You just sent money to a scammer
Contact your bank or payment provider immediately, ask them to stop or recall the payment, and save all records.
Recovery payment requests
Check the claim before making another payment.
Fraudsters may pose as lawyers, investigators or officials and claim they have recovered your money. Requests for a tax, deposit or release payment should be independently verified before you send funds.
Warning signs
Recognise the patterns before you pay.
Investment & trading
Guaranteed or unusually high returns, pressure to invest quickly, and fees or taxes demanded before you can withdraw.
Cryptocurrency
Requests to move funds to a “safe” wallet, unknown exchanges, and support staff who contact you first.
Phishing & impersonation
Urgent messages from your “bank”, links to login pages and requests for authentication codes. Real banks never ask for them.
Romance
Fast affection, constant excuses not to meet or video call, and eventual requests for money or investments.
Jobs & tasks
Paid “tasks”, training fees, or requests to receive and forward money as part of a job.
Shopping & marketplaces
Prices far below market, payment only by bank transfer or gift card, and sellers who refuse secure checkout.
Protection checklist
Practical steps to reduce your exposure.
- Turn on two factor authentication for email, banking and exchanges
- Verify any company or regulator through its official website, not a link you were sent
- Never install remote access apps at the request of a caller
- Pause before any urgent payment and talk to someone you trust
- Keep records of messages, receipts and transaction IDs
- Report suspicious activity to your bank as early as possible
Common scenarios
What to do if it is happening to you.
Someone has access to your account
Change your passwords from a trusted device, enable two factor authentication and alert the provider.
You sent cryptocurrency
Record the wallet addresses and transaction hashes, and report it to the exchange you used.
You are being asked to pay to recover funds
Stop all contact and do not pay. This is a common secondary scam.
Get started
Already affected by a scam?
File your case, keep your evidence together and let our team review the options with you.