Can I Get My Money Back After a Scam? What to Do for Each Way You Paid

If you paid a scammer, how you paid matters more than anything else. Credit and debit cards come with federal protections; with wires, gift cards, cryptocurrency and cash, getting money back is much harder. Your money may already be gone, but the FTC says it’s “always worth asking” the company you used whether it can get it back (FTC). Here’s what to do for each payment method, the deadlines that matter, and how to avoid a second scam.

First: call the company you paid with, now

For almost every payment method, the FTC’s advice has the same three parts: report it to the company immediately, tell them a scammer tricked you, and ask them to reverse the payment and refund your money (FTC).

• Use a number you find yourself: the one on the back of your card, in the company’s official app, or on its website. For card payments, the FTC suggests the number on the back of the card or logging in to your account (FTC).
• Don’t wait. Whatever you paid with, the FTC says to report it immediately (FTC). With a debit card, what you can lose depends on how quickly you report it (FTC).
• Keep everything. Receipts, the gift card itself, screenshots of the messages, the scammer’s phone number or username. The FTC says you may need the gift card and receipt to follow up on your claim.

Not sure what else to do? The scam recovery checklist builds a step-by-step list for what you paid with and what you shared.

Your chances, by how you paid

How you paid	Contact first	What protects you
Credit card	Your card issuer	A $50 limit on unauthorized charges, and disputes for things not delivered as agreed (FTC)
Debit card	Your bank or credit union	Limits on unauthorized use, tied to how fast you report (FTC)
Zelle or bank transfer	Your bank or credit union	Rules for unauthorized transfers. If you sent it yourself, a refund isn’t guaranteed (Zelle)
Payment app	The app	The same federal rules can apply (CFPB), plus the app’s own policies
Wire transfer	The wire company, or your bank if it sent the wire	Little: it’s “like sending cash” (FTC)
Gift card	The company that issued the card	Up to the company, but some “might give your money back” (FTC)
Cryptocurrency	The exchange or crypto ATM operator	Little: crypto payments “typically are not reversible” (FTC)
Cash by mail or courier	U.S. Postal Inspection Service, or the courier	A package intercept, for a fee, if it hasn’t been delivered (FTC)

Step-by-step guides: credit card, Zelle, bank account number, Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, Apple Cash, gift cards, Bitcoin ATM and crypto investment scams.

Did you send it, or did the scammer? Why it matters

The federal rule for electronic transfers, Regulation E, protects you against unauthorized transfers: ones “initiated by a person other than the consumer without actual authority,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains. It covers payment apps too: “Any P2P payment that meets the definition of EFT is covered by EFTA and Regulation E” (CFPB).

Two situations look alike but are treated very differently:

• The scammer moved the money. If someone tricked you into sharing a code, password or other account access information and then used it to send money from your account, the CFPB says that transfer meets Regulation E’s definition of an unauthorized transfer (CFPB).
• You pressed send. Zelle puts it bluntly: even if you were tricked into authorizing a payment for something that never came, “you may not be able to get your money back because you technically authorized it” (Zelle).

So tell your bank or app exactly what happened: who started each transfer, what you shared, with whom and when. Don’t call a payment unauthorized if you sent it yourself. Report it as a scam and ask anyway: the FTC says it’s always worth asking.

Credit cards work differently. Besides the $50 limit for unauthorized charges, you can dispute a charge for something you paid for that wasn’t delivered as agreed (FTC). That’s one reason crypto and wires are riskier: the FTC notes that crypto doesn’t come with the dispute process a credit card company has (FTC).

The deadlines that matter

Debit and ATM cards

If your card is lost or stolen, the FTC’s table shows the most you can lose (FTC):

You report it	Your maximum loss
Before any unauthorized charges	$0
Within 2 business days after you learn about the loss or theft	$50
After 2 business days, but within 60 calendar days after your statement is sent	$500
More than 60 calendar days after your statement is sent	All the money taken, and possibly more, such as money in linked accounts

If a scammer used your debit card number but you still have the card, you aren’t responsible for transactions you didn’t authorize as long as you report them within 60 calendar days after your statement is sent (FTC).

Credit cards

• Unauthorized charges: federal law limits your responsibility to $50 (FTC).
• Billing disputes: write to the issuer at the address for billing inquiries, so your letter reaches it within 60 days after the first bill with the error was sent to you. The issuer must acknowledge your dispute in writing within 30 days and resolve it within 90 days. While it investigates, you can withhold payment on the disputed amount (FTC).

Call first, then send the letter: the written dispute is what triggers these federal rights.

Wires, gift cards, crypto and cash

For these, the FTC’s advice is to act right away:

• Wire transfer: call the company right away, say it was a fraudulent transfer, and ask it to reverse the wire. The FTC lists MoneyGram at 1-800-926-9400, Ria at 1-877-443-1399 (1-855-355-2144 for Walmart2Walmart and Walmart2World transfers) and Western Union at 1-800-448-1492. If your bank sent the wire, call your bank (FTC).
• Gift card: call the number on the back of the card, say a scammer got the number and PIN, and ask for a refund (FTC). Report it “no matter how long ago the scam happened” (FTC).
• Cryptocurrency: tell the exchange or ATM operator it was a fraudulent transaction and ask it to reverse it. Some states have passed laws that might help (FTC). Otherwise, you can usually get crypto back only if the person you paid sends it back (FTC).
• Cash by mail: call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455. For a fee, it can intercept a domestic package that hasn’t been delivered. Sent it by FedEx or UPS? Contact them as soon as possible (FTC).

If the company says no

• For a credit card, put it in writing. Include copies, not originals, of receipts or other documents, and keep a copy of your letter. The letter is what starts your federal dispute rights (FTC).
• Complain to the CFPB if a bank, card issuer or payment company doesn’t fix the problem. You can submit a complaint online or by phone at (855) 411-2372, and the CFPB says most companies respond within 15 days (CFPB).

How to report it

1. The FTC, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC uses reports to build cases against scammers and spot trends (FTC).
2. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, at IC3.gov, if the scam happened online or involved crypto. The FTC lists IC3 among the places to report crypto scams (FTC). Not sure what happens after you file? See is IC3 legit.
3. IdentityTheft.gov, if you also gave the scammer your Social Security number (FTC).

For other kinds of scams, see where to report each kind of scam.

Watch for the recovery scam

After a scam, you may hear from someone who says they can get your money back for a fee. That’s the next scam. “Government agencies and legitimate organizations will never ask for money to help you get a refund,” the FTC says. They also won’t guarantee you’ll get your money back. “Never pay upfront for a refund or help with a refund” (FTC).

Some recovery scammers pose as government agencies, including the FTC itself. The FTC will never tell you to move your money to “protect it” (FTC).

What varies

• Your bank, card issuer or app. Each runs its own claims process and makes its own decision. Federal rules set the minimum for card and electronic transfer problems; they don’t promise every scam victim a refund.
• Who started the payment. As above, a transfer the scammer made with your information is treated differently from one you sent yourself.
• Your state. Some states have passed laws that might help with crypto payments (FTC), and state law can matter in card disputes (FTC).
• Time. For every payment method, the FTC’s first step includes the same word: “immediately” (FTC).