I sent a bank transfer, wire, or Zelle

The sooner your bank asks the other bank for the money, the better the odds. Call before you read the rest.

If it’s happening now

They’re still on the phone or texting. Hang up, or stop replying. Don’t send anything else, even to “reverse” the first payment.

You’re at the bank filling out a wire form. Stop. Tell the teller what the caller told you to do and to say. A caller who coaches you on what to tell the bank is the scam.

It still says pending or scheduled. You can cancel a pending Zelle payment yourself: in your bank’s app, open your Zelle activity, pick the payment, and cancel it. For a wire or a transfer, call the bank.

They’re on your computer. Hold the power button until it shuts off, then call from your phone. Someone is on the line or on my screen right now.

What to say

• I was scammed into sending money from my account today. Please stop it if it hasn't gone through, or recall it if it has, and report the account that got it as fraud. I need a case number.

• It was a Zelle payment, and they were pretending to be someone else. Does it qualify for Zelle's reimbursement for impostor scams?

• I didn't make this transfer. Someone got into my account with a code they tricked me into reading out. I'm reporting it as an unauthorized transfer.

• Can you send me that decision in writing, with the documents you based it on?

If something already left your hands

Call your bank first

Use the number on the back of your debit card, on your statement, or in the bank’s app. Not a number from a search result, and not one the scammer gave you. Zelle runs inside your bank’s app, so report a Zelle payment to your bank, not to Zelle.

Have the amount, the time, and the name, account, phone number, or email you sent it to. Ask the bank to stop the payment, or recall it (ask the other bank to send it back), and report the receiving account as fraud. Ask it to stop any other payments still pending or scheduled, and to lock your online banking if the scammer had your password, a code, or your computer. Write down the case number.

A wire. The most urgent. A recall only works while the money is still in the account it went to. While you’re on hold, or as soon as you hang up, file at ic3.gov. Include the date, the amount, the receiving bank, and the account number from your receipt. The FBI’s Recovery Asset Team can use those reports to ask banks to freeze money.

Sent it to another country less than 30 minutes ago? Say: “I want to cancel this international wire.” Federal rules let you cancel within 30 minutes unless the money’s been picked up or deposited. Many banks have to honor that.

Zelle. If the person you paid was already enrolled, the money went straight to their bank account, and Zelle says it can’t be canceled. Zelle says certain impostor scams qualify for reimbursement, but doesn’t list which. Ask whether yours does.

A transfer to another bank (online transfer or bill pay). If it’s still pending or scheduled, ask them to cancel it. If it’s gone, ask them to try to reverse it.

If they say you authorized it

They may be right. If you sent it yourself, even because someone lied to you, the bank can treat it as authorized. The FTC says that if you’re scammed into moving money out of your account, you won’t be protected. Often it doesn’t come back.

What still helps:

• Ask for the recall anyway. “Authorized” is about whether the bank owes you a refund. The bank can still ask the other bank to freeze what’s left.
• Ask for the decision in writing.
• If the answer is no, file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB sends it to the bank, and companies generally respond within 15 days.

Don’t argue Regulation E here. Its refund rules cover money someone else moved from your account, not payments you sent, and they don’t cover wires inside the US.

If you didn’t send it

If someone else moved the money using a password, a code, or access they tricked out of you, it’s an unauthorized transfer. The CFPB says that holds even though you shared the code. Those rules cover Zelle and online transfers, not wires. For a wire, ask the bank how it handles unauthorized wires, and get the answer in writing.

Report it today. Federal rules limit what you can lose, and the limit is lowest when you report within two business days of finding out. Wait more than 60 days after the statement that shows it, and you can be stuck with the unauthorized transfers made after that. More: I gave out a code, password, or card number.

What the call will be like

The bank may text a code to the phone it has on file, to check it’s you. On a call you dialed, that’s normal. You may be passed to a fraud or wire team; write down each name. The bank may need you to sign recall paperwork. Do it today. Banks handle recalls differently, so ask what yours will do and when to call back.

That’s the urgent part. The rest can wait a few hours.

Later today

1. If they had a password, a code, or your computer, change your bank and email passwords from a device they never touched. Steps: cleaning up after someone was on your computer.
2. Save the texts, emails, call log, and the wire receipt or Zelle confirmation. More: What to save.
3. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. File at ic3.gov too if you haven’t; the FBI says to file whatever the amount. IC3 shows you a copy of your complaint once, right after you submit, so save or print it then.
4. If you’re 60 or older, or helping someone who is, the National Elder Fraud Hotline assigns a case manager to help with the reports.

If someone then offers to get the money back for a fee, that’s a second scam, whether they say they’re the FBI, IC3, the FTC, or a lawyer. A real FBI agent may contact you about your report but won’t ask for money. Not sure? Use the FBI field offices page to find your local office, and call it yourself. Someone offers to get my money back.

What it looks like

3:40 p.m. At 1:15 you wired $24,000 to a caller's "secure account." Now you've dialed the number on your card.

(312) 555-0136

Outgoing call · 3:40 PM

1. Rep Fernmont Bank fraud department, this is Alicia. Thanks for verifying. How can I help?
2. You I sent a wire at 1:15 to someone who said he was your fraud team. It was a scam.
3. Rep I'm sorry. I see it. $24,000 to Pellridge Savings, sent at 1:22. The receiving bank has it.
4. Rep Since you sent it yourself, it's an authorized transaction, so there isn't a claim I can open.
5. Rep I've put a note on your account. Is there anything else I can help with today?

What do you say?

• "Okay. Thanks for checking."
• "Please send a recall to the receiving bank now and report that account as fraud. I need a case number."
• "Under Regulation E, you have to refund me."

Show the answers

• Wrong move "Okay. Thanks for checking." "Authorized" means the bank may not owe you a refund. It doesn't stop the bank from asking the receiving bank to freeze what's left. If you hang up here, nobody asks.
• Best move "Please send a recall to the receiving bank now and report that account as fraud. I need a case number." The FBI tells people who find a fraudulent transfer to ask their bank for a recall right away. It only works while the money is still in that account, so it isn't guaranteed. Then file at ic3.gov as soon as you hang up, with the wire details.
• Wrong move "Under Regulation E, you have to refund me." Regulation E doesn't cover this wire. Where it does apply, it covers transfers someone else made, not ones you sent. Arguing it costs time the recall needs.

A bank that won't refund you can still request a recall. Ask for it, a case number, and the decision in writing.

4:06 p.m. Ten minutes ago you sent a $1,800 apartment deposit with Zelle. The listing is gone and the "landlord" stopped answering. This email arrives.

Your Zelle® payment is pending

F

Fernmont Bank <[email protected]>

4:06 PM

You sent money with Zelle®.

Amount: $1,800.00
To: MARCUS R
Email: [email protected]
Status: Pending

MARCUS R hasn't enrolled with Zelle® yet, so we've let them know money is waiting. If they don't enroll within 14 days, the payment will expire and the money will be returned to your account.

Questions? Sign in to Fernmont Online Banking or call the number on the back of your card.

What do you do first?

• Open your banking app yourself, find the payment in your Zelle activity, and cancel it
• Call the number on your card and ask the bank to stop it
• Email the landlord to ask if he's real

Show the answers

• Best move Open your banking app yourself, find the payment in your Zelle activity, and cancel it Zelle says you can cancel a payment while the person hasn't enrolled. Once they enroll, it goes straight to their account and can't be canceled. Cancel first, then call the bank and report the scam.
• Okay Call the number on your card and ask the bank to stop it Safe, and the bank can help. But the payment goes through the moment they enroll, and you may be on hold. Canceling in the app takes seconds.
• Wrong move Email the landlord to ask if he's real He'll say yes. Meanwhile he can enroll, and then the payment can't be canceled.

Pending means you can still cancel it yourself in your bank's app. Completed means call the bank.

Two weeks after you reported the $24,000 wire to your bank and to IC3.

Recovered funds: wire of 09/29, $24,000.00

I

IC3 Recovery Asset Team <[email protected]>

10:02 AM

Dear Complainant,

The Recovery Asset Team has reviewed your complaint about the wire of $24,000.00 sent on 09/29 to Pellridge Savings. The receiving account has been frozen, and $21,350.00 remains available for return to you.

Before the receiving bank can release the funds, federal rules require verification of the account they will be returned to and a refundable compliance deposit of $850.00.

Reply with your bank name, routing number, and account number, or call your assigned agent, Special Agent R. Holloway, at (202) 555-0117. Funds not claimed by 5:00 p.m. Friday will be returned to the account holder.

Reference: RAT-2609-4471
Internet Crime Complaint Center | Federal Bureau of Investigation

It knows the amount, the date, and the bank you wired to. What do you do?

• Call Special Agent Holloway at the number in the email to check it's real
• Reply with your account details, and ask them to take the $850 out of what they're returning
• Don't reply. Call your bank on the number on your card about the recall, and report this email at ic3.gov

Show the answers

• Wrong move Call Special Agent Holloway at the number in the email to check it's real That number reaches whoever sent the email. Anyone can sign as an agent.
• Wrong move Reply with your account details, and ask them to take the $850 out of what they're returning Your routing and account numbers set up the next theft. The details in the email prove nothing: whoever took the wire knows the amount, the date, and the bank, and scammers buy lists of people who've already paid.
• Best move Don't reply. Call your bank on the number on your card about the recall, and report this email at ic3.gov IC3 says it never contacts people directly for information or money, never asks for payment to recover funds, and wants impostors reported on ic3.gov. If any money was frozen, your bank is who can tell you.

The Recovery Asset Team is real. It works with banks, and it never emails victims or charges them. Your bank can tell you if anything was frozen.

What they’ll ask for

Same move for each: stop replying and call back on a number you already have.

“The transfer didn’t go through. Send it again.” Check your bank’s app yourself. If it shows the payment as completed, the money left.

“Send one more and we’ll reverse both.” Nothing gets reversed by sending more.

“Move the rest so it’s safe too.” No real bank or agency asks you to move money to protect it, or to use a Bitcoin ATM or gift cards.

“If the bank asks, say it’s for a home repair.” Tell the teller the truth. They can stop it.

“Our wiring instructions have changed.” Before a closing, call the title company or lawyer at a number you got at the start, not one in the email. Already sent it: use the wire steps above.

“Pay a fee and we’ll release your frozen money.” IC3 says it never contacts people directly, never asks for payment to recover funds, and never refers you to a company that charges to.