Lost or stolen bank card: how to block it fast

Block it now, sort out the rest after.

The answer in 2 lines. Freeze or cancel the card straight away in your banking app, or call your bank's 24-hour lost and stolen line (on its website, your statements, or call 159). Note the time and any reference number. Then check recent payments and report any you did not make. For unauthorised payments, your bank must normally refund you by the end of the next business day. Before you report the loss, you may have to pay up to £35, unless you acted fraudulently or with gross negligence. If the card was stolen, also report it to the police.

The first 3 steps

Block the card: freeze or cancel it in your banking app, or call your bank's 24-hour lost and stolen line. Not sure of the number? Call 159 to reach your bank safely.
Write down the date, the time and any reference number the bank gives you.
Check your recent payments in the app and list any you do not recognise.

What not to do

Giving your PIN, a one-time passcode or approving anything in your app for someone who calls you "from the bank". Banks never ask for this. Hang up and call the number on the back of your card or 159.
Waiting to see if the card turns up. Until you report it, you may have to cover up to £35 of losses.
Relying on a temporary freeze if the card was stolen or someone knows your PIN. Cancel it and ask for a new one.

What to do next, depending on your situation

Card lost: once it is cancelled, your bank sends a new card. Nothing else to do.
Card stolen: report the theft to the police on 101, or online through your local police force, and keep the crime reference number.
You still have the card, but there are payments you did not make: tell your bank at once and ask for a refund. You can also report it to Report Fraud.
Card swallowed by a cash machine: call your bank. If the machine was not your bank's, cancel the card.

Getting your money back: the rules

Unauthorised payment (one you did not make or allow): under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, your bank must normally refund you as soon as possible, and no later than the end of the next business day after you report it.
Before you report a lost or stolen card, you can be asked to pay up to £35. You pay nothing for payments made after you report it.
The bank can refuse only if it shows you acted fraudulently or with gross negligence, for example writing your PIN on the card.
Tell your bank without delay, and at the latest within 13 months of the payment.
If the bank says no, complain to it. After its final answer, or after 8 weeks, you can go to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.

Good to know

These rules apply across the UK: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Your bank cannot make you pay for payments made after you reported the card, whatever happened before.

Be ready for next time

Save your bank's lost and stolen number in your phone, and remember 159.
Turn on payment alerts in your banking app.
Never keep your PIN with your card.

In Leeds, Priya gets a call from someone who says he is from her bank's fraud team and asks her to "approve a cancellation" in her app. She hangs up, freezes her card in the app, then calls 159 to reach her bank. That evening she reports a payment she did not make, and the bank refunds it the next day.

A made-up story, for illustration.

The numbers (latest published)

£35: the most you usually pay for losses before you report a lost or stolen card.
13 months: the usual time limit to report an unauthorised payment. Act at once anyway.
£1.28 billion: money stolen through payment fraud in the UK in 2025, according to UK Finance's Annual Fraud Report 2026 (published June 2026). Figures for 2026 are not published yet.

Useful numbers and contacts (UK)

159: the Stop Scams UK number that puts you through to your own bank's real fraud team (most major banks take part).
7726: forward a scam text here, free on most UK networks.
report@phishing.gov.uk: forward a scam email here (National Cyber Security Centre).
Report Fraud: the national police reporting service for fraud and cybercrime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which replaced Action Fraud, at reportfraud.police.uk.
101: police non-emergency number. In Scotland, report fraud to Police Scotland on 101.
999: only if a crime is happening now or someone is in danger.

Bobby

Sources, verification, confidence

Verified on 18 October 2026, for England. Confidence: high for the refund rules and the £35 limit (Payment Services Regulations 2017, as explained by the FCA and Which?); high for the 2025 fraud total (UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026, published June 2026). No bank or product is recommended here. In a dispute, only your bank, the Financial Ombudsman Service or a court can decide your case. This guide describes common cases, not a diagnosis or legal advice.