The first hour matters most
If you have just been scammed, take a breath. Panic makes things worse — and the single most important thing you can do is act quickly and calmly. Money stopped in the first hour is money you often get back.
Here is what to do, in order.
1. Contact your bank immediately
Call the fraud number on the back of your card or inside your banking app. Ask them to:
Banks can sometimes reverse a transfer if you reach them fast enough. Every minute counts.
2. Stop — send nothing more
Scammers almost always come back asking for a “release fee,” “tax,” or “verification payment” to free your money. This is part of the scam. Never pay to recover money you have already lost.
3. Preserve the evidence
Before anything is deleted, screenshot:
You will need this for your bank and the police.
4. Report it
Report the fraud to your national authority — for example Action Fraud in the UK, the Fraudehelpdesk in the Netherlands, or the FTC in the US. Add the scammer’s details to a public database like our Scam Checker so others are warned.
5. Secure anything you exposed
If you shared a password, change it everywhere you used it and turn on two-factor authentication. If you shared ID documents, place a fraud alert with your bank and credit bureaus.
Recovery Mode: your guided plan
Remembering all of this while you are stressed is hard. That is why we built Recovery Mode — a guided, situation-by-situation recovery plan inside GuardScan.
Pick what happened (bank transfer, card payment, phishing login, identity theft, romance or investment scam, or a fake shop) and Recovery Mode walks you through it. The urgent first steps are free for everyone. GuardScan Pro unlocks the full playbook, including ready-to-send templates for your bank and follow-up guidance to prevent further damage.
You are not to blame. Scams are engineered by professionals to catch anyone. What matters now is acting fast — and you don’t have to do it alone.