I’ve been scammed

Someone says they can get my money back: is it real?

After a scam, victims are often contacted again by people who promise to recover the lost money for an upfront fee, or who ask for bank details to send a “refund”. They may pose as lawyers, the FTC, or the FBI. It’s a second scam. Real agencies never charge you to help get money back.

By Clutterstrike · Last reviewed · 1 min read

If someone contacted you out of the blue offering to recover your money, don’t pay them or share anything.

Do this now

  1. Don’t pay anything upfront. A “retainer”, “processing fee”, “tax”, or any other upfront charge to recover money is a scam.
  2. Don’t share bank details, card numbers, or your Social Security number to “receive a refund”.
  3. Stop replying. Block the number, email, or account they contacted you from.
  4. Check any claim yourself. If they say they’re from an agency or company, look up its number on your own and call it. Don’t use the number they gave you or the one on your caller ID.
  5. Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and, if it happened online, to the FBI at ic3.gov.

How to recognize a recovery scam

  • They contacted you first. Scammers buy and trade lists of people who’ve already lost money.
  • They know details of your earlier loss. That comes from those lists, not from an investigation.
  • They claim authority: a law firm, a consumer group, the FTC, the FBI, or the company that took your money “offering refunds”.
  • They want payment first, often by gift card, wire transfer, payment app, cryptocurrency, or cash.
  • They guarantee results. No one legitimate can promise to get your money back.

The FBI notes that law enforcement doesn’t charge victims to investigate crimes. If someone claims to be from the FBI, contact your local FBI field office to check.

Where real help comes from

Start with the company that moved your money (your bank, card issuer, or payment app) and ask them to reverse the payment. Then follow the steps in I sent money to a scammer: what to do now. Those steps don’t cost anything.

Never deposit an “overpaid” refund check

Some recovery scammers send a check for more than you lost and ask you to send back the difference. The check is fake, and when it bounces, your bank will want that money back from you.

Got a follow-up message? Check it first

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Written by Clutterstrike

Clutterstrike makes Cluttersignal, a browser extension that checks emails, texts, links, and websites for signs of a scam. Our guides are written by the team and checked against official guidance from the agencies listed in the sources.

Last reviewed

Sources

  • The fake bank “fraud department” call

    A caller from your bank’s “fraud department” says your account is at risk and you must move your money or read back a code. That’s always a scam. Here’s why.