If you’ve been scammed, knowing how to report a scammer means filing in more than one place: call your bank or card issuer first to protect your money, then file with the Federal Trade Commission, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, and your local police. Each report does a different job. Your bank can reverse charges and freeze accounts. Federal agencies build cases across thousands of complaints. A police report unlocks specific consumer protections for your credit file. Move through them in order, and move quickly — your liability for some types of fraud is capped only if you report fast.
Call Your Bank or Card Issuer First
This is the most time-sensitive step, and the rules are different depending on what kind of account was hit.
Credit Cards
Federal law caps your liability for unauthorized credit card charges at $50, regardless of when you report, as long as you notify the issuer once you discover the fraud.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card Most major issuers waive that $50 under zero-liability policies. Call the number on the back of the card, ask them to freeze the account, and request a chargeback on the fraudulent charges.
Debit Cards and Bank Transfers
Debit card and electronic transfer fraud is where the clock really matters. The Electronic Fund Transfer Act creates a tiered liability schedule based on how quickly you report:2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693g – Consumer Liability
- Report within 2 business days of learning about the loss: liability capped at $50, or the amount taken before you notified the bank, whichever is less.
- Report after 2 business days but within 60 days of your statement: liability can reach $500 for transfers that occur after those first two days.
- Report after 60 days from the statement date: potentially unlimited liability for transfers that happen after the 60-day window closes.
The two-business-day clock starts when you learn about the fraud, not when it happened.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Comment for 1005.6 – Liability of Consumer for Unauthorized Transfers When you call, ask for written confirmation of any provisional credits or stop-payment orders, and get a case reference number.
Wire Transfers, Gift Cards, and Cryptocurrency
These are the hardest to reverse. Wires are designed to be final. Gift cards are essentially cash once the numbers are redeemed. Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible by design. Report them to your bank so the fraud is on record, but recovery for these payment types usually depends on law enforcement catching the scammer rather than a bank reversing anything.
Save Every Piece of Evidence
Before you start filing reports, screenshot and save everything while it still exists. Scammers delete accounts, change numbers, and disappear. You want:
- Screenshots of texts, emails, direct messages, and call logs showing the scammer’s phone numbers, email addresses, and social media handles.
- Bank or card statements showing fraudulent charges, wire transfer receipts with routing numbers, gift card numbers and purchase receipts, or cryptocurrency wallet addresses and transaction hashes.
- A written timeline with dates and times for each contact and each payment.
Every agency and every bank rep will ask overlapping questions. Having one packet ready means you’re not reconstructing the story from scratch on each call.
File with the Federal Trade Commission
The FTC runs two separate portals, and picking the right one matters.
For most scams — imposter calls, fake sellers, investment schemes, romance scams — go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.4Federal Trade Commission. Report Fraud After you submit, the site gives you next steps tailored to your type of scam.5Federal Trade Commission. FAQs – ReportFraud.ftc.gov
If the scammer stole your personal information and used it to open accounts or make purchases in your name, use IdentityTheft.gov instead.6Federal Trade Commission. Report Identity Theft That portal generates an FTC Identity Theft Report, a specific legal document you’ll need to block fraudulent accounts from your credit file and dispute unauthorized debts. It also produces a personalized recovery plan with pre-filled letters for creditors and credit bureaus.
The FTC will not investigate your individual case or recover your money directly. Your report feeds the Consumer Sentinel Network, a database used by over 2,000 law enforcement agencies to spot patterns and build prosecutions.7Federal Trade Commission. Consumer Sentinel Network
File with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center
If any part of the scam happened online — email, social media, a website, a phone app, cryptocurrency — file a complaint at ic3.gov.8Internet Crime Complaint Center. Internet Crime Complaint Center IC3 is the FBI’s main intake point for internet-enabled fraud and handles everything from romance scams to business email compromise to ransomware. File even if you’re not sure your situation qualifies.
The form asks for the scammer’s identifying details, how they contacted you, how money moved, and how much you lost. You’ll receive a complaint ID number when you submit. Keep it with your FTC reference. IC3 analysts refer cases to FBI field offices and other agencies when they see patterns worth pursuing.
File a Local Police Report
Local police probably won’t chase a scammer operating from another state or country, and the desk officer may tell you as much. The report still has real value. Under federal law, an identity theft report can be filed with any appropriate federal, state, or local law enforcement agency, and a police report can satisfy that requirement.9Legal Information Institute. 15 USC 1681a(q)(4) – Identity Theft Report Paired with an FTC Identity Theft Report, it gives you the legal basis to require credit bureaus to block fraudulent information from your credit file within four business days.10Justia Law. 15 USC 1681c-2 – Block of Information Resulting from Identity Theft
Bring your evidence file and your federal complaint numbers. Most departments accept non-emergency fraud reports at the front desk or through an online portal.
File with Your State Attorney General
Every state has a consumer protection division inside the attorney general’s office that accepts fraud complaints, usually through an online form. Search your state’s AG website for “consumer complaint” to find it.
You probably won’t get personal follow-up on a single report. State AGs use these complaints the way the FTC does: to identify repeat offenders and build cases. When a scam generates enough complaints, the AG’s office has subpoena power and can pursue civil penalties that the FTC cannot.
Report the Scammer to the Platform
If the scammer reached you through a social network, messaging app, marketplace, or dating site, use the platform’s built-in reporting tool. Look for a “Report” button on the profile or inside the conversation, and pick “scam” or “fraud” as the category.
Platform reports won’t recover your money, but they’re the fastest way to get the scammer’s account shut down before they hit someone else. Include screenshots and a short description. If the scammer contacted you across multiple platforms, report on each one separately.
If the Scammer Has Your Social Security Number
When your SSN is exposed, someone can open credit accounts, file tax returns, and claim benefits in your name. Take these additional steps:
- Report the misuse at ssa.gov/fraud. Create a my Social Security account so you can monitor your earnings record for suspicious activity, and consider requesting an eServices block, which prevents anyone from viewing or changing your SSA information online.11Social Security Administration. Fraud Prevention and Reporting
- Get an IRS Identity Protection PIN. This six-digit number stops anyone from filing a federal return using your SSN. Any taxpayer with an SSN or ITIN can request one through their IRS online account, and the IRS will require the PIN on every return you file going forward. If you can’t verify online, you can apply using Form 15227 (if income is below $84,000 for single filers or $168,000 for joint filers) or visit a Taxpayer Assistance Center in person.12Internal Revenue Service. Get an Identity Protection PIN
- If you haven’t already, file at IdentityTheft.gov. The recovery plan there includes sample letters specific to SSN-related fraud.6Federal Trade Commission. Report Identity Theft
Freeze Your Credit or Set a Fraud Alert
Once the scammer has your information, protecting your credit file stops them from opening new accounts.
Credit Freeze
A credit freeze blocks anyone, including you, from opening new credit accounts until you lift it. It’s free at all three major bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — and it lasts until you remove it.13Consumer Advice (Federal Trade Commission). Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts You have to place the freeze at each bureau separately. Online and phone requests must be processed within one business day; mail requests can take up to three.14USAGov. How to Place or Lift a Security Freeze on Your Credit Report A freeze is the strongest tool because it stops the inquiry entirely instead of relying on a creditor to verify identity.
Fraud Alert
A fraud alert asks creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before opening an account. An initial fraud alert lasts one year and can be renewed. If you’ve filed an identity theft report, you can get an extended fraud alert, which lasts seven years and removes you from pre-screened credit offer lists for five.13Consumer Advice (Federal Trade Commission). Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts You only need to contact one bureau; it must notify the other two. The tradeoff is that an alert is advisory, not mandatory, so it depends on creditors actually following through.
For most scam victims, a freeze is the better choice. You can temporarily lift it later when you need to apply for credit yourself.
Can You Deduct the Loss on Your Taxes?
For most people, no. Since 2018, individual taxpayers can only deduct theft losses on personal-use property if the loss is tied to a federally declared disaster, which excludes almost all scams.15Internal Revenue Service. Casualty, Disaster, and Theft Losses The restriction runs through 2025 and is set to apply through 2026 as well.
Two exceptions. If the stolen funds were part of a business or investment activity rather than personal use, you may be able to deduct the loss using IRS Form 4684, Section B. Losses from Ponzi-type investment schemes have a separate streamlined process under Section C of the same form.16Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 4684 Any loss you deduct has to be reduced by insurance reimbursements or recovered funds. If you’re unsure whether your situation qualifies as personal or investment, that’s the question to bring to a tax professional.