Dealing with Fraud

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Do you need to report fraud relating to a Vodafone UK number?

You can alert us to an instance of fraud by filling in the form here with all the relevant details - then clicking "Submit". Alternatively, you can contact our fraud team by calling 03333040191 for free. The fraud team is available 8am-8pm 7 days a week. If you place a call outside of these hours, you can request a call back.

If you believe that a fraudster may have gained access to your Vodafone account, or a Vodafone account has been set up in your name without your permission, then please report the issue to our fraud team as soon as possible. If you need advice about nuisance calls or text messages, then check our help page.

You can also report instances of fraud to the police by contacting Action Fraud where you’ll receive a police crime reference number. Action Fraud also provides a central point of contact for information on fraudulent activity, as well as financially motivated internet crime.

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What’s Wangiri fraud?

It’s receiving missed calls from international numbers you don’t recognise on either a mobile or a fixed-line phone. The fraudsters generating the missed calls hope that their expensive international numbers will be called back so that they can profit.

If you receive calls like this, be assured that you haven’t been specifically targeted. It’s likely that the fraudster has generated a missed call to a whole range of mobile numbers that happens to include yours.

What should you do if you get a suspected Wangiri call?

We recommend that you don’t return calls to international numbers that you don’t recognise. Calls to Wangiri numbers will often result in a charge being incurred and encourage the fraudster to generate more missed calls to customers who choose to call back.

If you think you’ve had missed calls from international numbers that may be involved in this scam, let us know. Just text CALL to 7726 free from your Vodafone mobile, and we’ll reply by text to ask you for the phone number you’re receiving the nuisance calls from.

I accidentally called back a Wangiri number. Can I have a refund?

We don’t want you to be out of pocket as a result of these scams, so we refund all customers who have returned a call to a confirmed fraudulent Wangiri number. We aim to process these refunds within 30 days and we’ll confirm the refund has been applied by sending you a text message.

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What is phishing?

Phishing is a technique used by criminals to try and steal information about a person’s identity. This can be done by email, text or even over the phone. 

• Usually, a phishing scam takes the form of a text or an email that looks like it’s from a real organisation – HMRC or your bank for example
• They create a sense of urgency to give the impression you need to act immediately – because you’ve won a prize, or there’s something wrong with your bank account for example
• Emails often include logos and fonts that look exactly like the organisation’s they claim to be from
• There’s normally a link that leads to a fake website if it’s clicked, or a phone number that connects directly with the fraudster if dialled. If you click or call, you’ll be asked for personal information like usernames, passwords, PINs and bank details 
• Another email tactic used is asking you to open an attachment containing a virus or malware

Important: Always take a moment to review emails, and don’t be pushed into an immediate action – like clicking or sharing information. If in doubt, never click links or open attachments. Unknowingly sharing personal information with fraudsters can result in identity theft and money being stolen from your bank accounts.