How to Report Identity Theft and Reclaim Your Name
The exact reporting order — IdentityTheft.gov first — and how to clean up accounts opened in your name.
Read the guide →Key takeaways
- Speed matters more than anything else. Your best recovery odds are in the first 48 hours — call your bank or card issuer before you do anything else.
- Credit cards offer the strongest protection. The Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute charges; debit cards are covered too, but the deadlines are tighter.
- Recent wire transfers can sometimes be frozen. Ask your bank for a wire recall and file at ic3.gov immediately — ideally within 72 hours.
- Gift cards and crypto are the hardest to claw back. Report them anyway; it costs nothing and helps investigators.
- Never pay anyone who promises to recover your money. "Fund recovery" services that charge upfront fees are a second scam aimed at the same victims.
Being scammed is not a character flaw — it happens to lawyers, doctors, and bank employees. What you do next matters far more than how the money left. This guide covers every major payment method, ranked from best to worst recovery odds, with the exact deadlines and official contacts for each.
The first 48 hours: do these four things now
- Call the company that moved the money. Card issuer (number on the back of the card), bank fraud department, payment app support, or gift card issuer. Say the words "I want to report fraud and dispute this transaction." Write down the reference number and the name of the person you spoke with.
- File a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (or call 1-877-382-4357). This creates an official record you can cite in every dispute.
- If money moved by wire or bank transfer, file at ic3.gov — the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Recent transfers can sometimes be frozen, but only if the FBI hears about it fast.
- Lock down your identity if the scammer has your personal data. If you shared your Social Security number or account logins, place a credit freeze or fraud alert and follow the recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.
Warning: the "recovery service" follow-up scam. After you're scammed, expect calls, emails, or social media messages from people claiming they can get your money back — for an upfront fee, a "tax," or your bank login. Some pose as law firms, "crypto recovery experts," or even government agents. Anyone who contacts you promising to recover scam losses for a fee is a scammer, often working from the same victim lists. Real agencies like the FTC and FBI never charge fees and never call asking for payment or passwords. The official portals linked on this page are free.
Recovery odds by payment method
| How you paid | Realistic recovery odds | Key deadline | Who to contact first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card | Good | 60 days from the statement showing the charge | Card issuer (chargeback) |
| Debit card | Fair to good | 2 business days for lowest liability; 60 days max | Your bank |
| Wire / bank transfer | Fair if reported within 72 hours; poor after | 72 hours for a freeze attempt | Your bank + ic3.gov |
| Zelle, Venmo, Cash App | Varies by scam type | Report immediately; 60 days for unauthorized transfers | The app + your linked bank |
| Gift cards | Low | Same day if possible | The card issuer's fraud line |
| Cryptocurrency | Very low | None — report immediately anyway | ic3.gov |
| Cash or mail | Low (unless the mail hasn't arrived) | Before delivery | U.S. Postal Inspection Service |
Credit card: file a chargeback
Credit cards are the best-protected way to pay, thanks to the Fair Credit Billing Act. You can dispute a charge as unauthorized, or as a billing error when you paid for goods or services that were never delivered — the common pattern in fake online stores. Call the number on the back of your card, then follow up in writing; the FTC's official guide to disputing credit card charges walks through the process. Your written dispute generally must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing the charge was sent, and federal law caps your liability for unauthorized charges at $50 (most issuers waive even that).
Sample dispute language: "I am disputing a charge of $[amount] posted on [date] to [merchant name] under the Fair Credit Billing Act. [I did not authorize this charge. / I paid for goods or services that were never delivered.] Please reverse the charge, investigate, and confirm in writing. Enclosed: screenshots of my communications with the seller, my order confirmation, and my FTC report number."
Debit card: Regulation E and the 2-day rule
Debit card and other electronic transfers from your bank account are covered by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) — but the clock is unforgiving. Report an unauthorized transaction within 2 business days of discovering it and your liability is capped at $50. Wait longer (up to 60 days after the statement showing the fraud) and you can owe up to $500; past 60 days, you may get nothing back at all. The CFPB explains the timelines in its guide to getting money back after an unauthorized transaction. Your bank must investigate, generally within 10 business days. If it stonewalls you, file a complaint with the CFPB — banks respond to regulator complaints far faster than to phone calls.
Wire transfer: request a recall and trigger the kill chain
Wires are treated as final, but "final" has a short grace period. Call your bank's fraud department immediately and ask for a wire recall — a formal request to the receiving bank to freeze and return the funds. Then file at ic3.gov without delay: the FBI's Recovery Asset Team can ask receiving banks to freeze domestic transfers, and for large international wires (generally $50,000 or more, sent within the last 72 hours) it can activate the Financial Fraud Kill Chain to intercept funds abroad.
In its 2023 annual report, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported a 71% success rate for its Recovery Asset Team — measured as the share of at-risk funds it managed to freeze in the cases where it intervened. The common thread in successful freezes: victims who reported within hours, not weeks.
Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App: dispute fast, and know which rule applies
Peer-to-peer apps fall into two very different buckets. If the payment was unauthorized — someone hacked your account and sent money — Regulation E applies just like a debit card, and your bank must investigate. If you were tricked into sending the payment yourself (a fake buyer, a "your account is compromised" call, a romance scam), Reg E generally does not require reimbursement, but you still have options:
- Zelle: Report to your bank, not just the app. Since 2023, banks on the Zelle network must reimburse certain imposter scams under network rules — say explicitly: "This was an imposter scam and I'm requesting reimbursement under Zelle's network rules."
- Venmo and Cash App: Open a dispute inside the app right away. Payments marked for goods and services may qualify for purchase protection; "friends and family" payments usually don't. If you funded the payment with a credit card, also dispute it with your card issuer.
- In every case: file at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and escalate to the CFPB if the app or bank denies a claim you believe is covered.
Gift cards: call the issuer today
If a scammer had you read out gift card numbers — Apple, Google Play, Amazon, Target, Visa, or any other brand — the money may already be spent, but not always. Call the card issuer's fraud line immediately and ask whether the balance can be frozen or refunded; the FTC lists official gift card company contacts on its gift card scams page. Keep the physical cards and purchase receipts — issuers will ask for the card numbers and the store, date, and amount of purchase. Recovery is the exception, not the rule, but it happens most often when victims call the same day.
Cryptocurrency: report it, and be realistic
Here's the honest version: crypto transactions can't be reversed, and no private company can "hack it back." Blockchain tracing is real — the DOJ and FBI have seized and returned funds in major cases — but that process runs through law enforcement, takes months or years, and reaches only a fraction of victims. Your job is to get your case into the system: file at ic3.gov with every wallet address, transaction hash, exchange name, and username you have. Notify the exchange you sent from, too. And re-read the warning box above: crypto victims are the number-one target of fake "recovery experts."
Cash, checks, and mail: the Postal Inspectors
If you mailed cash, a check, or a money order to a scammer, call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 or file at uspis.gov/report. If the package hasn't been delivered yet, ask USPS whether it can be intercepted. For checks, call your bank immediately to request a stop payment, and watch your account for altered or "washed" copies of the check.
Build your evidence file
Every dispute above gets stronger with documentation. Gather it once and reuse it everywhere:
- Dates, amounts, and payment confirmation numbers for every transaction
- Screenshots of texts, emails, chat threads, dating profiles, and websites (before they disappear)
- Phone numbers, email addresses, usernames, and wallet addresses the scammer used
- Your FTC and IC3 report numbers, plus a local police report number if you file one
- A short written timeline of what happened, in order — you will retell this story many times
Know something the government doesn't? If you learned about this fraud from the inside — as an employee, contractor, or business partner of the company running it — you may be more than a victim. U.S. whistleblower programs at the SEC, IRS, FinCEN, and DOJ pay rewards of 10–30% of what the government recovers. See our directory of government whistleblower reward programs.
After the money: protect your identity
Scammers resell victim data, so the fraud often isn't over when the money moves. If the scammer has your Social Security number, date of birth, or account credentials, place a free credit freeze with all three bureaus and follow our guide to reporting identity theft. Ongoing monitoring can catch reuse of your data early — see our independent comparison of identity theft protection services.
This guide is informational, not legal or financial advice, and no outcome is guaranteed — but the deadlines above are real, so start with the phone call today. Not sure which agency should hear your case? Our guide to where to report a scam maps every scam type to the right official channel.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get my money back if I paid a scammer with a gift card?
Sometimes, but only if you move fast. Call the gift card issuer's fraud line the same day if possible, report the card numbers as used in a scam, and ask whether the remaining balance can be frozen or refunded. The FTC lists official contact numbers for major issuers on its gift card scams page. Keep the cards and receipts, and file a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Does Zelle refund scam victims?
It depends on the scam. If your account was hacked and the transfer was unauthorized, federal law (Regulation E) requires your bank to investigate and generally reimburse you. If you were tricked into sending the money yourself, Reg E usually doesn't apply — but since 2023, banks on the Zelle network must reimburse certain imposter scams, such as criminals posing as your bank or a government agency, under Zelle's own network rules. Report to your bank immediately and name the scam type explicitly.
How long do I have to dispute a credit card charge?
Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your written dispute generally must reach the card issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing the charge was sent to you. Call the number on the back of your card first, then follow up in writing and keep a copy. Your liability for unauthorized charges is capped at $50 by federal law, and most issuers waive it entirely.
Can a "recovery service" really get my money back?
No. Companies or individuals who contact fraud victims promising to recover losses for an upfront fee are running a follow-up scam — often using victim lists sold by the original scammers. Legitimate recovery happens through free, official channels: your bank or card issuer, ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and ic3.gov. No government agency charges a fee or asks for gift cards, crypto, or your passwords.
Should I file a police report after being scammed?
It often helps: a local police report number strengthens bank disputes and insurance claims, and it's sometimes required for identity theft recovery (a creditor demands one, or you know the thief). File with your local department if any of that applies, then make sure the fraud also reaches federal databases through ReportFraud.ftc.gov and — for anything involving the internet or wire transfers — ic3.gov.
Is stolen cryptocurrency ever recovered?
Rarely, and only through law enforcement. Crypto transactions can't be reversed, but the FBI and DOJ can trace funds on the blockchain and have seized and returned money in some large cases. File a detailed report at ic3.gov with wallet addresses and transaction hashes, notify the exchange you sent from, and ignore anyone who claims they can hack the funds back for a fee — that is always a scam.
Last updated: July 4, 2026. AntiFraud.com links only to official and nonprofit help channels — never paid "recovery services" — read our methodology.