Recovery safety
I already paid a scammer: what should I do now?
Immediate, practical actions after a suspicious payment, account disclosure, or scam purchase.
The short answer
Act quickly but do not pay a second person who promises to recover your money. Contact the payment provider first, secure your accounts, and preserve the evidence.
Warning signs to pause on
- A recovery service asks for an upfront fee or crypto payment.
- The scammer asks for another transfer to release a refund.
- You are told not to tell your bank, family, or police.
- A new contact claims they can hack or trace funds for a fee.
What to do next
- Call the bank, card issuer, or payment provider using its official number.
- Change passwords and enable two-factor authentication on affected accounts.
- Save messages, receipts, wallet addresses, and URLs.
- Report the incident to the appropriate consumer-protection or law-enforcement service.
Ready to check the evidence?
Paste the link or message, or upload a screenshot for a clear, reasoned result.
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