What to tell your bank after you pay a scammer, with scripts

Call your bank with dates and amounts. Get a reference number and the staff member's name. Scripts for the call, gift card company, and written follow-up.

4 minute readUpdated 2026-09-30

Call your bank as soon as you realise you have sent money to a scammer. Have the dates, amounts and recipient details in front of you, and open with "I have been scammed and I need to stop a payment". Your bank may not recover the money, but it can block compromised accounts and note the scammer's details for investigation.

Call your bank straight away

Do not wait. The faster you report, the better the chance your bank can freeze accounts or reverse transfers. Have this information ready before you call the number on the back of your card:

The date or dates you sent money
The amount or amounts
How you sent it (bank transfer, gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency)
The name or account number of the recipient
The bank or service it went to
Any reference numbers or transaction IDs

If you do not have all of it, tell your bank what you do know. Your bank can look up the rest from your account.

What to say on the call

The person who answers will ask questions to verify you own the account. Once they confirm it is you, use this script:

I have been scammed and I need to stop a payment. On [date], I sent [amount] to [recipient name/account]. I now realise this was fraudulent. Can you freeze the account it went to and reverse the transfer? I can give you the reference number.

They will ask details about the scam. Be direct: you sent money to someone you met online, believed they were genuine, and now know it was a scam. Do not worry about sounding embarrassed. Bank staff handle scam reports regularly.

Ask for three things by name:

A reference number. Write it down. This links your claim to the bank's record.
The name of the person you spoke to. Banks keep records of who handles each call.
The date and time of the call. Your bank will want to know this later.

If you paid with a gift card

Gift cards can be used almost immediately. If you paid a scammer with a gift card, call or email the company that issued it the same day. ¹

Have your receipt ready: the card number, the PIN (if you kept a record), the date and amount, and where you bought it. Here is what to say:

I bought a gift card here and gave the code to a scammer by mistake. The card number is [number]. Can you cancel it and check whether the code has been used? If it has not been used yet, can you reverse it?

The company may ask whether you still have the card and receipt. They cannot recover money that has already been spent, but they can sometimes prevent the code from working if it has not been used yet.

Follow up in writing

After you call your bank, send an email or letter with the same details. Scams often involve multiple services, and a written record gives your bank something to attach to their investigation.

Use this template:

I am writing to confirm the scam I reported to your bank on [date] at [time] to [staff member name]. I sent [amount] to [recipient name or account] on [date]. I now know this was a scam. My reference number is [number]. Please investigate and let me know the outcome.

Send it to the fraud team email address on your bank's website, or by registered mail to the address on your card. Keep a copy for your records.

What happens next

Your bank will investigate. They may be able to reverse a transfer if the money is still in motion, or if it went to an account the bank can freeze. If the money has already been withdrawn or sent elsewhere, recovery is unlikely. [scamwatch-relationship-scams]

Your bank should tell you the outcome within 10 business days, though some investigations take longer. Even if they cannot recover the money, they can:

Block the recipient account if it is at their bank
Flag the account for fraud investigation
Add a note to your account history
Help you report it to police or a scam reporting service

If the scammer used a fake name or address, or if the money went to a different country, recovery is harder. Tell your bank either way: their fraud team learns patterns from many reports.

Report the scam beyond your bank

After contacting your bank, report the scam to a relevant service in your country. This helps authorities identify scam networks and protect others. Depending where you live:

Australia: Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au) or IDCARE (1800 595 160)
United States: Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov/complaint)
New Zealand: Netsafe or local police
United Kingdom: Report Fraud (reportfraud.police.uk)
Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca)

Report the profile to the dating site or app where you met the scammer. Most platforms have a report button on profiles and in messages. [wa-scamnet-sugar-baby]

Protect yourself from the next one

Scammers are persistent. If the person was operating under a fake profile, they may try again with a new name, new photos or a different angle. You now know the signs, but others on the platform do not.

Block the account and do not reply to new contact attempts. If you lose money, scammers sometimes follow up with promises to recover it for a fee. That is a second scam. Do not engage.

If you shared intimate photos or videos, act immediately. Report the content to the platform and to StopNCII.org, which can help prevent the images from spreading. Report it to police if the scammer threatens to share the images unless you pay.

Money sent to a scammer is usually gone, but reporting it gives your bank evidence, protects other members, and creates a record. Speaking to your bank is not a waste of time, and neither is talking to someone you trust about what happened. Read if something goes wrong for the full set of steps, and money and records to protect future payments.