Take a breath. What has happened to you has happened to many people, and there are clear things you can do now. Work through the steps below in order. You do not have to do all of it at once, and you do not have to do it alone.
In the first hours
The sooner you act, the more you can protect. These are the immediate steps.
- Stop further loss Contact your bank or card issuer straight away and tell them what has happened. Ask them to stop or reverse any payments still in progress and to secure your accounts. Use the number on your card or in your banking app.
- Secure your accounts Change the passwords on any account that was affected, and on any account that shared a password with it. Turn on two-step verification where you can.
- Stop contact with the fraudster Do not send more money, and do not keep engaging in the hope of getting money back. Cutting contact does not weaken your case.
- Keep everything Save the messages, emails, receipts, transaction records and screenshots. Do not delete anything, even things that feel embarrassing. The record is what makes a report worth acting on.
Report it to the authorities
Fraud is a crime, and the authorities where you are have channels for reporting it. The correct route depends on your country.
Find the right reporting channel for your country.
If a crime is in progress, or you are in danger, call your local emergency number first.
Beware anyone who offers to recover your money for a fee
After a fraud, you may be contacted by people promising to get your money back, sometimes claiming to be investigators, a recovery agency, or even a public authority. This is a second fraud aimed at people who have already been hurt. Legitimate help never asks you to pay in order to receive money back. If someone contacts you in our name and asks for payment, it is not us. Check the notice before you act.
How Reascon can help
If you send us what happened, we can examine it, document it to the standard a case requires, and refer it to the authorities equipped to act. We work with lawyers acting pro bono in the jurisdictions where we operate. We are not a fund-recovery service and we cannot promise an outcome, but we can help you understand what happened and the routes open to you.
Send us what happened
Upload your account and any files that support it: messages, receipts, screenshots or transaction records. There is no limit on the number of files, and you can submit without leaving an email address.
When you are ready, send us what happened. If you have received a notice from one of our investigators and want to check it is genuine, see Verify a notice from us.