Cybersafety - Referrals | Mothership Branding

REFERRALS

Has something has gone wrong online, for your organisation or for someone you support?

Find the situation below to see who to contact with publically available information.

If you're not sure which fits, book a free 20-minute call and Mothership Safety will point you to the right one. We'll also tell you when a question is better handled by someone else.

If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.

This includes someone being threatened, someone at risk of harming themselves, or a child at risk right now. If you can't speak, call 999 from a mobile, stay on the line and press 55 when prompted.

For anything else, use the routes below. We're not an emergency service and we can't take reports of crime.

Situation: Someone has lost money, given away details or been hacked.

1. If money or bank details are involved, contact the bank first. Call 159 to reach most UK banks' fraud teams, or use the number on the back of the card. Do this before anything else, because speed affects whether money can be recovered.

2. Report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040.

Report Fraud replaced Action Fraud in December 2025 and covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

3. If an account was taken over, change the password from a different device and turn on two-step verification or a passkey.

4. Record what happened using our incident report template (Coming soon).

Report even if no money was lost, as it will help police build a picture of who is being targeted.

Support after a scam: Stop! Think Fraud: recovering from fraud

For staff: If the person you support feels embarrassed, tell them scams are designed to fool people and that reporting is the right thing to do. Don't take their phone or tablet away as a response. That makes it less likely they'll tell you next time.

Sources: GOV.UK, Report Fraud launch, Report Fraud

Situation: There has been a suspicious email, text or call.

If nothing has happened yet, don't click links, open attachments or reply. Check it by contacting the organisation directly, using a number or website you already know is right.

• Email: forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. The National Cyber Security Centre investigates and takes scam sites down.
• Text message: forward it to 7726.
• Phone call: text 7726 with the word "Call" followed by the caller's number.
• Scam advert: report it to the Advertising Standards Authority.

If someone did click, reply or pay, go to the section above.
Sources: GOV.UK, Report Fraud launch, Report Fraud

Situation: Someone has seen or received something hateful or upsetting.

Start by checking the person is OK. Seeing something upsetting isn't their fault, and they shouldn't lose access to their device because of it.

1. Report it on the platform. Use the report button on the post, message or profile. Take a screenshot first, including the username and date.

2. If the platform doesn't act: Report Harmful Content can review it and escalate to the platform. It's for anyone aged 13 or over and covers harmful content that isn't illegal.

3. If it targets someone because of a protected characteristic: it may be a hate crime. Report it to the police on 101, or online through True Vision. Call 999 if there's a threat of violence.

4. If it's a threat, harassment or stalking: report it to the police on 101.

For staff: the Professionals Online Safety Helpline, run by SWGfL, advises people who work with children and young people on online safety issues.

Sources: Report Harmful Content FAQs, SWGfL

Situation: You want to secure your organisation's accounts, devices and data.

This is about protecting your organisation. For protecting the people you support, see the sections above or ask us about a health check.

Free police-led support: the Cyber Resilience Centre for the North East covers West Yorkshire and the rest of Yorkshire and the Humber. It works with charities as well as small businesses, and offers free membership plus funded security awareness training.
Free guidance: the NCSC's Small Charity Guide sets out five low-cost steps: backups, malware, devices, passwords and phishing.
A certificate: Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme that shows you have basic protections in place. Funders and commissioners increasingly ask for it. The Cyber Resilience Centre can help you prepare.

We can also direct you to assessors specialised in 'Cyber Essentials' within our network who work with SMEs, charities and other similar organisations.

Sources: NECRC, Y&NY Growth Hub on NECRC membership