Money Sent · Checklist · Reviewed July 12, 2026

Scam payment recovery and report check

Use this in the first hour after a scam payment or account loss. It covers cards, wires, apps, gift cards, and crypto.

Why it matters

The fastest useful call is often to the company that moved the money. A fraud report creates a record, but it does not automatically reverse a payment.

Official first stop

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Open: What to do if you were scammed See more tools like this

First moves

1
Stop contact and stop sending money, codes, ID, gift cards, or crypto. Do not pay anyone who promises recovery.
2
Contact the company that moved the money at once. Use a known bank, card, app, wire, gift-card, or exchange channel.
3
Say the payment was tied to a scam. Ask what action is still possible. It may be a reversal, recall, dispute, freeze, or trace. Save the case number.
4
Did you share a login or remote access? Change it from a trusted device. Sign out other sessions and call the account provider.
5
Save the digital trail. Keep messages, email headers, sites, phone numbers, usernames, wallet addresses, receipts, transaction IDs, and report times.
6
Report the scam to the FTC. Use IC3 when the conduct occurred online or involved internet-enabled crime.
7
For an investment, loan, or crypto scheme, use the right regulator too. It may be DFPI, the SEC, CFTC, or CFPB.
8
For a fake government message, go to the real agency site. The IRS, FTB, EDD, DMV, and Social Security have separate report paths.
9
If personal information was misused or new accounts appeared, switch to the identity-theft recovery route and consider credit freezes.

Watch for

1
Recovery may not be possible. Reporting quickly gives the payment company the best available chance to act.
2
Each payment method has different rules. Cards, bank transfers, checks, wires, gift cards, apps, and crypto do not share one process.
3
A payment marked authorized can still stem from fraud. The provider may review it differently from an unauthorized payment.
4
Do not use a phone number, QR code, wallet, or link supplied by the scammer or a supposed recovery agent.
5
Scammers may pose as recovery services, law firms, or regulators. They often target the same victim again.
6
An agency or police report does not create a refund by itself. It also does not pause a bank or court deadline.
7
Call 911 or local law enforcement first for immediate danger, threats, extortion, stalking, or a crime in progress.

Directory paths

Keep moving through the directory.

Use the nearby shelf when this is the right lane, or jump back to the full directory if the task changed names.

ShelfStart hereFind the right public office for everyday paperwork.DirectoryPaperwork & MoneyReturn to the full tools shelf.Nearby toolScam, identity theft, and fraud reportsChoose a first path for immediate danger, identity misuse, money sent to a scammer, online or investment fraud, or government impersonation.Nearby toolIdentity theft, credit freeze, and recovery checkA first-day recovery sequence for an account, debt, credit inquiry, tax record, benefit claim, or ID used in your name.A-ZFind another California pathUse the directory index when the task has a different name.

Scam payment recovery and report check

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