Scams · Official link · Reviewed July 14, 2026
Scam, identity theft, and fraud reports
The first minutes after a scam matter. Pick the path that fits: danger now, identity misuse, money sent, or an impersonator.
The short version
Protect the live account before filing reports
Safety comes first: if someone is unsafe, call 911. If money moved, call the bank, card issuer, payment app, wire company, gift-card company, or crypto exchange first and find out what can still be stopped. The same urgency applies when an identity or account was used - secure that account and begin the identity-theft steps. The reports come last: file the FTC, IC3, DFPI, police, or agency report after the live loss is being handled.
What changes the answer: One scam can need several paths. A police or agency report creates evidence, but it does not reverse a payment, freeze credit, repair an account, or pause another deadline.
The first job is to stop the loss or protect the account. Then save the proof. Identity misuse, payment recovery, internet crime, investment fraud, and government impersonation each need a different report.
How it works
Start with the harm that is still happening
A direct threat, stalking, extortion, or crime in progress starts with 911 or local law enforcement. Money moving right now starts with the company carrying the payment. An account takeover starts with that account's real fraud or security desk. Identity misuse starts with the affected company and the identity-recovery steps.
Do not make one report and wait. A scammer may have the payment, a password, and a Social Security number at the same time. Work each live problem as its own lane.
Payment recovery begins with the company that moved the money
For a card, call the issuer. For a bank transfer or wire, call the bank or wire company. For a payment app, report it to the app and to the linked bank or card issuer. For a gift card, call the card company and keep the card and receipt. Crypto is usually not reversible, but the exchange or service should still receive the report at once.
Tell the company whether you approved the payment because of a lie or whether someone moved money without your approval. Those facts can use different rules. Ask for a reversal, recall, freeze, trace, or dispute, and save the case number and exact answer.
Identity misuse needs locks as well as reports
Call every company where a false account, charge, loan, phone line, tax record, or benefit claim appeared. Change exposed passwords from a trusted device. A free credit freeze must be placed separately with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A one-year fraud alert can start with one bureau, which tells the other two.
IdentityTheft.gov builds a recovery plan and FTC Identity Theft Report. California also gives an identity-theft victim a local police-report path. Neither report updates every bank, bureau, tax agency, benefit office, or phone company by itself.
Match the report to the scam
ReportFraud.ftc.gov is the broad federal scam report. IC3 takes internet-enabled crime reports. DFPI is the California path for many investment, lending, money-service, and crypto-company complaints. CFPB handles complaints about covered consumer financial companies.
For a fake government message, start from the real agency site. The IRS, Franchise Tax Board, EDD, DMV, toll operator, and Social Security each have their own account and report steps. California DMV says it will never text to ask for a toll payment or personal or financial information.
A report is evidence, not a refund order
The FTC uses reports to spot patterns and build cases. IC3, DFPI, police, and agency reports can also preserve facts and help an investigation. They do not promise that money will return or that a private company will decide a dispute in the victim's favor.
Keep one timeline with the first contact, payment time, account changes, report numbers, dispute dates, and every deadline. Treat anyone who promises recovery for an up-front fee, gift card, wire, or crypto payment as a possible second scam.
First useful action
Start with the route selector
Pick the closest task. The result will point to the focused page or official office that fits.
Route selector
Select the scam or fraud type.
Pick an option above to see the right first stop.
First moves
- 1
If someone is in danger or a crime is happening right now, call 911 or local law enforcement first.
- 2
Stop sending money, gift cards, crypto, codes, or ID photos until you check the official source yourself.
- 3
Write down what happened and when. Save the phone number, email, website, account name, payment method, and dollar amount.
- 4
Save the proof: screenshots, messages, receipts, bank records, letters, and call notes.
- 5
If a bank, card, payment app, or government account may be involved, contact that provider from a known good website.
- 6
For identity theft or an account opened in your name, use the focused identity-recovery route.
- 7
If money was sent, use the payment-recovery route before the report path. The bank, card issuer, app, wire company, gift-card company, or exchange may need an immediate report.
- 8
For online crime or a scam that ran through the internet, check IC3.
- 9
For crypto, investment, or lending trouble, check DFPI and CFPB.
- 10
For tax, EDD, DMV, toll, or Social Security impersonation, use that agency's own scam page. For tax scams, that means the IRS for federal and the Franchise Tax Board for California.
Watch for
- 1
A fraud report, a police report, a bank dispute, and a credit freeze are different things.
- 2
A real-looking logo, caller ID, urgent deadline, or government-sounding name is not proof.
- 3
Do not use links inside a suspicious message. Type the official website yourself or use a saved official source.
- 4
Gift cards, wire transfers, crypto, and payment apps are hard to recover once sent.
- 5
Identity theft can take several steps: a recovery plan, credit freezes, account cleanup, and agency reports.
- 6
Crypto scams often come back as fake recovery offers. Treat those as scams too.
- 7
Scams that use a tax, EDD, DMV, or Social Security name lean on fear. Check the official page before responding.
- 8
Bank, card, benefit, and court deadlines keep moving while a report is pending.
Official sources
Where to confirm this
Use the source that matches the step you are on. Current forms, fees, deadlines, and agency decisions can change after this page is reviewed.
Use this as a map. It does not decide your rights, tell you what to file, or say someone broke the law. If a deadline, denial, eviction, firing, injury, tax bill, permit fight, or insurance dispute is on the line, use the official source or a licensed professional.