​Check that you're talking to genuine CRC staff and not a criminal.

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Criminals like to impersonate us in order to try and scam you. These scams will try and trick people into transferring money, or revealing sensitive information.  ​This page explains:

✅ How to verify CRC contact

⚠️ How to spot common scams

⚠️ What to do if you think you've been scammed

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​​​Contact by phone

✅ CRC staff may contact you by phone

✅ You can use the process described below to verify this before taking any further action​​​

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​However, official CRC staff will never:

​​​​❌ Ask for your bank details or PIN

❌ Request you transfer funds to another account

❌ Ask you to hand over cash or bank cards

❌ Ask you to pay a fine

❌ Request passwords or logon details so they can access your computer (or for any other reason)

❌ Ask you to provide personal details in an email attachment, or on a website

❌ Ask you to assist in an investigation by doing any of the above (or state that you are committing a crime by not complying)

❌ Communicate in an abusive, threatening or coercive manner

⚠️ If you do receive a call of this nature, please hang up, and report it

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Contact by email

✅ CRC staff may contact you by email

✅ Emails will be sent from addresses ending @secrc.police.uk, which is an official police-only domain

✅ You can use the process described below to verify this before taking any further action

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However, official CRC emails will never:

❌ Ask for remote access to your computer

❌ Send unsolicited emails with attached files (especially .zip or Microsoft Office files)

❌ Ask you for any login details (including passwords)

❌ Direct you to third party organisations to verify the identity of CRC staff​

⚠️ If you believe you have received a suspicious email, report it

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Contact by SMS or WhatsApp

❌ ​CRC staff will never contact you by text message, WhatsApp, or other instant messaging service.​

​⚠️ If you receive a message claiming to be from the CRC, report it

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How to verify a contact from the CRC

✅ The current team are listed on our meet the team page

✅ ​​You can verify the contact you are speaking to is from the CRC by using the non-urgent police number 101 and speaking with Thames Valley Police

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How to spot scam messages

​​It used to be easier to spot scams. They would often contain bad spelling or grammar, come from an unusual email address, or feature imagery or design that feels ‘off’. But scams are getting smarter and some even fool the experts

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For this reason, the NCSC has produced detailed guidance to help you spot and report suspicious messages, emails, web sites and phone calls, but in summary:

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⚠️ Scammers try to quickly gain your trust. They aim to pressure you into acting without thinking. If a message or call makes you suspicious, stop, and break the contact

⚠️ Your bank (or any other official source) will never ask you to supply personal information via email, or call and ask you to confirm your bank account details

⚠️ If you suspect someone is not who they claim to be, hang up and contact the organisation directly (for example using their official website)

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If you've lost money, or been hacked

⚠️ ​If you think you may have been a victim of fraud or cyber crime, whether that's from visiting a website, responding to an email, or a text message, report it

⚠️ If you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you can report it to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040

⚠️ If you live in Scotland, you can report it to Police Scotland by calling 101