How to Get Your Money Back After a Scam
Card chargebacks, wire recalls, Zelle/Venmo disputes, gift cards and crypto — ranked by your real odds of recovery.
Read the guide →In the first hour: an emergency checklist
If the scam just happened — or you just realized it happened — work through these steps in order. Speed matters most for payments and passwords. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.
- Cut off all contact with the scammer. Stop replying to texts, emails, and calls. Do not "confront" them, and do not send another cent — even if they claim a small fee will unlock your refund. Block the number and email address, but don't delete the messages; you'll need them as evidence.
- Call your bank and card issuer right now. Use the phone number printed on the back of your card or on your bank statement — never a number from a text or email. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment, freeze the affected account, and flag it for fraud. For debit or credit card payments, ask to dispute the charge. If money left by wire, ask the bank to request a recall immediately. Our guide to getting your money back walks through each payment method, because your odds depend heavily on how you paid.
- Change your passwords and turn on two-factor authentication. Start with your email account (it's the master key to everything else), then banking, then any account the scammer touched or you mentioned to them. Use a different password for each account, and prefer an authenticator app over text-message codes.
- Document everything while it's fresh. Screenshot the conversations, profiles, websites, payment confirmations, and wallet addresses. Write down dates, amounts, names used, and phone numbers. A ten-minute timeline written today is worth more than a fuzzy memory next month when your bank or the FBI asks for details.
- Report it through official channels. File at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (the FTC's official reporting site) and, if any money moved online or the scam started online, at the FBI's ic3.gov. If the scammer got your Social Security number, driver's license, or other identity data, also go to IdentityTheft.gov — it generates a personal recovery plan and the official FTC Identity Theft Report most banks and bureaus accept. See where to report a scam for the full agency-by-agency map.
- Freeze your credit at all three bureaus. A security freeze is free, takes about fifteen minutes, and stops anyone from opening new credit in your name. You have to place it separately with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — our credit freeze and fraud alert guide has the exact official links and phone numbers.
The order matters
That checklist is a triage list, not a to-do list. The logic behind the sequence:
Money moves fastest, so chase it first. Card disputes have generous windows, but wire recalls and payment-app reversals are measured in hours, not weeks. Every minute you spend composing the perfect FTC report before calling your bank is a minute the money moves further away.
Accounts are the second front. Scammers who got one password — or remote access to your computer — will pivot to your email and drain other accounts while you're on hold with the bank. Locking down email and enabling two-factor authentication closes that door.
Reports and freezes stop the next wave. Reporting to the FTC and FBI rarely produces an overnight refund, but it feeds the investigations that shut operations down, and an official report number is often required for bank disputes and insurance claims. A credit freeze protects you from the slower-burning damage: loans and cards opened in your name months later. If your identity data is out there, follow the full identity theft recovery steps — and consider ongoing monitoring once the immediate fire is out.
This was not your fault
Most victims hesitate to report because they feel foolish. Please hear this: modern scams are industrialized crime, not a test of your intelligence. Romance and investment scams are frequently run from scripted call centers, complete with training manuals, quota systems, and teams whose only job is keeping you on the hook. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, and cybersecurity professionals all get taken — the scripts are engineered against human psychology, not against ignorance. To put the scale in perspective, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported over $16 billion in losses in its 2024 Internet Crime Report — and that only counts people who reported.
Shame is the scammer's best friend, because embarrassed victims stay silent and unreported crimes are invisible crimes. If the victim is an older family member, our elder fraud guide covers how to help without making them shut down, and romance scam recovery addresses the specific grief of losing both money and a relationship.
Warning: the second scam is coming. After you're defrauded, expect calls, emails, or DMs from "fund recovery specialists," "crypto tracing experts," or people posing as government agents who can get your money back — for an upfront fee. This is a follow-up scam that targets known victims, sometimes run by the same crew that took your money. No legitimate government agency charges fees to help fraud victims, and no private company can force a refund. Anyone who contacts you first and promises recovery for a fee is a scammer. Real help comes through the free official channels above and through your own bank.
One more thing worth knowing: if you learned about this fraud from the inside — you're an employee, contractor, or business partner watching a company defraud the government, investors, or customers — you may be more than a victim. U.S. whistleblower programs like the SEC's and the False Claims Act pay rewards of roughly 10–30% of what the government recovers. Browse the directory of 69 government reward programs to see whether what you witnessed qualifies.
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth reporting a scam if I only lost a small amount?
Yes. Scam operations make their money on volume — thousands of "small" losses. Your report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov goes into the FTC's Consumer Sentinel database used by more than 2,800 law enforcement agencies, and it may be the data point that connects a pattern. Reporting takes about ten minutes and also creates a paper trail if the same scammer hits you again.
Will I actually get my money back?
It depends almost entirely on how you paid. Credit and debit card payments have strong dispute rights, and bank transfers can sometimes be recalled if you act within hours. Gift cards, wire transfers, payment apps, and cryptocurrency are much harder — though not always hopeless. No one can honestly promise recovery, but our get your money back guide covers the realistic options for each payment method.
Do I need a police report?
Only in specific cases: a bank, insurer, or creditor demands one, you know who the scammer is, or your name was used with law enforcement. For identity theft, the FTC report from IdentityTheft.gov usually carries the legal weight you need on its own. If you do file locally and the police seem unsure how to take a fraud report, bring your FTC report — it gives them a document to work from.
The scammer is overseas. Is there any point in reporting?
Yes. Most large scam operations are international, and the FBI's IC3 works with foreign law enforcement and can sometimes freeze funds mid-transfer through its Recovery Asset Team if you report fast. Your bank can also attempt international wire recalls. Report first, worry about jurisdiction later.
Someone keeps calling and says they can recover my money for a fee. Is that real?
No — treat it as a scam, full stop. Victims' contact details are sold on "sucker lists," and recovery-fee fraud specifically targets people who have already been scammed. Legitimate recoveries come through your bank's dispute process, law enforcement, or official government actions, and none of them cold-call you or charge upfront fees. Hang up and report the call at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
What should I do if the scammer has my Social Security number?
Freeze your credit with all three bureaus (see our credit freeze guide), file a report at IdentityTheft.gov to get an official recovery plan, and watch your bank accounts, tax filings, and mail for signs of misuse. Then follow the longer checklist in our identity theft guide. A stolen SSN is serious, but the damage is very containable if you lock things down early.
Last updated: July 4, 2026. How we verify our information.