Will reporting a scam get my money back?

Usually not, and it's better to know that upfront. Money is most often recovered by the bank or payment provider, not by a reporting agency, which is why contacting them first matters more than filing a report first. Reporting is still worth doing: it's how agencies see the same operation showing up repeatedly and act on the pattern.

Where do I report a scam in the US?

The FTC takes consumer fraud reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Online crime, including anything involving crypto or a fake website, goes to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Scams involving mail or delivered packages go to the US Postal Inspection Service, and your state attorney general's office handles consumer complaints locally. You can report to more than one.

I clicked a link but didn't enter anything. Do I need to do all this?

No. Opening a page is much less serious than typing into it. Close the tab, don't return to it, and keep your phone or computer updated. There's no need to freeze anything or file a report unless you entered details, downloaded a file, or approved something.

Should I freeze my credit?

It's an option worth considering if personal details like your Social Security number, date of birth, or address were exposed. A freeze stops most new accounts being opened in your name and is free to place and lift at each of the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You have to contact all three separately, and a freeze does not affect existing accounts.

← Is This A Scam?

How to Report a Scam (and What to Do First)

If you've just clicked, paid, or shared something, the order you act in matters more than how fast you move. Stop the money first, then secure accounts, then report. Here's what that looks like in practice.

This happens to careful people. The scripts are tested on thousands of others before they reach you, and they're designed to work on someone paying attention. Feeling foolish is the most common reaction and the least useful one, because it's what delays the phone call that actually helps.

Work down this page in order. If only part of it applies to you, skip the rest.

First: stop the money

This is the only stage where speed changes the outcome. Some payments can still be stopped, recalled, or disputed while they're in progress, and the window is short.

1Call your bank or card issuer on the number printed on the back of your card — not a number from the message, email, or call that started this. Tell them plainly what happened and when. Ask them to stop or recall the payment if it hasn't settled, and to freeze or reissue the card.
2If you paid through a payment app, card network, or marketplace, open a dispute inside that service as well. The bank and the provider are separate routes and both are worth using.
3If you sent a bank transfer, say the words "authorised push payment" or "I was tricked into sending this" rather than "I made a payment". How the transfer is categorised affects how it's investigated.
4If you paid by gift card, wire, or crypto, report it to the issuer or provider anyway and keep every receipt, code, wallet address, and transaction ID. These are the hardest payments to reverse, but the details still matter for the report.
5Don't send anything further, including to anyone who offers to help recover what you lost.

Next: secure the accounts

Once the money is dealt with, close off what was exposed. Start with the account whose details were shared, then anything that uses the same password.

1Change the password on the affected account, and on any other account using that password or a close variation. Use a different password for each one.
2Turn on two-factor authentication where it's offered, and choose an app or a security key over SMS if you get the choice.
3Sign out all other sessions and devices, which most services offer in their security settings. A password change alone doesn't always end an existing session.
4Check the account's recovery settings: a phone number, backup email, or forwarding rule you don't recognise means someone set up a way back in.
5If you installed anything at their request, especially remote access or screen sharing software, remove it and restart the device. Keep the device updated and run a scan with security software you already trust.
6If personal details like your Social Security number or date of birth were shared, consider a credit freeze with all three bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Each is contacted separately, it's free, and it can be lifted when you need credit.

Before you delete anything

The instinct is to clear the messages away. Screenshot them first. A report is only as useful as the detail in it, and what helps is specific: the sender's number or email address, the full web address of any link, the profile or account name, payment references, wallet addresses, amounts, dates, and the conversation itself. Keep it somewhere you'll find it, because you'll be asked for the same details more than once.

Then: report it

Reporting rarely gets money back, and it's fairer to say so plainly than to imply otherwise. What it does is build the picture. Agencies act on repetition — the same number, the same domain, the same wallet showing up across many reports — and yours is one of those data points. It takes a few minutes.

In the US, the main places to report are:

1The Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov, which is the general starting point for consumer fraud of almost any kind.
2The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, for anything that happened online — fake websites and platforms, crypto payments, email compromise, and online investment fraud.
3The US Postal Inspection Service, if the scam involved the mail or a delivered package, including fake delivery notices and anything you were asked to ship or forward.
4Your state attorney general's office, which handles consumer complaints at the state level and is worth doing alongside a federal report.
5The platform where it happened — the marketplace, dating app, social network, or messaging service. They can remove the account, and they act on reports faster than anyone else because it's their own service.
6Your mobile carrier, for scam texts. On most US networks you can forward a suspicious SMS to 7726 (SPAM) at no cost.

Outside the US, the equivalent is your national consumer protection agency or fraud reporting body, plus your local police force where one handles fraud reports. Your bank can usually tell you which body applies where you are.

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Watch for the second approach

People who have lost money are often contacted again, sometimes within days. The second approach is dressed as help, and it targets the one thing you now want. Treat all of these as part of the same problem:

Anyone contacting you unprompted offering to recover funds, trace a payment, or reverse a transfer for a fee or an upfront deposit.
Someone claiming to be from a government agency, a law firm, or a regulator who found your case and reached out first. Agencies don't cold-call people offering recovery.
A request for remote access to your device so they can "process the refund" or show you the funds being returned.
A refund that arrives as an overpayment, with a request that you send the difference back. The original credit is reversible; the money you send is not.
Pressure to act before the money is "released", or a limited window to claim it.
Any request for a new payment, in any form, in order to get old money back.

If it was a specific kind of message

It can help to know exactly what happened so you can describe it accurately in a report. If it started with a text about a package, see the USPS text scam. If it came from a stranger who struck up a conversation and eventually mentioned investing, crypto investment scam warning signs covers how that one is built. And if you're unsure whether a fraud alert you received is genuine, bank fraud alert texts explains why the answer is in how you respond rather than in the message.

Common questions

Will reporting a scam get my money back?: Usually not, and it's better to know that upfront. Money is most often recovered by the bank or payment provider, not by a reporting agency, which is why contacting them first matters more than filing a report first. Reporting is still worth doing: it's how agencies see the same operation showing up repeatedly and act on the pattern.
Where do I report a scam in the US?: The FTC takes consumer fraud reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov. Online crime, including anything involving crypto or a fake website, goes to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Scams involving mail or delivered packages go to the US Postal Inspection Service, and your state attorney general's office handles consumer complaints locally. You can report to more than one.
I clicked a link but didn't enter anything. Do I need to do all this?: No. Opening a page is much less serious than typing into it. Close the tab, don't return to it, and keep your phone or computer updated. There's no need to freeze anything or file a report unless you entered details, downloaded a file, or approved something.
Should I freeze my credit?: It's an option worth considering if personal details like your Social Security number, date of birth, or address were exposed. A freeze stops most new accounts being opened in your name and is free to place and lift at each of the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You have to contact all three separately, and a freeze does not affect existing accounts.

This page is informational and we aren't affiliated with any company or agency named on it. We can't tell you whether your specific message is genuine. Verify independently: open the company's official app or type their website address yourself, and call the number printed on your card, statement, or the back of your ID — never a number supplied by the message.

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