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uk Travel, documents & being abroad

What to do if…
you receive a demand for money to return your lost passport or documents and suspect a scam

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy UK guide

Short answer

Do not pay, click links, meet them alone, or share more personal information. Save the messages, move to official routes, and cancel your UK passport as soon as possible unless you are applying for a UK emergency travel document, where cancellation is normally handled as part of that application.

Do not do these things

  • Do not send money, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or “delivery” or “processing” fees to get your passport or documents back.
  • Do not send photos, scans, visa details, boarding passes, your address, or your signature to an unknown person to “prove” the documents are yours.
  • Do not agree to meet alone, at night, or in a private place to collect documents.
  • Do not click links, open files, or call numbers they provide while claiming to be an embassy, immigration office, courier, hotel, airport, or police force.
  • Do not keep negotiating if they become threatening; stop replying and move to official help.

What to do now

  1. Save the evidence before you stop replying. Screenshot the messages, usernames, phone numbers, email addresses, payment details, profile pages, and any threats.
  2. Stop direct contact. Do not argue, bargain, or send “proof” of identity. If the person keeps messaging, mute rather than delete the conversation until you have saved what you need.
  3. Get to a safer public place if a meeting has been suggested. Use a hotel desk, airport desk, transport staff, police station, or another staffed public place rather than meeting the person privately.
  4. Cancel the lost or stolen UK passport through GOV.UK as soon as possible. If you are abroad and are applying for a UK emergency travel document, follow that official application route because passport cancellation is normally included in it.
  5. If you are abroad and need to travel soon, check the official UK emergency travel document route. Use GOV.UK to see whether you can apply because this is for British nationals abroad who need urgent travel and cannot use their UK passport.
  6. Check any “we found it” claim using details you find yourself. Contact the hotel, airport, taxi company, airline, or police station through its official website, your booking confirmation, or a staffed desk, not through the number or link in the message.
  7. Report threats or immediate danger locally. If you feel unsafe, if the person is nearby, or if the crime seems to be happening now, contact local emergency services or local police where you are.
  8. If you paid or shared bank or card details, contact your bank or card provider now. Use the number in your banking app, on your card, or on the bank’s official website.
  9. Report the fraud attempt through the UK route when you are safe enough to do so. Use Report Fraud if you live in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland; if you live in Scotland or the crime happened there, contact Police Scotland on 101.
  10. If the contact came by email or text, report it as phishing. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and suspicious texts to 7726.

What can wait

  • You do not need to decide now whether to confront the person, prove ownership, or try to recover the documents face-to-face.
  • You do not need to post publicly about the loss or the messages.
  • You do not need to buy replacement flights immediately unless an official passport or emergency travel document route confirms you cannot travel as planned.
  • You do not need to solve every identity-protection issue today; the first priority is stopping payment, stopping contact, and using official document routes.

Important reassurance

This kind of demand works by making you feel rushed and trapped. Moving away from the person and into official passport, police, bank, and consular routes is a protective step, not an overreaction.

Scope note

These are first steps only. Replacement documents, visas, travel disruption, insurance, and longer-term identity protection may need specialist help later.

Important note

This is general information for urgent first actions, not legal, medical, financial, therapeutic, or other professional advice. If you feel physically unsafe or are being threatened, prioritise getting to a safer public place and contacting local emergency services.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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