and other lawfully obtained records.
We do not publish claims about someone just because another person asks us to look into them.
No. We are not the police, a prosecutor or a regulator, and we have no official investigative powers.
We may report on documented criminal allegations, charges, prosecutions and convictions where it is lawful and editorially justified.
Criminal guilt is decided by the courts — not by UK Scam.
Occasionally, where it is lawful and justified.
Live proceedings need particular care. A charge is never presented as a conviction, and we take account of contempt of court, reporting restrictions, privacy and the other legal duties that apply in each jurisdiction involved.
Where a case is unresolved, the entry says so clearly.
Telling us about a scam
Yes. Use the evidence form to tell us about a person, company, organisation or scheme.
Attach the underlying material wherever you can: court papers, official letters, company documents, contracts, receipts, messages or anything else that supports what you are telling us.
Sending us information does not guarantee an investigation or an entry.
Submit evidence →Use the Submit Evidence form and describe events factually and in the order they happened.
Give the name of the person or company, the country, any case or complaint you know of, the key dates and your own connection to the matter. Upload documents if you have them.
Never knowingly send forged, altered or unlawfully obtained material. Every submission is reviewed and checked.
Submit evidence →No. We research and publish. We are not a law firm, a recovery service or an authority, and we cannot recover money or act on your behalf.
If you have lost money, contact your bank or payment provider straight away — you can call 159 to reach most UK banks safely — and report the fraud to the police. Treat anyone who approaches you offering to recover your losses for a fee with great caution: it is one of the most common follow-up scams.
You are still welcome to send us your evidence.
Submit evidence →Professional use and Tracer
Tracer is our restricted research system for approved professional users.
It supports deeper research into people, companies, company links, legal proceedings and related records. Verified solicitors and barristers, police and public-sector staff, investigators, compliance teams and other approved professionals can apply for access.
Tracer is a research tool. It does not decide guilt, liability or legal status.
About Tracer →Apply for Research Membership.
Approved members may be given permission-based access to Tracer, unpublished research, deeper company and person research and professional support, depending on their role and stated purpose.
Research Membership: on application. Every application is checked before it is approved.
Apply for Research Membership →We carry out evidence-based investigative research, not routine consumer background checks.
Our work may cover claims and cases, company links, regulatory records, ownership structures and other documented information where there is a proper professional or public-interest purpose.
Approved users can also carry out restricted professional research through Tracer.
Approved legal professionals may use our entries and, where eligible, Tracer to support case research, due diligence, company and person research and evidence analysis.
We are not a substitute for independent legal advice, official court records, formal disclosure or the verification a particular case requires.
Approved police and public-sector professionals may qualify for restricted access to our research systems.
Access depends on review, permissions and the legal requirements that apply.
Giving research access does not mean we endorse any investigation, allegation, prosecution or official conclusion.
Whether an entry, an underlying document or anything else is admissible is for the court or tribunal concerned, under its own rules of evidence and procedure.
Publication on this site does not make anything admissible.
Rely on your own legal advisers to decide how evidence should be proved, presented or challenged.
We may provide research and evidence-analysis support to eligible professional users.
Our checks do not replace the authentication a court, regulator or other authority requires.
Professional users remain responsible for meeting the legal requirements of their own matter.
Corrections and removal
No.
We accept no payment, gift, favour or other benefit in return for hiding, removing or materially changing accurate reporting.
Anyone can challenge an entry with evidence. If reliable evidence shows that an entry is wrong, incomplete or seriously out of date, it may be corrected or updated under our Corrections Policy.
Evidence can change an entry. Money cannot.
Independence Policy →Tell us which Dossier, Investigation or Report you mean, the exact statement you dispute and why you believe it is wrong.
Send supporting documents wherever you can.
We consider verified dismissals, acquittals, successful appeals, corrected official records, mistaken identity and other significant developments.
You never need to buy a membership to ask for a correction.
Request a correction →A dismissal is an important development, and it is added wherever it affects an existing entry.
Whether earlier reporting stays online depends on the circumstances, the law and whether it remains relevant. A report can have been accurate when published even though the case later turned out differently.
Where earlier material stays up, the later outcome is shown clearly enough that nobody is misled.
Corrections Policy: dismissals and acquittals →Do you hold documents about a scam?
Court papers, official letters, company records or other material you can stand behind: send it for review. UK Scam never publishes a claim simply because it arrived. Every item is checked first.