Where People Lose Money Online — and Which Routes Can Recover It

Bank transfers (Faster Payments, SEPA, wires, InstaPay/PESONet)

The single largest channel for scam losses in the UK, Australia and the Philippines. Because you authorised the payment, this is treated as authorised push payment (APP) fraud rather than an unauthorised transaction — but that does not mean it is unrecoverable.

UK: reimbursement rules require most payment firms to refund eligible APP fraud victims; refusals go to the Financial Ombudsman for free. Australia: complain to the bank, then AFCA. Philippines: report to the bank, then escalate through the BSP consumer assistance mechanism.

• Act the same day — recall only works while funds remain in the receiving account
• Ask specifically for an APP fraud assessment, in writing
• Note whether the warning you saw was generic or tailored to your situation

Debit and credit cards

The strongest consumer protection of any route. Chargeback rights under the card scheme rules cover services never provided, platforms that block withdrawals and merchants that were not authorised to sell the product. In the UK, credit card purchases above a threshold can also engage the card issuer's joint liability under consumer credit legislation.

Deadlines are counted from the transaction or the promised delivery date, so raise a dispute immediately rather than waiting for the 'platform' to pay out.

Crypto exchanges and brokers

Two different situations get confused here. The first is a genuine, registered exchange used as an on-ramp — you bought crypto legitimately and then sent it to a fraudster. The second is a fake 'exchange' or trading platform that never held anything at all.

In both cases the realistic claim usually targets the regulated step before the crypto: the bank or card issuer that funded the purchase, and any registered exchange that failed to run proper checks or ignored a prompt fraud report. Funds already on-chain are rarely retrievable, and anyone promising to trace and seize them for an upfront fee is running a second scam.

• Check the platform on the FCA register (UK), ASIC registers (AU) or SEC lists (PH)
• Report the destination wallet addresses to the exchange you bought through
• Preserve the platform dashboard and withdrawal refusals before the account is deleted

Failed and collapsed exchanges

Where an exchange has entered insolvency or administration rather than being an outright fake, the route is different again: creditor claims in the insolvency process, plus possible claims against advisers, introducers or professionals who recommended the platform. Deadlines in insolvency processes are strict and separate from ordinary limitation periods.

E-wallets and mobile money

E-money providers are licensed businesses with fraud obligations, and most can freeze a receiving wallet quickly if you report in time. In the Philippines especially, wallet-to-wallet transfers are the dominant scam route, and reporting within hours is the difference between a frozen account and a closed file.

• Report in-app and by phone, and record the ticket number
• Supply the exact reference numbers and the receiving mobile number
• Escalate to the regulator if the provider stalls or closes the case without explanation

Money transfer services and payment processors

Remittance providers and payment processors sit between you and the fraudster on a large share of losses. They are regulated, they are required to monitor for fraud typologies, and they can be the correct respondent when a payment should never have been processed — particularly for repeat transfers to the same overseas recipient.

Investment platforms, advisers and pension transfers

Not every loss involves a criminal. Money is also lost through unsuitable advice, unregulated schemes placed inside pension wrappers, and professionals who failed to carry out proper checks. These are negligence claims rather than fraud reports, and they are frequently worth far more than a reimbursement.

Property, conveyancing and business transactions

Deposit redirection fraud, negligent conveyancing, overvalued surveys and failed company transactions all cause large single-event losses. Where a professional was involved, their insurer — not the fraudster — is usually the realistic source of recovery.

What to do next, whatever the route

List every payment, the date, the method, the amount and the receiving name. Report to the institution on each route. Then get the whole picture assessed together, because most serious losses ran through more than one channel and the strongest claim is rarely the one people expect.

Our assessment is free, and if the money is not realistically recoverable, we say so.

Common questions