How to Get Money Back After Being Scammed, by Payment Type

Quick answer

To get money back after being scammed, call the bank, card issuer or payment app you paid from immediately and ask them to recall or freeze the payment, then report it to IC3 and the FTC (US), Report Fraud (UK) or your national police (EU). Cards and PayPal Goods and Services give the best odds. UK bank transfers are reimbursed up to £85,000 under the PSR rules. Gift cards, crypto and Friends and Family payments are rarely recovered. Never pay anyone who offers to recover your money for a fee.

Key numbers

$679 millionfrozen for victims by the FBI's Recovery Asset Team in 2025, out of $1.16 billion reported in time: a 58% success rateFBI IC3 2025 Internet Crime Report
£85,000maximum mandatory reimbursement for UK bank-transfer (APP) scams since 7 October 2024, claimable within 13 monthsPayment Systems Regulator
88%of in-scope UK APP fraud losses were reimbursed in the first year of the mandatory rules; £354.3 million was returned to victims in 2025UK Finance Annual Fraud Report 2026

You sent the money, and now you know. Maybe it was a buyer who never shipped, a romance that turned into an "investment", a landlord who didn't exist, or a call from "your bank". The first question is always the same: can I get my money back after being scammed?

Sometimes yes, often partly, and it depends almost entirely on two things: how you paid, and how fast you move. In 2025 the FBI's Recovery Asset Team froze $679 million of the $1.16 billion in fraudulent transfers reported to it in time, a 58% success rate. UK banks returned £354.3 million to bank-transfer scam victims in 2025. Here is the first call, the deadline and the realistic odds for each way you paid, in the US, UK and EU.

What should I do in the first hour after being scammed?

Call the bank, card issuer or payment app you paid from before anything else, because recalls and freezes work on a clock measured in hours.

Stop all contact with the scammer. Don't send a "release fee" or a "tax". Keep and screenshot the chat.
Call the bank, card issuer or app you paid from. Say "I've been scammed", ask them to recall or freeze the payment and block further payments to that recipient, and get the case reference.
Change passwords and turn on two-factor authentication if you shared logins or codes, and uninstall any remote-access app.
Gather the evidence: dates, amounts, the account, wallet or card you paid to, and every name, number, email and URL the scammer used.
Report it. US: ic3.gov (essential for bank transfers and wires) and ReportFraud.ftc.gov. UK: your bank, then Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (Police Scotland on 101). EU: your bank, then your national police via Europol's list.
Expect a second scam. Anyone who now offers to recover your money for a fee is a scammer (see below).

Can I get my money back after a scam? It depends on how you paid

Yes for most card payments and protected marketplace payments, often for bank transfers caught quickly, and rarely for gift cards, crypto or cash. Find how you paid in the table, then read the matching section.

How you paid	Can you get it back?	First call	Deadline
Credit card	Good odds for goods not received or unauthorized charges	Card issuer	US: dispute in writing within 60 days of the statement. UK: Section 75 or chargeback, start now.
Debit card	Good if someone else used your card or details; weaker if you paid the scammer yourself	Your bank	Report the moment you see it.
Bank transfer or wire (US)	Possible if the bank and IC3 act within hours	Your bank, then ic3.gov	Same day.
Bank transfer (UK, Faster Payments or CHAPS)	Strong: mandatory reimbursement up to £85,000	Your bank	Within 13 months.
Bank transfer (EU, SEPA)	Possible via a recall; depends on the receiving bank	Your bank	Same day.
Zelle	Imposter scams (fake bank, government or service provider) often reimbursed; other scams usually not	Your bank	Same day.
Venmo or Cash App	Low unless it was a tagged purchase or an unauthorized payment	The app	Cancel if still pending; otherwise report now.
PayPal Goods and Services	Good	PayPal Resolution Center	180 days.
PayPal Friends and Family	Very low: no Purchase Protection	PayPal	Report anyway.
Gift cards	Low, but sometimes	The gift card company	Immediately, with card and receipt.
Cryptocurrency	Very low	The exchange you used, then ic3.gov	Same day.
Cash, courier or check	Very low	Police	Immediately.

How do I get a refund on a credit card or debit card after a scam?

Dispute the charge with the card issuer in writing, fast. Credit cards carry the strongest legal protections of any payment method in the US and the UK.

US credit cards. The FTC's guide and sample letter for disputing card charges says to call the issuer, then send a written dispute within 60 calendar days of the date the first statement with the charge was sent to you, by certified mail with copies of your evidence. Goods not received, services not delivered as agreed and unauthorized charges all count. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act the issuer must acknowledge your dispute within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles (no more than 90 days).

US debit cards and bank payments. Regulation E covers unauthorized electronic transfers. The CFPB's official FAQs say that if a fraudster obtained your account details through phishing or other fraud and made the transfer, "the transfer is an unauthorized EFT under Regulation E", and that P2P app payments meeting the definition are covered too. The FAQs don't say the same about a payment you made yourself after being tricked, and banks often treat those as authorized, so ask anyway, in writing.

UK cards. Citizens Advice explains the two routes. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act applies to credit card purchases where a single item cost more than £100 and no more than £30,000, makes the card provider jointly responsible, and usually doesn't apply if you paid through a third party such as PayPal. For debit cards and credit card payments outside those limits, ask your bank for a chargeback.

EU cards. Ask your bank for a chargeback under the card scheme's rules; for a dispute with a trader in another EU country, the European Consumer Centres Network gives free help.

How do I check who I actually paid, and who's offering to help?

Pin down who you were dealing with before you file any report: banks, police and platforms all ask for the name, number and email the scammer used, and anyone offering to "recover" your money needs the same check. Start by searching the name they gave you in quotes with "scam", "complaint" or "review", as the FTC advises.

A Search A-Z general search on the name they used, with their phone number and email added, tells you whether the phone is real and its line type (mobile, landline or internet/VoIP) and fraud risk, whether the email is real and its fraud risk, what public footprint that name has (job, work history, public profiles, news and web mentions), and whether public scam or fraud warnings are attached to it. For a "law firm" that contacts you, a business search adds its company registration (UK Companies House roles, worldwide LEI register) and a work-email check. If the report can't find the person at all, it says so, and with an invented identity that is itself your answer. Nobody is told you searched.

Can I get money back from a bank transfer or wire?

Yes, if the receiving account is frozen before the money moves on, which is why the first hours matter. The route differs by region.

US. Call the bank you sent from, ask for a recall, and ask whether it needs a Hold Harmless Letter or Letter of Indemnity; the FBI's Financial Fraud Kill Chain brochure lists both steps. Then file at ic3.gov with every banking detail filled in, because that is what lets the Recovery Asset Team ask the receiving bank to freeze the funds. In 2025, $1.16 billion was reported to the team as attempted theft and $679 million was frozen, a 58% success rate. The FBI says "time is of the essence" and to file regardless of the amount.

UK. Since 7 October 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator's rules require banks to reimburse victims of authorized push payment (APP) scams for Faster Payments and CHAPS transfers between UK accounts, up to £85,000, if you claim within 13 months. Your bank should pay within 5 business days, or within 35 if it needs to investigate, and may apply an excess of up to £100 (not for vulnerable customers). You won't be reimbursed if you were complicit or grossly negligent, which the PSR calls "a high bar"; card payments and disputes over goods that didn't arrive fall under other rules. Above £85,000 you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, whose limit is £430,000. UK Finance says 88% of in-scope APP losses were reimbursed in the rules' first year.

EU. Ask your bank immediately to request a recall of the SEPA transfer; the receiving bank decides whether funds can be returned, so speed is everything. Since 9 October 2025, banks in euro-area countries must offer Verification of Payee, a free check that the payee's name matches the IBAN before you confirm a transfer. Report to your national police via Europol's list.

Will Zelle, Venmo, Cash App or PayPal refund a scam?

Only in specific cases, and each app differs. The common thread: a payment sent to a stranger as a gift or as "Friends and Family" has almost no protection.

Zelle. CBS News reported in November 2023 that, since June 30 that year, banks on the Zelle network had begun reimbursing customers tricked by imposter scams (a scammer posing as a government agency, a bank or another service provider). There's no public form: call your bank and say "imposter scam". Other scams are generally treated as authorized and not reimbursed.
Venmo. Venmo's common scams page says that for mistaken payments from strangers you should "contact us as soon as possible so we can help reverse the payment". Purchase Protection covers payments to business profiles and personal payments you tagged as a purchase.
Cash App. Cash App's guide to what to do if you get scammed says "once a P2P payment goes through, it's usually final"; a pending payment can be cancelled in the app, reimbursement for authorized payments "depends on the circumstances", and unauthorized Cash App Card charges are covered if reported within 60 days. Report from your profile straight away.
PayPal. Goods and Services payments carry Purchase Protection: open a dispute within 180 days if the item didn't arrive or is significantly not as described. Friends and Family payments have none, as PayPal's page on Friends and Family payment scams spells out.

"Send it as Friends and Family so neither of us pays the fee." This line is the scam. A real seller accepts the fee.

Can I get money back from a gift card or crypto scam?

Rarely, but a gift card is worth one call, and reporting crypto losses still matters. Neither has a chargeback system.

Gift cards. The FTC's gift card scams page says to report to the gift card company right away, ask for your money back, and report no matter how long ago it happened; have the card and the store receipt ready. The page lists contacts including Amazon (1-888-280-4331), Apple (1-800-275-2273), Target (1-800-544-2943), Walmart (1-888-537-5503), Visa (1-800-847-2911), and Google Play, Steam and eBay through their online support.

Crypto. Blockchain transfers can't be reversed. Contact the exchange you sent from (it may freeze funds still on its platform), then file at ic3.gov with wallet addresses and transaction IDs. The FBI's 2025 report counts 181,565 complaints that involved cryptocurrency, with $11.37 billion in losses. If it started as a romance or a "mentor", our guide to pig butchering scams explains why you should never pay to "unlock" the account.

How do I spot a recovery scam?

A recovery scam targets people who've already lost money: someone contacts you out of the blue, promises to get it back, and asks for a fee or your bank details. The FTC's August 2026 alert says these scammers buy lists of fraud victims, pose as government agencies (including the FTC), consumer groups or law firms, and ask for a "retainer fee" or "processing fee". Its rule: "Neither government agencies nor legitimate organizations will ever ask for money or financial info" to help you get a refund.

The FBI's August 2025 alert on fictitious law firms adds that these firms claim to be official partners of US or foreign government agencies ("There are no law firms which are officially authorized partners of US Government agencies") and ask for payment in crypto or gift cards.

They contacted you first, especially if you haven't reported the crime to anyone yet.
They want a fee up front, in crypto, gift cards or a transfer, or they claim your money has been "located" and is waiting.
They won't do a video call, show a law license, or give an office you can call independently.

"Good news: our blockchain forensics team has traced your funds to an exchange and they've agreed to release them. We just need the 10% recovery fee to start the legal process."

Legitimate help is free: your bank, the FTC, IC3, Report Fraud and your national police don't charge. If the scam began on a marketplace or a dating app, our guides to marketplace scams and romance scam warning signs cover the platform reporting steps.

The bottom line

Call the bank, card issuer or app you paid from in the first hour, then report to IC3 and the FTC, Report Fraud, or your national police. Cards and PayPal Goods and Services give you the best odds, UK bank transfers are now reimbursed up to £85,000, US wires can be frozen if IC3 hears in time, and gift cards, crypto and Friends and Family payments are mostly gone. Never pay anyone who promises to get your money back.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get my money back if I was scammed on Zelle?

Sometimes. Since mid-2023, banks on the Zelle network have reimbursed customers who were tricked by imposter scams, where the scammer posed as a bank, a government agency or another service provider, according to reporting by CBS News and Reuters. Call your bank straight away and describe it as an imposter scam. Payments for goods that never arrived are usually treated as authorized and not refunded.

Will my bank refund me if I transferred money to a scammer?

In the UK, yes in most cases: since 7 October 2024 banks must reimburse authorized push payment scams on Faster Payments and CHAPS up to £85,000 if you claim within 13 months, unless you were grossly negligent. In the US there's no equivalent rule for payments you made yourself; call your bank immediately to request a recall and file at ic3.gov so the FBI's Recovery Asset Team can try to freeze the funds.

How long do I have to dispute a credit card charge after a scam?

In the US, send a written dispute within 60 calendar days of the date the first statement showing the charge was sent to you; the issuer must acknowledge within 30 days and resolve within two billing cycles. In the UK, Section 75 covers credit card purchases of a single item over £100 and up to £30,000, and chargeback covers debit cards. Start either process as soon as you can.

Can I get a refund for a gift card scam?

Occasionally. The FTC says to contact the gift card company right away, ask for your money back and keep the card and receipt; some companies can stop a card before the balance is spent. Report it even if it happened a while ago, then file at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Can cryptocurrency sent to a scammer be recovered?

Very rarely. Blockchain transfers can't be reversed. Contact the exchange you used in case funds are still on its platform, and file at ic3.gov with wallet addresses and transaction IDs. Never pay a 'recovery firm' or 'law firm' that contacts you promising to trace the money; the FBI says these are scams.

Someone offered to recover my money for a fee. Is that legitimate?

No. The FTC says government agencies and legitimate organizations never ask for money or financial information to help you get a refund, and the FBI says no law firms are authorized partners of US government agencies. Anyone asking for a retainer, processing fee or crypto payment to recover your loss is running a second scam.

Should I report a scam if I only lost a small amount?

Yes. The FBI asks victims to file at ic3.gov regardless of the amount, because small reports connect larger cases. Reporting to your bank also creates the record you need if the same account or scammer appears again, and in the UK your bank's reimbursement process starts with your report.

Sources

Figures are the latest published by each source when this guide was updated. Reported fraud losses are a floor: most fraud is never reported.

How to get money back after being scammed: what to do for each way you paid