What to do if you sent money to a scammer, by how you paid
Call the company you paid through first, today, and ask it to stop, reverse or refund the payment. Then report it to the FTC and the FBI. Speed matters more than anything else: the FBI froze more than half the money in the cases it worked quickly in 2025.
By the editors of ProtectYour.com Last reviewed 6 min read
Key takeaways
- Contact the company that moved the money (your card issuer, bank, app, wire service, gift card brand or crypto exchange) right away and say you were scammed.
- Credit cards give the strongest rights. Bank transfers, Zelle, wires, gift cards and crypto are much harder to reverse, so call within minutes or hours, not days.
- Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and IC3.gov. For large, recent transfers the FBI's Recovery Asset Team can ask banks to freeze funds.
- If you also gave your Social Security number or a password, go to IdentityTheft.gov and change those passwords.
- Ignore anyone who offers to recover your money for a fee. That is the second scam.
The first hour: three things, in this order
- Stop paying and stop talking. Do not send a “release fee”, “tax” or “verification payment” to get the first payment back. Block the number or profile.
- Call the company that moved the money. Use the number on your card, statement or the company’s own app, never a number the scammer gave you. Say the words “I was scammed” and ask them to stop, reverse or recall the payment. Write down the date, time and name of everyone you speak to.
- Report it. File at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and at the FBI’s IC3.gov, with full transaction details (dates, amounts, account numbers, wallet addresses, usernames).
The FBI’s advice is blunt: if you find a fraudulent transfer, “time is of the essence”. In 2025 its Recovery Asset Team worked 3,900 cases where victims reported quickly, covering $1,163,919,846 in attempted theft, and helped freeze $679,013,183, a 58% success rate (2025 IC3 Annual Report). Those freezes mostly happen when the bank and the FBI hear about a transfer before the money moves on.
Who to call, by how you paid
These are the steps the FTC gives in What To Do if You Were Scammed, with the strength of your legal rights added so you know what to expect.
First call by payment method, and how much protection the law gives
| You paid by | Call first | What to ask for | How strong your rights are |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card | Card issuer (number on the back) | Refund, or dispute the charge | Strongest. Federal law limits liability for unauthorized use, and you can dispute goods not delivered as agreed. |
| Debit card | Your bank or credit union | Refund of the unauthorized charge | Good for unauthorized use if you report fast; weaker if you made the payment yourself. |
| Bank transfer or Zelle | Your bank or credit union | Reverse or recall the payment | Strong if someone else made the transfer; weak if you sent it yourself after being tricked. |
| Cash App, Venmo, PayPal | The app, through its own help screens | Reverse the payment | Same split: unauthorized payments are covered, payments you sent are often not. |
| Wire (Western Union, MoneyGram, bank wire) | The wire company or your bank | Stop or recall the wire, and a refund | Weak. Works only if the money has not been collected yet. |
| Gift card | The company that issued the card | Freeze the balance and a refund | Weak, but some issuers do refund. Keep the card and receipt. |
| Cryptocurrency or Bitcoin ATM | The exchange or ATM operator | Freeze and reverse the transaction | Weakest. Fewer legal protections, though some states have crypto kiosk laws. |
| Cash sent by USPS | U.S. Postal Inspection Service, 1-877-876-2455 | Intercept the package | Possible for a fee if the package has not been delivered. |
| Cash sent by FedEx or UPS | The carrier | Stop the package | Possible only before delivery. |
Why “you authorized it” matters so much
Federal rules on electronic payments protect you strongly when someone else moves your money without permission, for example after stealing your login. They protect you much less when you pressed send yourself, even if a scammer lied to get you to do it. Zelle’s own help pages draw the same line: for an unauthorized payment you are “typically able to get your money back”, while for a payment you authorized in a scam “you may not be able to” (Zelle, Understanding Fraud & Scams). Ask anyway. Some banks reimburse certain scams, especially when the scammer pretended to be the bank. Our guides to Zelle and Cash App cover each app in detail, and gift card scams lists how to reach the issuers.
If you deposited a check and sent money back
This is the fake check scam: someone “overpays” you, or a new “employer” sends a check, and asks you to send the difference on. Banks must make deposited money available quickly, but the FTC notes it can take weeks to discover a check is fake, and by then you are “stuck paying the money back to the bank” (FTC, fake check scams).
- Call your bank now, tell them the check is likely fake, and ask what they can stop.
- Then follow the row above for however you sent money on (gift cards, wire, crypto or an app).
- Report it to the FTC, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service if the check came by mail, and your state attorney general.
Fake checks are the engine of many job scams and online marketplace overpayment scams.
If you also gave personal information or access
- Social Security number: if it has been used, report it at IdentityTheft.gov and follow the recovery plan. If you are not sure, the FTC points to IdentityTheft.gov’s data breach steps. Either way, a credit freeze at all three bureaus is free and stops most new-account fraud.
- A password or login code: change the password, change it anywhere else you used it, and turn on two-factor authentication.
- Remote access to your computer: disconnect it from the internet, update your security software and run a full scan, then change passwords from a different device. Our tech support scams guide covers the clean-up.
The full order of steps after identity theft is in what to do if your identity is stolen.
Watch out for the recovery scam
People who have just lost money are targeted again by “recovery” firms, fake lawyers and fake government agents who promise to get the money back for an upfront fee. The FBI received 10,516 complaints about recovery scams in 2025, with $1.4 billion in reported losses (2025 IC3 Annual Report). The FBI also warns that scammers pretend to be IC3 itself.
The rule
Losing money to a scam is common and not a sign of foolishness. The FTC received reports of $15.9 billion in fraud losses in 2025; see our FTC fraud data page. Reporting helps even when you cannot get the money back, because the reports feed investigations. More guides are in the scams hub.
Common questions
Can I get my money back if I sent it to a scammer?
Sometimes. Credit card payments are the easiest to recover through a dispute. Bank transfers, Zelle, wires, gift cards and crypto are hard to reverse, but contacting the company immediately gives the best chance, and the FBI froze 58% of the money in the fast-reported cases its Recovery Asset Team worked in 2025.
Who do I report a scam to?
Report it to the company you paid through first, then to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the FBI at IC3.gov. If your identity was stolen, also use IdentityTheft.gov.
Will my bank refund money I sent through Zelle to a scammer?
Not always. Zelle says unauthorized payments are typically refunded but payments you authorized in a scam may not be. Some banks reimburse certain imposter scams, so call your bank right away and ask.
Is a company that offers to recover scammed money legitimate?
Almost never. The FBI recorded $1.4 billion in reported losses to recovery scams in 2025. No government agency charges a fee to recover your money.
Your next step
Related guides
- Imposter scams: fake banks, government agents and "fraud departments"An imposter scam is someone pretending to be a company, agency or person you trust so you will send money or hand over information. It is the most reported fraud in the US, with over 1 million reports in 2025.
- Is Zelle safe? What is covered, what is not, and the scams to avoidZelle is a secure way to pay people you know, but it works like cash. If someone else sends money from your account, you are usually protected. If you were tricked into sending it yourself, you may not get it back.
- Gift card scams: the one rule, the usual stories, and how to ask for a refundAnyone who tells you to pay with a gift card and read them the number and PIN is a scammer, every time. If you already did, call the company that issued the card immediately, keep the card and receipt, and report it.
- What to do if your identity is stolen: a step-by-step recovery planIdentity theft recovery is mostly paperwork done in the right order. Start with the FTC report, because almost every other step asks for it.