The first 30 minutes after a scam decide how much you get back. Whether money left your account two minutes ago or you just typed a password into a fake site, here is exactly what to do — and where to report it in your country, because every country has a different official channel.
What should I do in the first 30 minutes after being scammed?
- Cut the money line. Call your bank’s fraud line (the number on the back of your card, never one from a message). Ask them to freeze the card/account and attempt a recall of the payment.
- Change the passwords that matter — email first (it resets everything else), then banking, then anything sharing the leaked password. Turn on two-factor authentication as you go.
- Preserve evidence. Screenshot messages, emails, phone numbers, account names and transaction IDs before the scammer deletes them.
- Report officially (list below) — reports fuel takedowns and are often required for reimbursement.
- Warn your circle if the scammer used your account or number to reach others.
Where do I report a scam in my country?
Use your country’s official channel — reports to the right agency can trigger bank reimbursement rules.
Americas
- United States: ReportFraud.ftc.gov (FTC); internet crime: IC3.gov (FBI). Identity theft: IdentityTheft.gov.
- Canada: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca) or 1-888-495-8501.
- Brazil: Delegacia de Crimes Cibernéticos of your state; consumidor.gov.br for consumer disputes.
- Mexico: Condusef (financial) and the Policía Cibernética (088).
Europe
- United Kingdom: Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk, 0300 123 2040); forward scam texts to 7726, emails to report@phishing.gov.uk.
- Ireland: your local Garda station; phishing to ComReg 7726 service.
- Germany: Online-Wache of your Bundesland police; consumer help via Verbraucherzentrale.
- France: Pharos platform (internet-signalement.gouv.fr); Perceval for card fraud (service-public.fr).
- Spain: Policía Nacional / Guardia Civil (GDT); INCIBE helpline 017.
- Italy: Polizia Postale (commissariatodips.it).
- Netherlands: Fraudehelpdesk.nl and politie.nl.
- Cyprus: Cyprus Police Cybercrime Unit (cyberalert.cy); banking fraud via your bank + Central Bank guidance.
- EU-wide: report cross-border traders via the European Consumer Centre network.
Asia–Pacific
- Australia: Scamwatch (scamwatch.gov.au) and ReportCyber; banks’ 24h fraud lines.
- New Zealand: Netsafe (netsafe.org.nz) and CERT NZ.
- India: National Cyber Crime Portal cybercrime.gov.in or hotline 1930 (act fast — 1930 can freeze fraudulent UPI transfers).
- Singapore: ScamShield app and police hotline 1800-722-6688.
- Philippines: PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group; NBI Cybercrime Division.
- Japan: nearest police station’s cybercrime desk; consumer hotline 188.
Africa & Middle East
- South Africa: SAPS + SAFPS (safps.org.za); banking fraud via SABRIC member banks.
- Nigeria: EFCC (efcc.gov.ng) for financial fraud; NCC for telecom scams.
- Kenya: DCI Cybercrime Unit; mobile-money fraud direct to Safaricom 333.
- UAE: eCrime portal (Dubai Police) or 901; Aman service in Abu Dhabi.
- Saudi Arabia: Absher platform or 1909 anti-fraud line.
More of Europe
- Poland: incydent.cert.pl (CERT Polska) for online scams; local police for financial loss.
- Sweden: Police at polisen.se or 114 14; fraud reports via your bank first for fast recall.
- Norway: politiet.no online reporting; Forbrukertilsynet for consumer scams.
- Denmark: politi.dk online reporting (anmeld økonomisk kriminalitet).
- Finland: poliisi.fi electronic crime report; Kyberturvallisuuskeskus for phishing.
- Switzerland: NCSC/BACS report form (report.ncsc.admin.ch); cantonal police for losses.
- Austria: Watchlist Internet (watchlist-internet.at) + any police station; against-cybercrime@bmi.gv.at.
- Belgium: Safeonweb.be (forward phishing to suspicious@safeonweb.be); police via Police-on-web.
- Portugal: Polícia Judiciária (queixaselectronicas.mai.gov.pt).
- Greece: Hellenic Police Cyber Crime Division — ccu@cybercrimeunit.gov.gr or 11188.
- Czechia: policie.cz online reporting; CSIRT.cz for phishing sites.
- Romania: DNSC hotline 1911 for cyber incidents; police for financial fraud.
- Poland/Ukraine refugees & Ukraine: cyberpolice.gov.ua online form.
- Turkey: 155 police line; egm.gov.tr cybercrime departments (Siber Suçlar).
More of Asia–Pacific
- South Korea: 118 (KISA) for phishing; ECRM police portal for money loss.
- Hong Kong: Scameter (cyberdefender.hk) to check numbers/links; ADCC hotline 18222.
- Taiwan: 165 anti-fraud hotline — one of the world’s best-run.
- Indonesia: patrolisiber.id (police cyber patrol); cekrekening.id to check bank accounts.
- Malaysia: National Scam Response Centre 997 (call within 24h for bank freezes); Semak Mule to check accounts.
- Thailand: 1441 anti-scam hotline; thaipoliceonline.go.th.
- Vietnam: local police + canhbao.khonggianmang.vn for online fraud warnings.
- Pakistan: FIA Cybercrime — helpline 1991 or complaint.fia.gov.pk.
- Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka CERT (cert.gov.lk) + nearest police.
- Bangladesh: Police Cyber Support — 999 or the PCSW Facebook/portal channels.
- China: 110 police; report platform 12321 for spam/fraud messages.
More of Middle East & Africa
- Qatar: Metrash2 app or 2347444 (economic crimes).
- Kuwait: Ministry of Interior cybercrime dept — 112 or moi.gov.kw e-services.
- Bahrain: 992 anti-cybercrime hotline.
- Oman: Royal Oman Police — 1444 / ROP app.
- Jordan: PSD Cybercrime Unit — 911 or the CID cybercrime office.
- Lebanon: ISF Cybercrime Bureau — 01-293293 or via isf.gov.lb.
- Egypt: Internet Investigation Dept — 108 from mobile, or the MOI e-portal.
- Morocco: DGSN via 19 (police); e-police portal for complaints.
- Ghana: Cyber Security Authority — call/text 292 (24h).
- Tanzania: Police cybercrime unit via 112; TCRA for SIM/mobile-money fraud.
- Uganda: Police via 999/112; UCC for mobile-money fraud.
More of the Americas
- Argentina: UFECI (fiscalía especializada) — denuncias@ufeci.mpf.gov.ar; or any comisaría.
- Chile: PDI Brigada del Cibercrimen; comisariavirtual.cl for reports.
- Colombia: CAI Virtual (caivirtual.policia.gov.co) — live chat reporting.
- Peru: Divindat (police cybercrime division) via any comisaría or denuncias.policia.gob.pe.
- Uruguay: Ministerio del Interior online reporting; CERTuy for phishing.
- Costa Rica: OIJ — 800-8000-645 confidential line.
- Dominican Republic: DICAT (police cyber dept) — 809-682-2151.
Country not listed? The universal fallback works everywhere: call your bank’s fraud line first (the money), then file with your national police (the crime), then forward phishing to your telecom’s spam number. If your country has a computer emergency response team (search “[country] CERT”), they take phishing-site reports.
Can I get my money back?
Card payments have the strongest protection. Chargebacks exist worldwide for debit/credit cards — report within days, not weeks. Bank transfers are harder but recalls sometimes work in the first hours. Some countries (like the UK) require banks to reimburse most authorised push-payment scam victims. Crypto and gift cards are usually unrecoverable — report anyway; exchanges do freeze flagged wallets.
FAQ
The scammer is in another country. Is reporting pointless?
No. Reports connect cases across borders — takedowns of scam networks are built on thousands of small reports. Your bank also uses your report to protect (and sometimes reimburse) you.
I only clicked the link but entered nothing. Am I safe?
Usually yes. Update your browser and run a malware scan; a click alone rarely compromises a phone, but a downloaded file or an entered password does.
Should I tell anyone if I feel embarrassed?
Scams work because they’re professionally engineered, not because victims are careless — hundreds of millions of people are targeted each year. Reporting and talking about it is what breaks the cycle.
