The Investigator’s Handbook: United Kingdom Edition

What the United Kingdom edition covers

1. United Kingdom 1. Domestic legal process: who can ask for what, and how

   This chapter explains how a UK investigator obtains communications data, stored content, bank records and frozen funds from providers inside the United Kingdom, who is allowed to issue each request, what the timelines are, and what everyone else (private investigators, journalists, victims) must do instead. It follows the statutes as published on legislation.gov.uk, with the differences between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland shown wherever the sources show them.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Scope: three legal systems under one set of statutes
   • Which power for which need
   • Communications data: the Investigatory Powers Act 2016
   • Preservation and retention
   • Stored content and other records: PACE production orders
   • Emergency requests
   • User notice and non-disclosure
   • Who may not issue these requests, and what to do instead
   • Interception: awareness only
   • How a foreign investigator relates to this law
   • Electronic evidence in court: the basics
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist before you serve or apply

2. United Kingdom 2. Internet and telecom providers in the United Kingdom

   The UK has no licence register of internet and telecom providers, so finding the right company to serve takes more steps than in countries that keep one. This chapter shows who regulates the sector, how to identify the provider behind an IP address, a number or a domain, what the law and the Home Office guidance say about how long providers keep data, and how to use our directory to address a request correctly.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Regulator and the regime
   • Identifying the provider
   • How long providers keep data
   • How quickly operators respond
   • Who to serve: our directory
   • Foreign platforms and UK-based services
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

3. United Kingdom 3. Banks, wallets and national reporting: money and complaints

   This chapter covers where a UK fraud victim reports, what the victim’s bank must do and by when under the published rules, how funds can be held or frozen quickly, and how a complaint climbs from the bank to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It also gives the official statistics for scale, with their dates, and links the relevant pages of our own directories.

   Sections in this chapter

   • National reporting: who to tell, and where
   • What the victim’s bank must do, and by when
   • Holding and freezing funds quickly
   • Complaint ladder
   • Wallets, e-money and payment firms
   • Scale: the official figures, with dates
   • Money that leaves the banking system
   • Worked example (generic)
   • Checklist

4. United Kingdom 4. Cross-border: treaties, platform routes and what UK authorities can send out

   This chapter sets out the United Kingdom’s treaty position, the routes a UK investigator uses to reach data held abroad (especially by US platforms), and the routes a foreign agency uses to reach data held by UK providers and banks. It gives the central authorities and their contact details as published by the Home Office and the Crown Office, with a decision flow for each direction. The shared analysis of MLAT, CLOUD Act and Budapest routes is in global Chapter 4; this chapter adds the UK specifics.

   Sections in this chapter

   • Treaty and instrument position
   • What UK authorities can send out
   • What a foreign agency should send to reach UK providers and banks
   • Decision flow
   • Checklist

5. United Kingdom 5. Templates, contacts and quick reference

   This chapter gives the national agencies as their own pages describe them, three ready-to-adapt templates that follow UK law (a preservation request to a domestic provider, a records request outline, an emergency request), and a one-page table of who to call first for six common case types. Square brackets are placeholders to replace; delete any line that does not apply.

   Sections in this chapter

   • National agencies
   • Template 1: Preservation request to a domestic provider
   • Template 2: Records request outline
   • Template 3: Emergency request
   • Who to call first, by case type
   • Checklist

Every edition also includes the global reference: how data requests work, the seven big platforms, the 116-service directory, country routes, cryptocurrency, evidence handling, templates and a glossary. See the full contents or try the free First 24 Hours checklist.

Related directories for United Kingdom

• United Kingdom ISP and telecom directory
• Bank fraud help in United Kingdom
• How police in United Kingdom request data from platforms
• Cybercrime agencies in United Kingdom
• Law-enforcement request hub (LERS)

Questions