What to do if you paid a recovery scammer
Recovery scams target people who already lost money. If you paid a 'recovery agent', treat it as a second scam.
Quick answer
Recovery scams target people who already lost money. If you paid a 'recovery agent', treat it as a second scam.
- Stop all further payments immediately
- Contact your bank or payment provider
- Cut contact with the 'recovery agent'
- Save evidence
Do this now
Contact your bank and report to official authorities only.
Understanding what happened
Recovery scams target people who have already lost money. Someone contacts you claiming they can get your funds back - posing as a law firm, 'fund recovery' service, regulator, or even the original platform - and asks for an upfront fee, 'tax', or 'release' payment. Paying it is a second loss on top of the first.
These scams work because the desire to recover a painful loss is strong, and the approach often references real details about your earlier scam (sometimes because the same network sold the information on). Genuine recovery never begins with a fee paid to someone who contacted you out of the blue.
If you've already paid a recovery scammer, the steps below help you stop further payments, report it, and protect yourself from the next approach - because once you're on a 'recoverable' list, more attempts are likely. Real help comes through your bank and official authorities, not paid agents.
First 5 minutes
- Stop all further payments immediately
- Contact your bank or payment provider
- Cut contact with the 'recovery agent'
- Save evidence
First 24 hours
- Report through official authorities only, which do not charge private fees
- Be wary of further 'agents' contacting you
- Document everything
- Seek support from trusted people
What not to do
- Do not pay anyone who promises to recover your money for an upfront fee
- Do not act on follow-up messages claiming to be the fraud team
- Do not delete evidence before saving it
Evidence to save
- Screenshots of the message and sender details
- Phone numbers, usernames, links, and account or wallet addresses
- Transaction references, receipts, and amounts
How to report
Report through official channels for your area.
Find official reporting links for your country in the reporting directory.
- Do not use phone numbers or links from the suspicious message - look up the official ones yourself.
- Report quickly if money was sent or ID documents were shared; speed improves your options.
- Keep your evidence - see how to save scam evidence.
Beware of recovery scams: no legitimate service guarantees getting your money back for an upfront fee.
This is general safety information, not legal, financial, or cybersecurity incident-response advice.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly should I act?
As soon as possible. Fast action - especially contacting your bank - gives the best chance of limiting harm or stopping a payment.
Will I get my money back?
Sometimes, if you act quickly, but there is no guarantee. Be very cautious of anyone who promises guaranteed recovery for an upfront fee - that is a recovery scam.