Americans reported losing more than $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, and the true figure is far higher because fewer than one in twenty fraud victims tell an official body. Most of what you can still do depends on how quickly you do it, and on not paying a second time. In September 2026, ABC7 reported on “recovery” scammers who buy lists of recent victims and pose as law firms, agencies or even the FTC, offering to get the money back for a fee (ABC7, 8 September 2026).
This page is the practical companion to our analysis, Government and Bank Impersonation Scams: What the Evidence Shows.
Every step carries a label for how strong the evidence is: Measured outcome data exists; Official advice a public body recommends it but its effect is rarely measured; Untested sensible, but we found no study. Hover or tap a label for the definition.
The first hour: stop the money
Which call to make first depends on how you paid. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission lists the route for each method; the principle is the same everywhere.
| How you paid | Who to contact first | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer (Zelle, Faster Payments, wire from your bank) | Your bank | Stop or reverse the payment; tell them it was a scam |
| Credit or debit card | The number on the back of the card | Report the fraud and request a refund |
| Payment app (PayPal, Venmo, Cash App and similar) | The app, through the app | Report the payment and ask for a reversal |
| Money transfer company (Western Union, MoneyGram) | The company | Say you were tricked; ask for a refund |
| Gift card | The card issuer, on the number on the card | Say the card number was given to a scammer; keep the card and receipt |
| Cryptocurrency | The exchange or crypto ATM operator | Report a fraudulent transaction; ask for a reversal |
Source: FTC, What To Do if You Were Scammed. Crypto payments do not carry the legal protections that cards do, so recovery is harder; report it anyway.
- Stop paying, even if you are told one more payment will release the rest. Official advice Scammers keep asking until you stop. Scamwatch
- Call your bank on a number you already have, not one the caller gave you. Official advice Use the number on your card or statement. FTC
- If you shared a password, a code or remote access to your computer, change passwords from a different device. Untested Start with email and banking, and sign out of all other sessions.
The first day: report, and write it down
- Report to the national body for your country. Official advice US: ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and IdentityTheft.gov if personal details such as a Social Security number were used. UK: Report Fraud, which replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025. Australia: Scamwatch and the police online form. GOV.UK · Scamwatch
- Keep everything. Official advice Screenshots of messages, the numbers that called you, account details you paid into, receipts, dates and times. Do not delete the conversation.
- Tell someone you trust. Measured In a US survey of financial fraud victims, telling a family member was associated with a lower risk of being defrauded again (Snyder & Golladay, 2023).
- In Australia, call IDCARE on 1800 595 160 for a free plan to limit the damage. Official advice Scamwatch
The weeks after: the second scam
Being scammed once makes a second attempt more likely, not less. In records seized from four mail-fraud operations covering nearly twenty years, 62% of victims responded to more than one solicitation, and the 8.8% who responded more than twenty times lost $1,771 each on average (Langton et al., 2024).
- Treat any offer to recover your money as a scam. Official advice Real recovery comes through your bank, the police or your national reporting body, contacted on numbers you looked up yourself. Never pay an upfront fee for recovery. Scamwatch · ABC7
- Ask your bank about reimbursement in writing. Official advice In the UK, most scam payments made by Faster Payments or CHAPS since October 2024 are covered up to £85,000, with exceptions. Elsewhere, refunds for payments you authorised are far less certain, but ask anyway.
- If the loss has left you in debt, talk to a free debt or financial counsellor. Official advice In Australia, Scamwatch also points to Lifeline (13 11 14) and Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) for emotional support. Scamwatch
What not to do
- Do not pay a “release fee”, “tax” or “unlock charge” to get money back. Official advice It is the same scam, continued.
- Do not move money to a “safe account”. Official advice The account belongs to the criminal. No bank, police force or regulator will ask you to do this.
- Do not wait until you are sure. Untested A report that turns out to be a false alarm costs nothing; a payment that is a day old is much harder to stop.
Checklist
- Stopped all payments and contact
- Called the bank or card provider on a number I already had
- Called the payment app, transfer company, gift card issuer or crypto exchange, if used
- Changed passwords for email and banking from a different device
- Reported to ReportFraud.ftc.gov, Report Fraud or Scamwatch
- Saved screenshots, numbers, account details and receipts
- Told someone I trust
- Decided now: I will not pay anyone who offers to recover the money
Where you live
| United States | United Kingdom | Australia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report a scam | ReportFraud.ftc.gov | Report Fraud, 0300 123 2040 | Scamwatch and police online form |
| Identity misuse | IdentityTheft.gov | Your bank and Report Fraud | IDCARE, 1800 595 160 |
| Refund rules for payments you authorised | Limited; depends on the payment method | Reimbursement scheme up to £85,000 for most Faster Payments and CHAPS scams since October 2024 | Limited; complain to AFCA if your bank’s response is poor |
| Danger to life | 911 | 999 | 000 |
How strong is the evidence?
Almost every step on this page is official advice rather than measured. Nobody has run a trial of calling the bank within the hour versus the next day, and our analysis found that even scam awareness campaigns are rarely tested properly. What is measured is the pattern around the advice: how few victims report, how often they are targeted again, and how much the repeat victims lose.
The repeat-victim figures come with limits. The 62% figure is from mail scams, and the data were seized from criminals, so they show who paid, not who was approached and refused (Langton et al., 2024). The family-member finding is an association from a survey, not proof that telling someone protects you (Snyder & Golladay, 2023). We include both because they point the same way as the official advice, and because the cost of following it is low.
Read next
This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules on refunds and reporting differ by country and change over time; your bank and your national reporting body have the final word on your case.
Sources
- Langton LL, DeLiema M, Brannock MD, Preble E. Using scammers’ data to estimate the impact and importance of preventing repeat mail fraud victimization. British Journal of Criminology 2024. doi:10.1093/bjc/azae033
- Snyder JA, Golladay KA. It happened again: differences between single and repeat/poly-victimization among financial fraud victims. 2023. doi:10.1177/2631309×231195801
- Federal Trade Commission. What to do if you were scammed. Accessed 14 October 2026.
- Scamwatch (ACCC). What to do if you’ve been scammed. Accessed 14 October 2026.
- GOV.UK. Report Fraud: new service from City of London Police. Accessed 14 October 2026.
- ABC7 San Francisco. Salt in the wound: recovery scammers target recent fraud victims. 8 September 2026.
- ROR Labs. Government and bank impersonation scams: what the evidence shows (FTC loss figures, reporting rate, UK reimbursement scheme and FBI guidance, with sources).