After suspected financial fraud, how you paid helps determine your options. Learn how to protect your accounts, preserve evidence and approach the right organisation. This guide is for a worldwide audience; your rights depend on your country and the payment involved.
Pause anything you were asked to send, including “release” or “verification” fees.
Use the genuine app or an independently verified number, never details a stranger gave you.
Protect your email first. From a safe device, change compromised passwords and enable multi-factor authentication. If someone had remote access, seek security help.
Never share seed phrases, private keys or passwords with anyone, including us.
Recovery is never a reason to hand over seed phrases, private keys or passwords.
Rules and deadlines vary by card network, issuer and country, and credit and debit protections are not universally identical. A genuine, fulfilled card purchase of crypto is not automatically disputable because later transfers went to a scam. Contact your issuer promptly.
Card chargeback guideAsk your bank about recalling the payment and which local fraud reimbursement rules apply. Whether a payment was authorised can matter, and everything you tell the bank must be truthful.
Bank transfer first stepsAsk which dispute or fraud options exist for your payment type. Options differ by operator and country.
Authorised versus unauthorisedTracing is not identification, freezing or recovery. An exchange may be able to restrict an account or preserve assets within its control, subject to applicable process. This does not promise that funds can be found or returned. Public wallet addresses and transaction hashes make a report clearer.
Transaction hash evidence
If a request is rejected, ask for written reasons. Complaint letter guide
A clear record helps any provider or authority understand what happened. Do not upload sensitive evidence to a general inquiry form.
Preserve evidence guideIndependently verify identities and contact details. Recovery room scams
Practical US guidance. US law is not worldwide law.
How follow-up recovery offers target scam victims.
Covers specified domestic Faster Payments and CHAPS transfers made since 7 October 2024, subject to eligibility and exceptions.
Sources consulted 24 October 2026. Listing is not endorsement. For UK thresholds and deadlines, see our UK reimbursement guide.
Not necessarily. Reporting does not guarantee compensation. Outcomes depend on the payment method, the facts, local rules and the provider’s assessment.
Ask for the decision and its reasons in writing, then check whether an independent ombudsman or similar scheme in your country accepts your type of complaint. Eligibility varies locally.
No. Registration is not proof of recovery powers. Independently verify any identity and contact details before engaging.
Please do not upload sensitive evidence to a general inquiry form. Keep it safely organised and describe the situation in your own words.
ChainPoint Justice offers consumer advocacy, sourced education and a way to make an inquiry. We provide general information, not legal or financial advice or representation. Contacting us does not create a professional relationship, and recovery is not guaranteed.
Prepared with AI assistance and not independently expert reviewed. See the editorial policy. Images are conceptual and AI-generated.