If you just paid a scammer, is your money gone? Not always — but the next hour matters.
Call your bank now — and say the words “unauthorized electronic transfer.”
Ask them to open an error-resolution investigation under Regulation E. Use the number on a recent statement or the back of your card, never one from a search result.
Read the rest while you’re on hold. Getting the details right matters far less than calling in the next few minutes.
This happens to careful, intelligent people every single day. These operations are run full-time by professionals who are extremely good at this, and they are designed to work on people who are tired, rushed, or caught at a bad moment. Almost everyone who writes about this afterwards says some version of “I feel so stupid” — and almost none of them were. Nothing about this is a verdict on you, and the embarrassment is the part that costs people money, because it keeps them quiet while the clock runs.
“You authorized it, so there’s nothing we can do” is often wrong
What matters legally is who actually moved the money.
- A scammer got your login, card number, or a code and moved it themselves — that may well be an unauthorized transfer. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has said so plainly, including when the caller was pretending to be your own bank. Being tricked does not put you outside the protection.
- You made the transfer yourself — federal rules generally don’t force a refund, but call anyway and ask for a recall. Money can sometimes still be stopped if you move within minutes.
The deadline that applies to you
Don’t work this out before calling. Call, then sort it out.
- Card never left your wallet (you gave a code or details to someone who contacted you) — the common case. Report as an unauthorized transfer within 60 days of the statement showing it, and there is generally no liability at all.
- Card or phone physically lost or stolen — then a 2-business-day rule also applies, capping liability at $50.
Then, in this order
- Stop paying anyone who contacts you about the scam — especially anyone offering to recover your money for a fee. That is very often the same crew again.
- Report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If you gave up your Social Security number, also IdentityTheft.gov. For anything online, the FBI at ic3.gov — as soon as possible, whatever the amount.
- Freeze your credit at all three bureaus. Free by federal law, and it doesn’t affect your score.
- Tell one person you trust. Isolation is what the scam runs on.
And if this has you in a very dark place — that is a common and understandable reaction to losing money this way, and it is worth telling someone. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential, and staffed around the clock: call or text 988, or chat at chat.988lifeline.org. Money can be worked out over time. Please talk to someone first.
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