If you find a transaction you did not authorize, contact your bank or credit union immediately through its official app, website, or a number you already trust. Identify the transaction, ask how to dispute it, and secure any affected card or account. If you were tricked into sending money yourself, say so plainly: the reporting route and protections may differ from an unauthorized transaction.
How to recognize suspicious account activity
Review your account history and statements regularly. A transaction is a reason to investigate, not proof of fraud by itself: merchant names can be unfamiliar, and a legitimate charge may appear under a processor or parent-company name. Check the date, amount, location, and any receipt or purchase record before deciding whether you recognize it.
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Transactions and account changes to check
- Unfamiliar merchant descriptors, locations, or withdrawals.
- Small or duplicate charges, which can be a test before larger activity.
- Unexpected transactions after your card, account details, or device may have been exposed. Fraudulent activity can appear months after data theft.
- If you suspect identity theft, unfamiliar credit-report inquiries or accounts, incorrect balances, bills for debts you do not recognize, or calls from debt collectors about unknown debts.
Scam messages can arrive by phone, text, mail, email, or online message. Treat urgency, requests for passwords, security codes, personal information, or money as warning signs—especially when the sender claims to represent a bank or another trusted organization. Instructions to pay by gift card, wire, cryptocurrency, prepaid card, or payment app are also strong warning signs.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallDo not click a suspicious message link or call a number supplied in it. Verify a purported fraud alert independently using your bank’s official app or website, or a known phone number such as the one printed on your card. The FTC’s warning is direct: “The FTC will never threaten you, say you must transfer your money to ‘protect it,’ or tell you to withdraw cash or buy gold and give it to someone. That’s a scam.”
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What to do as soon as you find a problem
- Contact the institution through a trusted channel. Use the bank or credit union’s official app, website, or a number you already trust. Ask for its fraud or disputes team.
- Describe what happened accurately. Give the transaction date, amount, merchant or transfer descriptor, account or card involved, and when you first noticed it. Say whether you did not authorize the transaction or whether a scam persuaded you to send the payment. Do not describe an authorized payment as unauthorized.
- Ask for immediate protective action. If card details may be compromised, ask the issuer to block or replace the card and ask whether changing the debit PIN is appropriate. Secure online access, change exposed and reused passwords, and enable two-factor authentication. If someone accessed your device, the FTC advises updating its security software and running a scan.
- Open a dispute and record the process. Ask for a case or reference number, how to submit a written dispute, what evidence is needed, and any follow-up deadline. Keep copies of statements, messages, screenshots, letters, and documents you send. Record the date and time of each call, the representative’s name if available, the case number, and the instructions you were given.
- Follow written-notice requests promptly. If the institution asks you to confirm the dispute in writing, ask how to send it and keep a copy. Missing a requested written-confirmation deadline can affect temporary-credit handling.
- Report scams and identity theft through the appropriate government service. Report a scam to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If someone used your personal information to impersonate you or open accounts, use IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan.
- Keep monitoring the account. Look for follow-on activity, including after a replacement card arrives. Update legitimate recurring payments that were linked to a replaced card.
Who to contact depends on how the money moved
Start with the institution that handled the payment, but distinguish a transaction made without your permission from a payment you personally initiated because of a scam. Ask the provider how it classifies the claim and what recovery steps remain available.
| Payment or problem | First contact | Important distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Unauthorized debit card transaction or electronic bank transfer | Your bank or credit union | Report it as an unauthorized transaction and ask about the dispute process and any applicable notice deadlines. |
| Credit card misuse | The card issuer, using the number on the card or its official app or website | Report it immediately and ask how to dispute the charge. A purchase you were deceived into making may be handled differently from a charge made without your permission. |
| Scam-induced bank transfer | Your bank or credit union | Ask immediately whether it can stop, recall, or reverse the transfer. Recovery is not assured. |
| Payment-app transfer | The payment app, and your bank if the payment was funded from a bank account or card | Report the payment to the app promptly and ask what options it offers. If a bank account or card was also affected, notify that institution too. |
| Wire transfer | The bank or wire company that sent or handled it | Ask immediately whether it can recall or reverse the wire; do not assume the money can be recovered. |
| Unauthorized check | Your bank | Contact the bank quickly. Federal electronic-transfer protections may apply if the check was processed electronically; state law may govern a check that was not. |
There is no single check deadline established here for every paper check, and the electronic-transfer deadlines below should not be applied automatically to all checks. Ask the bank whether it needs a police report; the cited federal guidance does not establish a universal police-report requirement.
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U.S. electronic-transfer timelines and possible liability
The following are general U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) guidelines for covered electronic fund transfers. The relevant deadline depends on what happened and when you learned of it. Notify the institution as soon as possible rather than waiting for a deadline; your agreement, the payment type, and the facts can affect the result.
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| Situation | General CFPB guidance | What to keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Lost or stolen debit card | If you notify the bank within two business days after learning of the loss, potential liability is limited to the lesser of the unauthorized amount or $50. Later notice may expose you to liability of up to $500. | The timing runs from when you learn the card is lost or stolen. Report it immediately. |
| Unauthorized electronic transfer shown on a statement | Notify the institution within 60 days after it sends the statement. Later notice can make you responsible for subsequent transfers if the institution establishes that timely notice could have prevented them. | This is not a reason to wait; report a suspicious transfer as soon as you see it. |
| Bank investigation | The bank generally has 10 business days to investigate an error, or 20 business days for an account open less than 30 days. If it needs longer, it generally must provisionally credit the disputed amount, less up to $50, while it investigates. Resolution is generally due within 45 days and can take up to 90 days in specified cases, including certain foreign transactions, new accounts, or debit-card point-of-sale purchases. | Temporary credit is not a final decision. Exceptions can apply, including if you fail to provide requested written confirmation. If the bank finds an error, it must correct it within one business day and report its findings within three business days. |
The CFPB summarizes the investigation rule this way: “Once you notify your bank or credit union about an unauthorized transaction (that is, a charge or withdrawal you didn’t make or allow), it generally has ten business days to investigate the issue.” The precise treatment of a claim depends on the facts and the applicable rules.
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What the wider fraud figures do—and do not—show
The FDIC’s June 2025 consumer page attributed $12.5 billion in consumer-reported fraud losses in 2024 to recently published FTC information. That figure covers consumer-reported fraud losses broadly; it is not a count or measure of fraudulent bank transactions alone, and it does not predict whether an individual payment can be recovered.
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