I Think Someone Is Being Scammed or Their Identity Has Been Stolen
Being deceived doesn’t mean someone was careless or foolish. Scams are built to create trust, fear, urgency, or hope.
Money moves faster than any agency does. Start with whoever is holding it.
What to Do First Today
Contact the company that currently holds or moved the money first: the bank, card company, payment service, gift-card company, wire service, or cryptocurrency exchange.
“I think this may be fraud. Can this payment or transfer still be stopped or disputed?”
Ask what can still be stopped, recalled, disputed, frozen, or recovered.
Recovery depends on how the money was sent. Card charges may be disputable. Gift cards and wires are harder to recover, and cryptocurrency may not be reversible. Call anyway. Acting quickly still matters.
Don’t wait for a police report before calling the financial institution. Don’t send more money.
Ask the financial institution whether it needs a police report or other documentation for its fraud process.
Keep transaction records, messages, receipts, screenshots, account information, phone numbers, email addresses, and other evidence that may be needed later.
If someone may still have access to the person’s phone, computer, email, or accounts, use a different trusted device to make these calls.
If Personal Information Was Exposed
If a Social Security number, account information, password, or other identifying information may have been stolen, follow the recovery steps at IdentityTheft.gov.
Start with the email account, because password-reset messages for other accounts may go there.
Change passwords on compromised accounts, turn on two-factor authentication, and check the email account for forwarding rules or recovery information you didn’t add.
Freeze the person’s credit with all three credit bureaus while you work through the recovery steps. A credit freeze makes it harder for someone to open new accounts in their name. It can be temporarily lifted when the person needs to apply for credit.
If They’re Contacted Again
Someone who has already lost money may be targeted again while the first loss is still being dealt with.
The next contact may claim to be from a bank, government agency, police department, law firm, or another organization that says it can recover the money.
Don’t pay someone who contacts you unexpectedly and says they can recover the money for a fee.
End the contact. Look up the organization’s official number yourself. Don’t use a number, link, or contact information the caller gave you.
A familiar voice, photo, or video isn’t proof anymore. Scammers can use AI to imitate someone you know. If a family member, bank employee, government official, or anyone else asks for money or sensitive information, end the contact and verify it another way. Call the person or organization using a number you already know or look up yourself.
If They Don’t Believe It’s a Scam
Don’t start by trying to prove that the person contacting them is a scammer.
“Can we check what they told you before any more money is sent?”
Focus on stopping the next payment, not on winning the argument.
If Someone They Know Is Taking the Money
A power of attorney is authority to act for someone, not permission to take from them.
Use I Think Someone Is Being Abused, Neglected, or Exploited →
If Confusion or Judgment Is New or Suddenly Worse
If falling for something is very out of character, tell the medical team. It may be another clue that something has changed.
A bad financial decision alone doesn’t mean someone can’t make their own decisions.
Use the Official Instructions
Get recovery steps based on what was exposed, including steps for protecting credit.
Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission.
Report internet-enabled scams, cybercrime, and online payment fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-372-8311
Help for people 60 and older, or someone assisting them, including guidance on what to do next. Hours are limited.
If you can’t reach the hotline, don’t wait to protect the money. Call the bank, card company, payment service, gift-card company, or exchange directly.
A report to one organization doesn’t notify the others. Reporting documents what happened. It doesn’t guarantee the money will be recovered.
Learn More
Free, confidential support groups for people affected by fraud and their loved ones.