Reporting Scams to Platforms: WhatsApp, Facebook, Marketplaces and Email
How to report a scammer's account, listing, advert or email inside the apps where scams happen, what reporting achieves, and what to do before you block.
Most scams begin inside an app: a message on WhatsApp, a seller on a marketplace, an advert on social media, an email in your inbox. Reporting the account or message to the platform is quick, and it is how scam accounts get removed before they reach the next person. Here is how to do it on the platforms where scams most often start, and what to do first.
Before you report or block, save the evidence. Screenshot the profile and the conversation, including the number or username. On some apps, blocking or reporting removes the chat from view. Our guide to preserving scam evidence explains what to keep.
What reporting achieves
- Removal. Accounts, listings, pages and adverts that break the rules can be taken down.
- Pattern detection. Reports help platforms spot networks of related accounts and remove them together.
- Protection for you. Reporting usually comes with a block, so the account cannot keep contacting you.
Platforms do not usually recover money, and they generally do not tell you the outcome in detail. For money, contact your bank; for the crime itself, see our country-by-country guide to reporting a scam.
Messaging apps
Open the chat, tap the contact's name or number at the top, and choose to report. WhatsApp lets you report and block in one step, and reporting sends the most recent messages from that chat to WhatsApp for review. You can also press and hold a single message to report it. In a group, open the group info to report the group.
Other messaging apps
Telegram, Signal, Messenger and most others have a report or block option on the contact's profile or in the menu inside the chat. If an app offers "report spam" when an unknown number first messages you, use it.
Text messages (SMS)
Use your phone's "report junk" option where available. In the United Kingdom, forward scam texts to 7726, a free service run by mobile networks. Many other countries have similar short codes, so check with your mobile network.
Social media
Facebook and Instagram
Use the report option next to the thing itself: the three dots on a profile, post, comment, message or advert. Choose "scam" or "fraud" when asked for a reason. Report fake profiles impersonating you or someone you know as impersonation, which is often reviewed faster.
TikTok, X, LinkedIn and others
Each has a report option on profiles, posts and messages, usually in a menu marked with three dots. Report scam adverts through the menu on the advert itself, not by clicking through to the advertiser's site.
Marketplaces and shopping sites
Report the listing and the seller or buyer profile inside the marketplace, whether that is Facebook Marketplace, a classifieds site or a large online store. If you paid through the platform's own checkout, use its dispute or buyer protection process quickly, as there are usually time limits. If a buyer or seller asked you to move to WhatsApp or pay outside the platform, mention that in your report. It is one of the most common signs of a marketplace scam.
- Gmail: open the message, open the menu with three dots next to Reply, and choose "Report phishing".
- Outlook and Microsoft 365: use the "Report" button and choose phishing, or "Report phishing" in the menu.
- Apple Mail and others: mark it as junk, and report it to your email provider if it offers a phishing option.
- At work: use your organization's report button or forward it to your IT team, as they asked. Do not just delete it.
In the United Kingdom, you can also forward scam emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, the National Cyber Security Centre's reporting service.
Fake websites
Report phishing and fake shop websites to Google Safe Browsing. Once a site is confirmed, browsers that use Safe Browsing can show a warning to other people who try to visit it. Do not enter anything on the site to "test" it.
After you report
- Block the account if reporting did not already do so.
- Warn your contacts if the scammer impersonated you or used your account.
- Expect nothing and keep going. If money or personal details were involved, work through our first-hour checklist.
Not sure it is a scam? Paste the message, link or listing text into CyberWatch AI Scan for a free second opinion before you report it.
Reporting to the platform takes a minute and protects the next person. For everything else, read our complete guide on what to do if you have been scammed.
Frequently asked questions
Does the scammer know I reported them?
No. Major platforms do not tell people who reported them.
Why is the scam account still there after I reported it?
Reviews can take time, and not every report leads to removal. Reporting still helps, because platforms use reports to detect patterns and remove related accounts. Block the account so it cannot contact you.
Should I report to the platform or to the police?
Both, if you lost money or personal details. The platform can remove the account; the police and your national fraud service record the crime. Call your bank first if money moved.
Is it safe to click unsubscribe or reply STOP?
For scam messages, no. It confirms your number or address is active. Use the app's report option instead.
Sources
- How to block and report someone, WhatsApp Help Center
- Report content on Facebook, Facebook Help Centre
- Avoid and report phishing emails, Gmail Help
- Report a phishing page, Google Safe Browsing
- Report a scam email, UK National Cyber Security Centre
