You Need to Know About ‘Recovery’ Scams

Scammers might also find seemingly gullible victims via a “sucker list”, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Circulated within the scamming community, these lists will include much of your personal information, including your social media handles, your phone number, your email address, and more. (This explains why you might be contacted soon after falling victim to a scam, even if you didn’t post publicly about it.)

As we have advised in the past, unless you personally know the person you are transferring money to, never send money through Zelle, PayPal Friends and Family, or Peer-to-peer Venmo, as there is no way to get money back from these services if something goes wrong. This is especially risky if this person claims to be able to give you back your account or have the ability to refund your money.

Can anyone helped me if I’ve been scammed?

The sad reality is that there is no scam recovery police, and law enforcement generally has no duty to recover money on your behalf, particularly when the scammer is likely to be located in a different state or even another country. Never believe an “official” agent who claims to be able to help you recover funds, or even your social media account. Never pay an upfront fee or give anyone your bank account information.

What can I do if I was scammed?

The best thing you can do is to contact your bank and let them know what happened so they can lock down your accounts to protect them from additional abuse. Next, report the scam to the FTC and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. You can also inform your state’s attorney general, which can help others avoid suffering the same experience. If the scammer claims to be from a legitimate business, report the business to the same agencies and the Better Business Bureau.

Before providing any of your personal information (or money) to a business, research it on reputation sites like Scam Adviser, Website Validator, and URL Void, which will tell you how reputable (or not) these recovery businesses are.

Quickly reporting the situation and contacting your financial institution may improve your chances of getting your money back, notes the National Consumer Law Center, though depending on how the scam was carried out, your chances of being made whole may not be great.