If an online scam has just happened, act in this order: contact the bank or payment service immediately, secure any exposed accounts and devices, preserve the original evidence, write a precise timeline, then report the incident to the appropriate authorities and platform. Fast contact can create a chance to stop, reverse, or recover a payment, but no agency or payment provider guarantees reimbursement or an investigation.
Use only a phone number printed on your card, a bookmarked official site, or the provider’s official app. Do not use contact details supplied by the person who contacted you. Keep every confirmation number and screenshot you receive while reporting.
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The first hour after you discover the scam
Do not start by deleting messages or arguing with the scammer. Your first actions affect both the possibility of stopping a payment and the quality of the evidence available to a bank, platform, or investigator.
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- Secure accounts and devices. Change passwords that may have been exposed and turn on stronger authentication. Update security software and run a malware scan. After a remote-access or fake-tech-support incident, arrange professional device cleaning if a scan cannot establish that the system is safe.
- Preserve evidence before blocking or deleting anything. Save original emails with their full headers, texts, chats, voicemails, call details, web pages, receipts, statements, and relevant logs. Capture screenshots that show the entire page, account name, URL, and date or time where available.
- Create a timeline. Record when contact began, what the person claimed, every identifier and URL, each payment and account change, and the time you contacted each institution.
- File reports through official channels. In the United States, use the Federal Trade Commission’s ReportFraud.gov for consumer scams and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) for cyber-enabled crime. Consider your state attorney general and local police or sheriff. In the United Kingdom, use Report Fraud. Call emergency services if anyone is in immediate danger.
What to preserve, and how to preserve it
Evidence is most useful when it shows the original content, who sent it, when it was sent, how you responded, and where money or account access went. Preserve originals in a safe location and work from copies. An external hard drive is a practical offline place for electronic copies and hard-drive images.
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Scammer identifiers
- Names, aliases, job titles, organization names, phone numbers, email addresses, domains, URLs, app names, social handles, and profile URLs.
- Payment instructions, wallet addresses, account numbers, QR codes, and any claimed case or invoice numbers.
- The original message that led you to the scam, including the sender’s address or profile rather than only a copied display name.
Communications and web content
- Original emails with full headers. Forwarding an email as plain text can remove routing information, so retain the message in the mailbox or export it in a format that preserves headers.
- Text messages, chat exports, voicemails, call logs, and screenshots of conversations. Keep the conversation context instead of saving only the threatening or persuasive line.
- Screenshots or saved copies of web pages, advertisements, profiles, checkout screens, and login pages. Include the full URL and the date and time captured.
Payment proof
- Card or bank statements, receipts, canceled checks, wire confirmations, payment-app records, and phone bills showing related charges.
- For cryptocurrency, record the wallet address, asset type, amount, date and time, transaction hash, exchange details, and the communications or domains connected to the transfer.
Device and account records
- Login alerts, password-reset messages, multifactor-authentication notices, security logs, malware-scan results, and relevant network or system logs.
- A copy of your timeline and notes about remote-access sessions, software installed, account changes, or devices used.
Keep an untouched original and make a working copy for analysis or submission. IC3 specifically asks complainants to retain originals: it does not collect evidence with complaints and does not accept attachments.
Build a timeline an investigator can follow
Write the timeline while memories and notifications are still available. Use your local time zone and keep the original time shown by each service if it differs. A simple table is enough:
| Time or date | Event | Identifier or evidence | Action and result |
|---|---|---|---|
| When contact began | How the person reached you and what they claimed | Phone number, sender address, profile, URL, app | Reply, click, call, or no response |
| Each account event | Password reset, new device, security alert, or profile change | Alert email, log entry, screenshot | Password or authentication change |
| Each payment | Method, amount, currency, and recipient | Receipt, statement, wire reference, transaction hash | Whether the provider was contacted and when |
| Each report | Bank, platform, regulator, IC3, police, or Report Fraud submission | Confirmation number or screenshot | Instructions received and next follow-up date |
Do not edit timestamps to make the story neater. If you are unsure, mark an entry as approximate and explain what record supports it.
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Choose the right reporting route
Different destinations serve different purposes. Report to more than one when appropriate; a consumer-protection report does not replace a payment dispute or a police report.
| Destination | Best use | Speed and jurisdiction | Evidence handling and limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank, card issuer, credit union, payment app, or wire company | Attempt a hold, recall, reversal, dispute, or refund | Contact first because timing can affect whether funds can be stopped; rules depend on the payment type and provider | Provide transaction details and follow the provider’s dispute process; reimbursement is not guaranteed |
| Federal Trade Commission, ReportFraud.gov | Consumer scams and deceptive business practices in the United States | National consumer-protection intake | Reports help build cases, identify trends, educate the public, and share information; it is not a promise of an individual recovery |
| FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) | Cyber-enabled crime, including online payment and cryptocurrency schemes | National cybercrime intake; analysts may forward reports to law-enforcement partners | Retain originals because IC3 does not collect evidence with complaints and does not accept attachments; it does not promise an investigation or status update |
| State attorney general | State-level consumer complaints or formal assistance | Use the state where you live or where the business operates, as applicable | Follow that office’s submission requirements and keep the confirmation |
| Local police or sheriff | Urgent threats, local incidents, identity-related harm, or a report required by a bank or insurer | Local jurisdiction; call emergency services when someone is in immediate danger | Ask for the report number and provide copies, not your only originals |
| UK Report Fraud | Fraud affecting people in the United Kingdom | UK national reporting route | Be ready to provide contact details, supporting documents or screenshots, payment method, and what triggered your suspicion |
| Website, marketplace, social network, or messaging platform | Remove or restrict a scam account, listing, advertisement, or message | Platform-specific; report through the service’s authenticated help or in-app reporting path | Save the profile URL, report confirmation, and original content before it disappears; platform action does not guarantee a refund |
What to say to a bank or payment provider
Use clear language: “A scam caused this payment. I did not intend to pay the scammer, and I need to know whether it can be stopped, recalled, reversed, disputed, or refunded.” Give the transaction date, amount, recipient, reference number, and the time you first realized it was fraudulent. Ask what documents are required, when a provisional decision is expected, and how to preserve your dispute rights. Record the representative’s name or identifier and the case number.
Card payments
Call the issuer using the number on the card or an official statement. Ask whether the charge should be blocked, replaced, or disputed and whether other transactions may be exposed. Continue monitoring the account while the issuer processes the case. A dispute process is not the same as an automatic refund.
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Bank transfers and payment apps
Contact the sending bank and the payment-app operator as soon as possible. Ask for a recall or hold and provide the receiving account or username. If the transfer was authorized because of deception, explain the scam plainly; do not describe it as an ordinary purchase that you later regretted. Each provider applies its own rules, so ask for the exact next step and deadline.
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Wire transfers
Call the wire company and your bank immediately with the confirmation number and recipient details. Request a recall and ask whether the recipient institution can be contacted. Keep the wire receipt and every message that instructed you to send the money.
Cryptocurrency
Contact the exchange or service you used, if any, and ask what account-security or law-enforcement process it offers. Blockchain transfers are not automatically reversible, so preserve the transaction hash and related records and report promptly to IC3 even if some transaction information is missing.
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Cryptocurrency reports: include the blockchain trail
The FBI asks for the wallet addresses, amount and cryptocurrency type, date and time, transaction hash, exchange details, communications, domains or applications, and a timeline. Submit an IC3 report even when one of those fields is incomplete; an incomplete report is more useful than waiting until records disappear.
Never pay an unexpected “recovery agent” an upfront fee. The FBI warns that promises to recover cryptocurrency for a fee can be another scam. Preserve the recovery offer itself, including its sender address, phone number, payment demand, and any claimed credentials.
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If the scammer accessed your computer or accounts
- End the remote-access session and stop following the caller’s instructions. Preserve the message, phone number, software name, and any displayed code before uninstalling or changing anything.
- From a device you trust when possible, change exposed passwords and enable stronger authentication. Change reused passwords on other accounts as well.
- Update security software and run a malware scan. Note the scan date, tool result, and any detected item in your timeline.
- Review login alerts, password-reset messages, new devices, forwarding rules, payment settings, and recovery contacts. Save suspicious entries before correcting them.
- Arrange professional device cleaning after a remote-access or tech-support scam if you cannot establish that the machine is clean. Keep a copy of relevant logs or a hard-drive image in secure storage.
- Tell your bank and other services that an account or device may have been accessed, not merely that a payment was disputed. That wording helps them apply account-protection procedures.
How to report a scam account or listing to a platform
Use the platform’s signed-in reporting tool or its official abuse channel. Select the category that most closely matches impersonation, fraud, malicious links, or unauthorized access. Include the profile or listing URL, account handle, dates, payment instructions, and a concise description of what happened. Attach copies only when the platform requests them; retain the originals yourself.
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Save the submission confirmation and any case number. If the account disappears, your saved URL, screenshots, and timeline still allow a bank or investigator to understand what you saw.
Follow-up without losing control of the case
- Keep a single case log containing every call, email, report number, promised callback, and document submitted.
- Use only official domains and phone numbers that you locate independently. Do not click a new “investigator” link sent by the scammer.
- Preserve the original message that started the scam, even after you block the sender.
- Ask each institution what happens next and the date by which you should follow up. If a provider closes a case, request the reason and the available appeal or dispute route.
- Expect different agencies to perform different roles. FTC and IC3 reports support enforcement and intelligence; they do not provide a guaranteed personal case update or reimbursement.
What a complete report contains
Before submitting, check that your package answers five questions: who contacted you, what did they claim, how did you communicate, where did the money or access go, and what have you done since discovering the fraud? Include identifiers, original communications, payment proof, account and device records, and the chronological timeline. Keep originals securely and submit copies or requested exports.
Act quickly, but do not trade speed for destruction of evidence. The strongest response is a fast payment-provider call followed by careful preservation, account security, and reports to the agencies and platforms that match your location and the type of harm.
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