Scammed? What to do in the first 24 hours

Being scammed is upsetting and embarrassing, but it happens to careful, intelligent people every day. What you do next matters. These steps limit the damage and help investigators.

1. Stop sending money

Don't pay any "fee", "tax" or "deposit" to unlock your funds. That money will be lost too. Stop replying to the scammer.

2. Secure your accounts

• If you shared your seed phrase or connected your wallet to a suspicious site, move any remaining funds to a new wallet with a new seed phrase straight away.
• Revoke token approvals you didn't intend to give, using your wallet's settings or a reputable approval checker.
• Change the passwords for your exchange and e-mail accounts, and turn on two-factor authentication with an app, not text messages.

3. Save the evidence

Keep screenshots of conversations, website addresses, usernames, phone numbers, and every transaction ID (the "hash") and wallet address involved. Write down a timeline while it's fresh.

4. Tell your exchange or bank

If the money went through an exchange or your bank, contact them immediately using the contact details on their official website. They can sometimes freeze funds that land on their platform.

5. Report it

• United States: the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
• United Kingdom: Action Fraud, or Police Scotland on 101.
• Elsewhere: your national police cybercrime unit and your financial regulator.

Reports help police connect cases and sometimes recover funds, even when it doesn't feel like it at the time.

6. Watch out for recovery scams

Scam victims are often targeted again by people claiming they can recover the money for a fee. Genuine police and regulators never charge you, and nobody can guarantee recovery.