You think you've been scammed. Here's what to do now
First, breathe. Being scammed does not mean you were careless; these are designed by professionals to work on smart people. What matters now is what you do in the next hour, because acting fast is what limits the damage.
1. Stop the money
If you sent a payment or shared card or bank details, contact your bank or card issuer immediately and tell them it was fraud. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and to freeze or replace the card. The sooner you call, the more can sometimes be recovered.
If you paid by gift card, contact the gift-card company and ask them to freeze the cards. If by wire or an e-transfer, tell your bank at once and ask whether it can still be recalled.
2. Lock down your accounts
If you entered a password anywhere, change it now, and change it anywhere you reused that password. Start with your email, because whoever controls your email can reset everything else.
Turn on multi-factor authentication (a passkey or authenticator app is best) on your email, bank, and other important accounts. If you gave someone remote access to your device, disconnect it from the internet and have it checked before you sign in to anything sensitive.
3. Report it
Report the scam to your bank (this is important even if no money left yet) and to your country's fraud reporting service. If it was a work incident, tell your IT or security team right away, so they can protect everyone else.
Reporting will not always get your money back, but it is how patterns get spotted and others get warned, and some cases are only recoverable because someone reported quickly.
4. Watch for the follow-up scam
People who have been scammed are often targeted again by a "recovery" scam: someone claiming to be a refund service, a lawyer, or an investigator who can get your money back, for a fee. It is the same criminals, or their friends, coming back for more.
No legitimate service asks for an upfront fee to recover scammed money. Treat any such offer as another scam.
The short version
- Call your bank or card issuer first; speed is what limits the loss.
- Change reused passwords, starting with your email, and turn on MFA.
- Report it to your bank and your country's fraud line, even if no money is gone yet.
- Beware the "recovery" scam: nobody legitimate charges an upfront fee to get your money back.
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Common questions
I was scammed. Can I get my money back?
Sometimes, especially if you act fast. Contact your bank or card issuer immediately and report it as fraud; card and bank payments have the best chance of being stopped or reversed. Gift cards and crypto are much harder, but reporting quickly still gives you the best odds.
What is the very first thing to do after a scam?
Stop the money. Call your bank or card issuer, tell them it was fraud, and ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the card. Then secure your email and other accounts by changing reused passwords and turning on multi-factor authentication.
Someone offered to help me recover my scammed money. Is that real?
Almost certainly not. "Recovery" or "refund" services that ask for an upfront fee are a common follow-up scam that targets people who were already victims. No legitimate service charges a fee upfront to get scammed money back.