I paid or sent money

If they’re still on the phone or on your computer: hang up. On the computer, hold the power button until it turns off, then use your phone or another device. Full steps: Someone is on the line or on my screen right now.

Call now, even if you’re not sure it was a scam, or it was weeks ago. Money that hasn’t been picked up or spent can sometimes still be stopped, and the FTC says it’s always worth asking.

How did you pay?

If you wrote a check: call your bank now and ask for a stop payment. It only works before the check is cashed. If you ask by phone, confirm it in writing within 14 days.

The order, whatever you paid with

Steps 1 and 2 are the urgent part, and step 3 if they got a code, a password, or your computer. The rest can wait a few hours.

1. Stop the contact. Hang up, stop replying, and don’t call back or tap anything they sent. Don’t pay anything to get the first payment back.
2. Call the bank or company the money went through. Use the number on your card, your statement, or inside the app, never one from a message or a search result. For a gift card, use the number on the back of the card; for a money transfer company, our list. Tell them about every payment, not just the last one. Ask them to stop or reverse it, and write down the case number, the time, and who you spoke to.
3. If you gave them a code or a password, or let them onto your computer, change your passwords from a device they never touched. Email first, then your bank. I gave out a code, password, or card number.
4. Save the evidence. Screenshots of the messages, the receipts, the name, number, or account you paid, any transaction numbers, and every case number. Save the conversation before you block them. Save evidence without spiraling.
5. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the FBI at ic3.gov. Sent a wire or crypto? File with the FBI at the same time as you call the bank. The FBI says reports sometimes let it freeze stolen money. Where to report it.
6. Get help with the rest. If you’re 60 or older, or helping someone who is, the National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) assigns a case manager to walk you through the reports. Scammers pose as its staff, so call it yourself. Any age: the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline (877-908-3360). If the loss has you thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988.

If they say you authorized it

If you sent the payment yourself, the bank or app may treat it as authorized, even though you were lied to. The FTC says you probably won’t get it back. Ask anyway, and ask whether it qualifies for any scam reimbursement. Zelle says certain impostor scams do.

Two cases are different. Say which one is yours on the call:

• They moved it, not you. If the scammer used a code, password, or debit card number you gave them to move money out of your bank account themselves, federal rules (Regulation E) count that as an unauthorized transfer, even though you handed it over. The bank has to investigate it as one. This doesn’t cover wire transfers. If it went by wire, ask the bank to recall it on the same call.
• You paid by card. Call the card company now. On a credit card, also send the dispute in writing within 60 days of the statement it first appears on. On a debit card, if you still have the card, you owe nothing for charges you didn’t make as long as you report them within 60 days of the statement that shows them. If the card itself is gone, report it within two business days. Details: I paid with a credit or debit card.

If it’s still no, ask for the decision in writing, then file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB sends it to the company, and most answer within 15 days.

If someone offers to get it back

Anyone who contacts you offering to recover the money, for a fee or for your account details, is running a second scam. That includes people who say they’re from the FBI, IC3, the FTC, or a law firm. IC3 says it never contacts people directly for information or money, and doesn’t work with law firms or crypto services to recover funds. No government agency charges you to get a refund. Someone offers to get my money back.