What to Do If You've Been Scammed

Updated: 5/13/2026

It’s not your fault

You were targeted by professionals. The people behind these scams spend their entire working day refining techniques designed to bypass your instincts. They create false urgency, imitate trusted institutions, and use psychological pressure that would fool almost anyone. This happens to brilliant, careful people every day — doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, and grandparents alike.

Please don’t let shame keep you from getting help. The only thing that separates you from someone who hasn’t been scammed yet is that you happened to cross paths with one of these operations. There is nothing embarrassing about being human. You trusted someone who deliberately engineered that trust.

You are not alone. Millions of Americans are scammed every year. The more we talk about it openly, the harder it becomes for scammers to operate in the silence they depend on.

Right now (first hour)

Stop all contact with the scammer immediately. Do not respond to any messages, even if they threaten you or promise to make things right. Block the number, email address, or account they used to reach you. If you feel physically unsafe, call 911.

Take screenshots of everything before you block them — the messages, any receipts, the account names or phone numbers they used. You will need this evidence when you file reports. Save it in a place you can access later: email it to yourself or upload it to cloud storage.

Write down everything you remember while it is fresh: the timeline of what happened, what they said, what they asked you to do, and how you paid. Include dates, times, and any names or organizations they claimed to represent. This record will help investigators and your bank.

Report it

Reporting feels hard when you are in shock, but it genuinely matters. Your report can help investigators identify patterns, warn others, and sometimes recover funds. You do not need to have all the answers — just share what you know.

File a report with the FTC at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov. This is the main federal agency that tracks fraud in the United States. Your report feeds into a national database used by law enforcement across the country.

File a separate report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at https://www.ic3.gov. IC3 specializes in internet-based fraud and coordinates with federal, state, and local agencies. If significant money was lost, IC3 is your most important filing.

Also report to your state attorney general’s office — most have a consumer protection division that handles fraud cases at the local level. Find your state AG at naag.org. If the scam involved impersonation of a business or a fake product, report to the Better Business Bureau as well.

If you sent money

Act as fast as you can — time is critical, especially in the first few hours.

Bank wire or ACH transfer: Call your bank’s fraud line immediately. Ask them to initiate a wire recall. Banks can sometimes claw back wired funds within hours if they act quickly enough. Use the words “fraud” and “wire recall” clearly when you speak to them. Ask for a case number and the name of who you spoke with.

Gift cards: Call the card issuer directly — the number is on the back of the card. Explain that you were scammed into buying the card and providing the numbers. Some issuers have fraud teams that can freeze remaining balances. Also report to the FTC, which has a specific reporting path for gift card scams.

Cryptocurrency: Unfortunately, crypto transactions are designed to be irreversible and are very difficult to recover. Do not let anyone tell you they can retrieve it for a fee — that claim is itself a scam. Report the wallet addresses and transaction IDs to IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov. In some cases, blockchain analytics firms assist with law enforcement investigations.

Helplines

You do not have to navigate this alone. Real people are available to help you understand your options and next steps.

FTC ReportFraud: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov — file your report and access recovery resources.

FBI IC3: https://www.ic3.gov — for internet-based crimes and large financial fraud.

AARP Fraud Helpline: 1-877-908-3360 — staffed by trained volunteers who provide emotional support and practical guidance. You do not need to be an AARP member to call. This line is especially helpful if you feel overwhelmed and just need someone to talk to. They can help you figure out what steps to take next, in the right order.

If someone used remote access software to get into your computer — a common tactic in tech support scams — the tool SeraphSecure can help you understand if your device is still compromised. It was built by a security-minded creator specifically to help scam victims check their computers. There is no connection between this site and any affiliate program — it is simply a useful resource.

Watch out for recovery scams

Once you have been scammed, your contact information may be shared or sold to other criminal networks. Within days or weeks, you may be contacted by someone claiming to be a “recovery agent” or “fraud recovery specialist” who says they can get your money back — for an upfront fee.

These offers are always scams. There is no legitimate service that charges upfront fees to recover money lost to fraud. No government agency, law firm, or recovery company with genuine credentials will ask you to pay before they do any work. The “recovery agent” is simply running a second scam on top of the first, targeting people who are already vulnerable.

If you receive one of these contacts, do not engage. Block and report them using the same channels above. Let the AARP Fraud Helpline (1-877-908-3360) know as well — they track these secondary targeting attempts and can give you guidance.

The road forward is through official channels, not through strangers who reached out to you promising miracles. Real recovery is possible — it is just slower and less dramatic than scammers want you to believe.