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What to do in the hour after a fraudulent payment

In short

Call your bank straight away, before anything else. Time is the only factor you still control: a very recent transfer can sometimes be recalled, a card payment disputed. Keep everything, don't call the scammer back, and file a police report afterwards.

Why this works

What decides the outcome is not the amount but the time that has passed and the payment method used. A transfer leaves your account for good once it has gone through, but as long as the funds have not been withdrawn from the receiving account, the bank can attempt a recall. A card payment falls under a dispute procedure. Irreversible methods — cash money orders, prepaid cards, cryptocurrency — offer almost no recourse, which is why scammers ask for them.

Step by step

  1. Call the bank, within the hour if you can

    Explicitly ask for the transaction to be blocked and, for a transfer, for a recall of the funds. Block the card if it was used or typed in somewhere. This is the only step where every minute truly counts.

  2. Cut off contact, without deleting anything

    Stop replying, don't call back, don't try to negotiate. But don't delete anything: conversations, the listing, the bank details you were sent, transfer references, a screenshot of the payment page. They are the evidence for your police report.

  3. Change whatever may have been exposed

    If you typed credentials into a page, change that password and every one like it, starting with your email. If identity documents were sent, watch for letters from lenders you never contacted.

  4. File a police report, then report it

    The police report is what frames your later dealings with the bank. Then report what happened to Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr (in France) and, where relevant, to the platform where the exchange took place — it protects the next people.

The most common mistakes

  • Waiting until the next day to call the bank: it is the only window that closes.
  • Paying an extra amount presented as necessary to recover the first.
  • Deleting the conversation out of shame or anger: it is your evidence.
  • Trusting someone who then offers to help you recover the money: they are often the same people.
  • Not filing a report because the amount seems too small: reports are cross-checked against each other.

A tool to do it

The attacks this defeats

Official sources

Other guides · Last updated: 2026-09-02.