How to Get Your Money Back From a Scammer
Recovery almost never comes from the fraudster. It comes from the payment route you used, the institution that processed it, or the professional who advised you into it. Here is how to work through all three, in order.
Last reviewed: August 2026
Do these five things today
- Stop all further payments — including any 'release fee', 'tax' or 'verification deposit'
- Call your bank's fraud line and ask for a recall or freeze on the receiving account
- Report it: Action Fraud (UK), Scamwatch and ReportCyber (Australia), PNP-ACG or NBI (Philippines)
- Save everything — chats, emails, screenshots, transaction IDs, wallet addresses, platform URLs
- Change passwords and enable two-factor authentication anywhere the scammer had access
Route 1: Bank transfers
If you were tricked into authorising a transfer, that is authorised push payment fraud. In the UK, reimbursement rules now require receiving and sending banks to consider refunding victims in most cases, with limited exceptions. Ask for a formal fraud claim, not just a note on your file, and insist on a written final response.
If the bank refuses, the Financial Ombudsman Service will review it free of charge. A significant share of refusals are overturned, particularly where the bank ignored obvious warning signs on the account.
Route 2: Card payments
Debit and credit card payments can be reversed through chargeback where goods or services were never provided or the transaction was fraudulent. Credit card purchases over a certain value may also carry additional statutory protection in the UK. Chargeback windows are measured in months from the transaction or the promised delivery date, so raise it before you exhaust other options.
Route 3: Crypto
Crypto is harder but not hopeless. Blockchain transactions are public, and funds frequently move to a regulated exchange to be cashed out. Where they do, tracing plus a prompt freezing request — supported by a police report — can preserve the balance. Speed decides this one entirely.
Be extremely careful here: crypto victims are heavily targeted by fake recovery agents who ask for upfront fees and disappear.
Route 4: E-wallets and payment processors
GCash, PayPal, Wise, Revolut and similar providers all operate fraud and dispute processes, and they are regulated in their home markets. Escalate internally first, get a final response, then take it to the relevant ombudsman or regulator.
Route 5: The professional who advised you
This is the route most people never consider, and it is often the most valuable. If an accountant, solicitor, financial adviser, wealth manager or introducer recommended the investment, failed to carry out due diligence, or missed clear red flags, they may be liable in negligence — and they carry compulsory insurance that can pay in full.
Deadlines you cannot miss
- Bank recall — hours to days while funds remain in the receiving account
- Chargeback — typically 120 days, sometimes shorter
- Ombudsman complaint — usually six months from the firm's final response
- Negligence claim — generally six years, with a possible discoverability extension
Get your case assessed for free
Send us what happened, how you paid and any advice you received. We will tell you which routes are still open, which have expired, and whether a claim is realistic — and we will say so plainly if it is not.
Common questions
Can you really get money back after a scam?
Sometimes, and it depends far more on how you paid than on who scammed you. Card payments, bank transfers, e-wallets and crypto each have different protections and different deadlines. The fastest wins usually come from the payment route rather than from chasing the scammer.
How quickly do I need to act?
Within hours if you can. Banks can attempt to recall a transfer before it is moved on, card schemes have fixed chargeback windows, and exchanges can freeze accounts that are still holding funds. Delay is the single biggest reason recoveries fail.
Should I pay a company that promises to recover my funds?
No, not one that demands a large upfront fee, contacts you out of the blue or guarantees results. That pattern is itself a recognised second-wave scam. A genuine regulated firm will assess your case first and be clear about whether recovery is realistic.
What if the scammer is overseas?
That rarely ends the matter. The money still passed through regulated banks, card networks or exchanges, and those institutions are reachable where the scammer is not. Claims are usually brought against the institution or professional that failed you, not the fraudster.
Free, no-obligation case assessment
Tell us what happened and we will tell you honestly whether your loss is realistically recoverable. If it is not, we say so — there is no charge and no obligation to proceed.
Start your free assessment