What to Do If You've Been Scammed: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Being scammed is disorienting, but the steps that follow are straightforward. The goal is to limit the damage, protect your accounts, preserve evidence, and report to the right people — in that order. This guide covers the full process. For the very first actions, see our first-hour guide.

Step 1: Stop the bleeding

• If you sent money: call your bank or payment app immediately and ask them to stop or recall the transfer. The faster you call, the better the odds.
• If you shared a password: change it now from a trusted device and enable two-factor authentication.
• If you shared an OTP or card details: freeze the card in your banking app and contact the service.
• If you installed an app or gave remote access: uninstall it, run a security scan, and change passwords from a different device.

Step 2: Secure your accounts

• Change passwords for any account that may be compromised.
• Enable two-factor authentication everywhere you can.
• Check for unfamiliar logins, new devices, or changes you didn't make.
• Warn contacts if your email or social account was used to message them.

Step 3: Preserve evidence

Don't delete anything. Save:

• Messages, emails, and chat logs
• The scammer's phone number, email, and username
• Links and screenshots of websites
• Transaction IDs, wallet addresses, and receipts
• Any account or profile details the scammer used

This evidence matters for your bank, for police, and for reporting. The Evidence Vault helps you keep it organized.

Step 4: Report to the right authority

Reporting matters even if recovery isn't guaranteed — it helps protect others and creates a record.

• United States: FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and FBI IC3 at ic3.gov for online fraud. Identity theft: identitytheft.gov.
• Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at antifraudcentre.ca or 1-888-495-8501.
• See our country guides for other countries.

Step 5: Avoid recovery scams

After you've been scammed, fake "recovery agents" may contact you promising to retrieve your money for a fee. Anyone asking for an upfront fee to recover your money is a scammer. Read why recovery scams are on the rise.

Step 6: Get a personalized plan

GoCheckAI builds a country-specific action plan based on exactly what happened — the scam type, whether money was sent, and what was shared. It takes a few minutes and gives you a clear, prioritized checklist.

Related guides

• What to Do in the First Hour After a Scam
• How to Recover Money From a Scam
• Why Recovery Scams Are on the Rise