Contact the bank, app, wire service, gift-card issuer, crypto exchange or ATM operator you used right now. Tell them the payment was induced by fraud and ask whether it can be stopped, reversed or refunded. Then stop sending money, end contact with the suspected scammer, report the fraud and secure any exposed accounts. Recovery is not guaranteed—especially for a completed wire or cryptocurrency transfer—but acting quickly gives the provider a chance to intervene.
This guide covers U.S. reporting and consumer guidance. Your rights and options depend on where you live, how you paid and the transaction details. An FTC or FBI report can help inform investigations; it does not replace contacting the payment provider.
What to do first: act on the payment and stop further losses
- Call the payment provider immediately. Use the number on your bank card or the provider’s official website or app. Say plainly: “I was induced by a romance or investment scam to send this payment. Can you stop, reverse or refund it?” Ask for a case or reference number, what records they need and whether any linked account or card needs to be secured. The FTC’s step-by-step guidance for people who were scammed advises contacting the specific company or institution used and asking it to reverse the transaction.
- Stop every further payment. Do not pay a supposed tax, release charge, verification deposit, withdrawal fee or other amount to unlock an investment balance or recover earlier funds. A new payment request is not proof that a balance is real or withdrawable.
- End contact with the suspected scammer. The FBI tells romance-scam victims to stop contact immediately. In a cryptocurrency investment fraud case, the FBI also says not to alert the suspected criminals that you have reported them, because that could compromise an investigation. Follow that caution rather than confronting the person or announcing your next steps.
- Save evidence before accounts or conversations disappear. Keep receipts, transaction confirmations, dates, amounts, account or wallet addresses, usernames, messages, phone numbers, email addresses, profile links and the name the person used. Do not delete the conversation while preserving evidence. Providers and investigators may need transaction and contact details.
- Report the case and protect accounts. Submit a consumer-fraud report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and an online-crime report to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Then change exposed passwords and review financial accounts for activity you did not authorize.
There is no universal recovery deadline or guarantee in the federal guidance. A transfer that is still pending may leave a provider an opportunity to act, so make the call without waiting to assemble a perfect report. If the payment has completed, still ask: the answer depends on the payment method, provider and facts of the case.
Contact the provider that handled your payment
Start with the institution or service that controlled the sending account or transaction. If a payment app drew money from a linked card, contact both the app and the card issuer or bank. Be specific that the payment was induced by fraud; do not describe it only as a technical error. Ask what the provider can do, what information it requires and whether it can secure the account against additional transfers.
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| How you paid | Who to contact and what to ask | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer or Zelle | Contact your bank or credit union immediately. Report a fraudulent transfer and ask it to reverse the payment and refund the money. | The FTC advises asking even though recovery is not certain. The outcome depends on the circumstances and provider. |
| Payment app | Report the transaction to the app and request reversal. If it drew from a linked debit or credit card, contact that card issuer or bank too and ask it to reverse the charge. | There may be more than one provider to notify; report to each relevant one. |
| Wire transfer | Call the wire-transfer company or sending bank immediately. State that the transfer was fraudulent and ask for reversal or refund. | The FTC says wire transfers are like sending cash and usually cannot be recovered once sent. Its guidance is at What To Know Before You Wire Money. |
| Gift card | Call the issuer using the number printed on the card. Tell it the card details were given to a scammer, ask whether a refund is possible, and keep the card and receipt. | Retain the physical card and purchase records while the issuer reviews the situation. |
| Cryptocurrency | Contact the exchange or ATM operator used to send or buy the cryptocurrency. Report the fraudulent transaction and ask whether it can be reversed. File an IC3 report promptly with transaction and wallet details. | Cryptocurrency lacks the same legal protections as credit and debit cards, and recovery can be difficult. The FBI says victims typically lose invested funds to criminal actors; do not treat that as a guarantee about an individual case. |
| Cash sent by U.S. mail | Contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service promptly and ask whether the delivery can be intercepted. | For cash sent through another delivery service, contact that carrier immediately. The available options depend on how and where the cash was sent. |
When you call, have the amount, date, recipient details, confirmation or receipt, and any transaction identifier at hand if available. If you do not have all of them, call anyway and ask what to provide next. Save the provider’s response and any case number. If a provider says it cannot reverse the transaction, you can still report the fraud to the relevant authorities and take steps to prevent additional losses.
Report the scam and preserve details investigators can use
- FTC: Report consumer fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Include how the contact began, what the person claimed, how they persuaded you to pay and which payment services were involved.
- FBI IC3: Report online crime at ic3.gov. The FBI asks for information such as how contact began, the suspected scammer’s claimed identity, transaction details, the receiving financial institution and—when cryptocurrency is involved—wallet addresses. Include as much accurate information as you can.
- State and local authorities: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also lists your state attorney general and local police as reporting options. Its guidance, reviewed August 28, 2026, explains how to find help at Who do I contact for help with a scam or fraud?
Keep a copy of what you submit and the confirmation or report number. A report is not a payment dispute and does not itself recover money: report to the FTC or IC3 as appropriate, but keep working directly with the bank, app, wire service, card issuer or crypto provider that handled the transaction.
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Secure accounts, identity information and any account used to move money
If you shared passwords or account access
Change the compromised password and every reused version, starting with email and financial accounts. Use each provider’s official app or website, not a link sent by the person who contacted you. Review bank and other financial accounts for transfers, new payees, account changes or other activity you do not recognize. Contact the institution promptly about anything suspicious and ask how to secure the account.
If you shared your Social Security number
The FTC directs people whose Social Security number was exposed to IdentityTheft.gov for identity-theft steps. Treat identity exposure separately from the original payment: notifying the payment provider does not secure every account or address risks from misuse of personal information.
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If someone asked to use your bank account
A romance or investment contact may ask to deposit money into your account or have you transfer funds onward. The FBI warns that this can make you a money mule moving proceeds from other crimes. If a scammer has your bank-account information in a money-mule situation, the FTC advises closing that account immediately and informing the bank. Do not forward or withdraw funds on the person’s behalf; tell the bank what happened and follow its instructions.
Recognize the romance-to-investment pattern without blaming yourself
Romance fraud often builds trust before a request for money. In cryptocurrency investment fraud, the FBI describes a related pattern in which social engineering and confidence grooming can lead someone to a fake investment platform. An online relationship and investment pitch can therefore be parts of the same scam, rather than separate reasons to keep communicating. Once you suspect fraud, do not send more money or wait for the person to explain the loss away.
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FTC figures published in 2023 describe reported U.S. romance-scam losses in 2022, not all romance scams or current-year losses. In that set of reports, cryptocurrency accounted for 34% of reported losses, bank wire transfer or payment for 27%, gift cards for 7%, payment apps or services for 3%, and other methods for 28%. Together, cryptocurrency and bank wires represented more than 60% of reported losses. These shares do not predict whether an individual payment can be recovered.
The same FTC publication said 40% of people who reported losing money to a romance scam in 2022 said contact began on social media; 19% said it began on a website or app. Those are reported-loss figures, not a measure of every person’s risk. The figures and context appear in the FTC’s 2023 romance-scam report.
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Watch for recovery scams after reporting
Someone may contact you claiming they can trace, retrieve or release your funds—sometimes while pretending to be an official, bank employee, investigator or recovery specialist. Do not pay them, provide account credentials or share sensitive information. The FBI warns that almost all victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud are contacted by recovery-fraud schemes. A promise to recover funds is not evidence that the person has authority or access to them.
Verify any purported government or financial-institution contact independently: find the institution’s official website or phone number yourself and contact it there, rather than using the caller’s number or link. The CFPB says agencies and financial institutions do not demand money to “protect” your money; they do not instruct people to withdraw cash, buy gift cards or use cryptocurrency to send money. The FBI also says it will never ask victims to pay money, move to private messaging or provide bank details as part of its outreach.
What recovery can—and cannot—be promised
There is no single recovery rule for romance or investment scams. The payment method, whether the transfer is pending, which provider controls the account and the transaction circumstances all matter. Ask the relevant provider to stop or reverse the payment, but do not assume that a report, complaint or police contact guarantees a refund. Completed wires are usually difficult to recover, and cryptocurrency recovery can be difficult; other cases still require the provider to assess what happened.
The sources cited here are U.S.-based. They do not establish reporting channels or reimbursement rights for other countries, or a universal card dispute deadline, bank-liability rule or recovery timeline. If you are outside the United States, contact your local financial institution and appropriate consumer-protection or law-enforcement authorities for the rules that apply where you live. If there is immediate danger, extortion or substantial ongoing access to your accounts, use local emergency and law-enforcement routes as well as contacting the provider.
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