Only about 4% of scam victims get their money back, according to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance.6 That number hides a lot of variation: some payments can be reversed by law, some by your bank's goodwill, and some only by investigators, if they move fast. This guide covers what you can do in the US, the UK, the EU and Australia, by payment method.

The first 24 hours

  1. Call your bank or card issuer now, using the number on your card or statement. Ask them to stop, recall or dispute the payment. In the UK you can dial 159 to reach your bank.7
  2. Report it to the authorities: ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US, Report Fraud in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Police Scotland on 101, Scamwatch in Australia, your national police in the EU.
  3. Write everything down while you remember it: dates, amounts, account numbers, wallet addresses, websites, usernames, screenshots.
  4. Change passwords for any account the scammer could have seen, starting with email and banking.
  5. Report it on ScamMarketCap to find out whether it happened to other people, and add yourself to the case if it did.

Your odds depend on how you paid

How you paidWhat can be doneTime limit
Credit card (US)Dispute the charge with your card issuer, including for goods or services not delivered as agreed60 days from the statement; card networks often allow about 120 days89
Debit card or bank transfer (US)Your bank must refund unauthorized transfers, including ones made with codes you were tricked into sharing; not payments you sent yourselfReport within 2 business days to limit your loss to $50; within 60 days of the statement at the latest23
Wire transferAsk your bank to recall it, and report to the FBI, which can freeze fundsImmediately1
ZelleSome impostor scams are refunded: scammers posing as a government agency, a bank or an existing service providerImmediately, through your bank10
PayPal or VenmoPurchase protection for payments marked as purchases, not "friends and family"180 days; PayPal "not as described" claims within 30 days of delivery1112
CryptocurrencyNo legal right to reverse it. Contact the exchange or ATM operator: stablecoin issuers and exchanges can freeze fundsImmediately13
Gift cardsContact the card issuer, keep the card and receipt; some refundImmediately14
UK bank transferMandatory reimbursement up to £85,000Within 13 months of the last payment4
UK credit cardSection 75: the card company is jointly liable for purchases between £100 and £30,000Contact the card company15

In the United States

Unauthorized or authorized? Federal rules (the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E) protect you from transfers made by someone else without your permission. If a scammer tricked you into sharing your login details or a one-time code and then moved the money, that counts as unauthorized, and your bank can't blame your carelessness to raise your liability.3 If you sent the money yourself, even because you were lied to, the bank is not required to refund it. No federal rule changes that.2

Once you report an unauthorized transfer, the bank has to investigate within 10 business days, or 45 if it gives you a provisional credit.16 Your liability is capped at $50 if you report within two business days of learning about it, and up to $500 after that.2

Credit cards are stronger. The $50 limit on unauthorized use applies, and the billing-error rules cover purchases of goods or services you didn't accept or that weren't delivered as agreed, which includes many shopping scams. The card issuer must acknowledge a dispute within 30 days and resolve it within 90.8

Zelle and payment apps. Since June 2023, banks on Zelle refund some victims of impostors posing as a government agency, a bank or an existing service provider.10 PayPal and Venmo protect purchases, but not money sent to "friends and family", and payments you authorize on Cash App are usually final.111217

What changed in 2025 and 2026. The CFPB dropped its lawsuit against Zelle's operator and three banks in March 2025, and Congress voided the CFPB's rule for supervising large payment apps.1819 New York's attorney general sued Zelle's operator in August 2025, alleging more than $1 billion was stolen through the network; that case is ongoing.18

Wire transfers: why hours matter

The FBI's Recovery Asset Team works with banks to freeze stolen wire transfers before scammers move them on. In 2025 it handled 3,900 incidents and froze $679 million of the $1.16 billion it tried to stop: $507 million in domestic transfers and $172 million sent abroad.1

The FBI's advice is that "time is of the essence": ask your bank for a recall, and file a complaint at ic3.gov "regardless of the amount lost".1 Freezing is not the same as getting money back, and the FBI does not publish how much of the frozen money was returned.

Cryptocurrency: hard, not hopeless

Crypto payments have none of the legal protections of card payments, so the FTC's advice is to contact the exchange or crypto ATM operator immediately.13 Recovery happens when the money can still be found:

  • Freezes. Stablecoin issuers can freeze tokens in scammers' wallets. Tether says it has frozen more than $4.4 billion in total, including $344 million in a single action in April 2026.20
  • Seizures. The US Justice Department's Scam Center Strike Force had restrained about $1 billion in crypto by late October 2026, and says it aims to return funds to victims "whenever possible".2122
  • Remission. When the government forfeits stolen money, victims can apply for it back. The Justice Department has returned more than $12.5 billion in forfeited assets to crime victims since 2000, and opened a free claims process for victims of the OneCoin fraud in April 2026.23

There is no official recovery rate for crypto. Keep every wallet address and transaction ID: they are what investigators and lawyers need.

In the United Kingdom

Since 7 October 2024, payment firms must reimburse victims of authorised push payment fraud, where you were tricked into sending money by Faster Payments or CHAPS to another UK account:4

  • Up to £85,000 per claim, minus an optional excess of up to £100.
  • Claim within 13 months of the last payment. Refunds are due within 5 business days, or 35 if the firm needs more information.
  • A firm can refuse only for first-party fraud or gross negligence, and must prove it. Vulnerable customers can't be refused for negligence.

It is working: from October 2024 to March 2026, firms returned £316 million, 88% of the money lost in eligible claims.5 If your bank refuses, complain to it first, then to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free and can award up to £455,000.24 Report the fraud to Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025.25

In the European Union

New rules agreed in November 2025 would give victims of scammers posing as bank staff a full refund, if they report to the police and tell their bank. They are not in force yet: EU governments adopted their position on 29 October 2026, and the European Parliament still has to vote.2627 Since 9 October 2025, banks in the euro area must check that the name on a transfer matches the account, which helps stop payments to fake accounts before they happen.28

In Australia

The Scams Prevention Framework Act 2025 puts legal duties on banks, telcos and digital platforms to prevent, detect and respond to scams. The most serious breaches carry penalties of up to A$52.7 million, three times the benefit gained, or 30% of turnover, whichever is greatest. There are no automatic refunds, but courts can order compensation, and from 31 March 2027 most of the obligations take effect. Complain to the business first, then to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, which is free.2930

Recovery scams: the second hit

People who have just lost money are targeted again, by "recovery" services and fake law firms that promise to get it back for a fee. Recovery scams cost Americans $1.4 billion in 2025.1 The FBI's warnings are clear:

  • "Law enforcement does not charge victims a fee."31
  • "There are no law firms which are officially authorized partners of US Government agencies."32
  • The FBI's complaint center never charges and never refers victims to paid recovery firms.33

Warning signs include requests for payment in crypto or gift cards, chats moved to WhatsApp groups, and people who won't appear on a video call.32 In the US, telemarketers can't charge a recovery fee until seven business days after you get your money back.34

Every lawyer listed on ScamMarketCap has their bar membership checked before getting a check mark, and lawyers can only message members who chose to hear from them. If someone contacts you about your case, check their listing or their state bar.

When a group helps

Banks, investigators and lawyers all respond to patterns. One report of a fake investment platform is a complaint; two hundred reports with the same wallet addresses are evidence. If what happened to you happened to others, add yourself to their case: on ScamMarketCap, when a case reaches ten people, lawyers who take that kind of case are alerted.

Read more: scam statistics for 2026, crypto scams and hacks, or browse the latest reports.

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice.

Sources

  1. 2025 Internet Crime Report, FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 6 April 2026. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. Regulation E, section 1005.6: liability of consumer for unauthorized transfers, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  3. Electronic Fund Transfers FAQs, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, updated 16 January 2025. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  4. PS25/5: APP scams reimbursement, consolidated policy statement, Payment Systems Regulator, May 2025. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. APP scams reimbursement dashboard, Payment Systems Regulator, updated 30 July 2026. ↩ ↩2

  6. GASA Global State of Scams Report 2024, Global Anti-Scam Alliance and Feedzai, November 2024. ↩

  7. 159: the number to call if you think you're being scammed, Stop Scams UK. ↩

  8. Using credit cards and disputing charges, US Federal Trade Commission, May 2022. ↩ ↩2

  9. Dispute timeframes, Adyen documentation, accessed 31 October 2026. ↩

  10. Zelle begins refunding customers hurt by impostor scams, NBC News and Reuters, 13 November 2023. ↩ ↩2

  11. PayPal Purchase Protection Program, PayPal, 26 January 2026. ↩ ↩2

  12. Venmo purchase protection eligibility, Venmo, 2026. ↩ ↩2

  13. What to do if you were scammed, US Federal Trade Commission, June 2026. ↩ ↩2

  14. Avoiding and reporting gift card scams, US Federal Trade Commission, July 2023. ↩

  15. Consumer Credit Act 1974, section 75, legislation.gov.uk. ↩

  16. Regulation E, section 1005.11: procedures for resolving errors, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. ↩

  17. What to do if you get scammed, Cash App, 4 August 2026. ↩

  18. New York attorney general sues Zelle parent company, Associated Press via ABC17, 13 August 2025. ↩ ↩2

  19. Trump signs Ricketts consumer payment CRA into law, Office of Senator Pete Ricketts, 12 May 2025. ↩

  20. Tether freezes $344 million in USDT after wallets flagged by US authorities, The Block, 23 April 2026. ↩

  21. Scam Center Strike Force takes major actions against Southeast Asian scam centers, US Department of Justice, 23 April 2026. ↩

  22. Scam Center Strike Force, US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, updated 29 October 2026. ↩

  23. Justice Department announces compensation process for OneCoin fraud victims, US Department of Justice, 13 April 2026. ↩

  24. FCA confirms increase to award limits, Financial Ombudsman Service, 1 April 2026. ↩

  25. Report Fraud service goes live, City of London Police, December 2025. ↩

  26. Payment services deal: more protection from online fraud and hidden fees, European Parliament, 27 November 2025. ↩

  27. Payment Services Regulation: state of play, Council of the European Union, 29 October 2026. ↩

  28. Instant Payments Regulation, European Central Bank. ↩

  29. Scams Prevention Framework Act 2025, Federal Register of Legislation, 20 February 2025. ↩

  30. Scams Prevention Framework, Australian Securities and Investments Commission. ↩

  31. Fictitious law firms targeting cryptocurrency scam victims, FBI public service announcement, 24 June 2024. ↩

  32. Fictitious law firms target cryptocurrency scam victims, FBI public service announcement, 13 August 2025. ↩ ↩2

  33. Scammers impersonating the IC3, FBI public service announcement, 20 July 2026. ↩

  34. 16 CFR 310.4: abusive telemarketing acts or practices, Telemarketing Sales Rule, via Cornell Legal Information Institute. ↩