When a case is referred to us, we will institute proceedings only if it appears, on reasonable grounds, to involve serious or complex fraud. The key criterion for deciding whether we should accept a case is that the suspected fraud is such that the direction of the investigation should be in the hands of those responsible for the prosecution.

If you wish to report a fraud to the SFO please examine our acceptance criteria first.

You will see that, amongst other factors, the Serious Fraud Office takes into consideration how much money is involved in a fraud. Typically, the SFO does not investigate or prosecute cases involving less than £1 million.

If you wish to report a criminal offence of fraud which does not appear to meet the criteria of the SFO you should bring the matter to the attention of your local police or regional fraud squad. Information about the Metropolitan Police Fraud Squad can be obtained from www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/index.htm.

If you are involved in a dispute or case that does not involve criminal offences you may wish to take independent legal advice.

If you have received a suspicious, letter, fax or e-mail emanating from West Africa or elsewhere and wish to report it to the appropriate authorities then you should hand it in to your local police station marked for the attention of the fraud squad. DO NOT REPLY TO THE LETTER ITSELF. Further information about these sorts of frauds can be obtained from the Office of Fair Trading.

An online reporting form can be found here.

The Fraud Reporting Line telephone number is 020 7239 7388.

---

If you are unsure how to report any work-related wrongdoing....
....contact Public Concern at Work (PCaW) - the whistleblowing charity

PCaW is an independent charity which provides confidential telephone advice to people who witness wrongdoing at work but are not sure whether or how to raise their concern. If you are in this position, PCaW will help you identify how best to raise your concern, maximising the opportunity to address any wrongdoing, while minimising any risk to your personal position. Telephone advice (020 7404 6609) is available 9 am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday or please email helpline@pcaw.co.uk. For more information, see www.pcaw.co.uk.