You might be able to get your money back after you’ve been scammed.
What you should do, and whether you’ll get a refund, depends on what happened.
Managing someone else’s bank account
If you're helping someone who's been scammed, there are ways you can manage their bank account for them. You might need to do this if you want to stop payments or claim back money.
The person you're helping needs to fill in a form giving you permission to manage their account. This is known as a third party mandate. Most banks have a third party mandate on their website.
If the person you're helping wants you to manage more than one account, they might need to give you power of attorney. They might also need to give you power of attorney if you have to manage their finances for a long time. To find out more, read our advice on managing affairs for someone else.
If there’s an unknown payment from your account
Contact your bank immediately if:
Explain what’s happened and ask if you can get a refund. If you’re not happy with how the bank deals with your claim, you can complain to them. Find out how to do this by checking their website.
If it's been 8 weeks since you complained, and you haven't got your money back, contact the Financial Ombudsman. You can also contact the ombudsman if you've had a letter from the bank saying it's not going to take any action. This is sometimes known as a final response letter.
If the ombudsman decides you've been treated unfairly, it's got legal powers to put things right.
If you’ve bought something from a scammer
If you paid by card or PayPal
If you've paid for something you haven't received, you might be able to get your money back.
Your card provider can ask the seller's bank to refund the money. This is known as the 'chargeback scheme'.
If you paid by debit card, you can use chargeback however much you paid.
If you paid by credit card and the item cost more than £100 but less than £30,000, you might be able to claim under the Consumer Credit Act - this is known as a 'Section 75 claim'.
If the item cost less than £100 and you paid by credit card, you can't use Section 75, but you can use chargeback.
See our advice on getting your money back if you paid by card or PayPal.
If you paid by bank transfer or Direct Debit
Contact your bank immediately to let them know what’s happened and ask if you can get a refund.
Most banks should reimburse you if you’ve transferred money to someone because of a scam. This type of scam is known as an ‘authorised push payment’.
If you've paid by Direct Debit, you should be able to get a full refund under the Direct Debit Guarantee.
If you can’t get your money back and you think this is unfair, you should follow the bank’s official complaints process. If your complaint isn’t sorted out in 8 weeks, or you get a final response letter, you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman.
If you used a money transfer service
It’s unlikely you’ll be able to get your money back if you’ve paid through a wire service such as MoneyGram, PayPoint or Western Union.
Even if you can’t get your money back, there are other things you can do – like reporting the scam and getting financial or emotional support.
There are things you can do to protect yourself if you ever need to use a money transfer service again.
You should:
If you paid by vouchers or gift cards
It's unlikely you'll get your money back if you used vouchers or gift cards to pay the scammer.
To protect yourself in future, never give numbers on the back of a gift card or voucher to anyone you don't know.
If you can't get your money back
Find out how to get emotional support after a scam.
If you need help with debt, check our advice on how to start dealing with your debts.
Report the scam
It's a good idea to report the scam – even if you haven’t got your money back yet. Find out how to report a scam.
Get more help
For more help dealing with scams, contact our consumer service.
FAQs
Contact your bank immediately to let them know what's happened and ask if you can get a refund. Most banks should reimburse you if you've transferred money to someone because of a scam.
Do you ever get your money back after being scammed? ›
If you've been a victim of fraud, identity theft, or deceptive business practices, you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission. In 2022 alone, the FTC was able to issue more than $392 million in refunds to people who lost money to illegal business practices.
Can I get money back from a check scam? ›
If it is later determined that the check was counterfeit, you will likely be held responsible for the funds that were provided to the scammer, so it is important that you recognize the signs of a counterfeit check to protect yourself.
What to do if I got scammed and transferred money? ›
Contact your bank or credit union immediately if you've sent money to a scammer. They may be able to close your account or stop a transaction.
What can you do if you get scammed for money? ›
Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
How long do banks refund scammed money? ›
How do banks investigate unauthorized transactions and how long does it take to get my money back? Once you notify your bank or credit union, it generally has ten business days to investigate the issue (20 business days if the account has been open less than 30 days).
What happens after I get scammed? ›
If you gave the fraudster your bank account number or routing number, contact your bank or credit union immediately. You may need to close the account and open a new one. Social security number. Go ahead with a fraud alert or credit freeze and report your information stolen at the FTC's identitytheft.gov website.
How long does it take for a bank to realize a fake check? ›
Fake Checks and Your Bank
By law, banks have to make deposited funds available quickly, usually within two days. When the funds are made available in your account, the bank may say the check has “cleared,” but that doesn't mean it's a good check. Fake checks can take weeks to be discovered and untangled.
How to verify if a check is real? ›
Every legitimate check contains a number that appears in two places: in the upper-right corner and in the magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) line at the bottom. If the numbers don't match, it's a bogus check. And be wary of low numbers, such as 101-400 on a personal check or 1,000-1,500 on a business check.
Can you sue a bank for not refunding your money? ›
You Have A Right To Sue Any Bank That Unlawfully Keeps Your Money, Or Who Fails to Follow Your Instructions For Disbursing It. Banks owe you a duty to only give out funds that you authorize, and to only give out funds in the manner that you instruct them.
There's typically no way that you can reverse a transaction once it's been processed. That's why scammers often prefer money transfers, because the money moves fast, and once it's gone the chances of recovering it are slim.
How do I get back at a scammer? ›
Get Revenge on Scammers: Steps to Follow
- Do Not Reply by Using Your Genuine Information. If you tend to deal with scammers, never use genuine information. ...
- Use Only Anonymous Email Address. You better get yourself an anonymous email address. ...
- Use a Chatbot App to Annoy Scammers. ...
- Share the Information About Scammers Online.
Key strategies include:
- Reporting the scam to authorities for a professional investigation.
- Utilizing social media and search engines to gather clues.
- Leveraging financial transaction records to trace the scammer's identity.
Supporting a Friend or Loved One Who's Been Scammed
- Provide a listening ear and offer non-judgemental empathy and support. Your friend is likely already judging themselves, so they don't need judgement from anyone else. ...
- Remind them that they are not dumb. ...
- Help them focus on what they can do.
If we approve a buyer's claim, in some situations, Facebook may offer a partial refund, otherwise the refunded amount will include the full purchase price of the item, tax, and shipping fees. Decisions on claims are made in our sole discretion. In some instances, we may offer a Goodwill Refund in our sole discretion.
How to track down someone who scammed you? ›
How To Track Down Someone Who Scammed You (and What To Do Next)
- Collect evidence of the fraud. ...
- Don't bother with “people finder” or phone number lookup services. ...
- Fill out an official FTC identity theft report. ...
- File a report with your local law enforcement. ...
- Report online scammers to the platform on which they contacted you.
You have 180 days from the payment date to open a dispute. In a dispute, you can message the seller through PayPal to try to resolve any issues. If you cannot resolve the dispute, you have 20 days to escalate the dispute to a claim. In a claim, we investigate the case and decide the outcome.
