I Just Got Scammed. What Should I Do in the Next 60 Minutes?

You just realized you were scammed. Your heart is pounding, your hands are shaking, and your brain is cycling through every detail trying to figure out where it all went wrong.

Stop. You don't have time for that right now.

The next 60 minutes matter more than the last 60 hours. Your bank's fraud department can only work with what you give them, and what you give them depends on what you do right now — before the money settles, before the scammer goes dark, before evidence disappears.

I spent 17 years investigating fraud inside a regional bank. I've reviewed hundreds of customer dispute files, and the difference between cases that moved forward and cases that stalled almost always came down to one thing: what the victim did in the first hour.

This is your recovery sequence. Not the story, not the blame — just the next correct move.

“Slow down, write it down, and make the next call count.”

— Rebecca Harlow

Key Takeaways

• Stop all contact immediately. Do not send more money, do not pay “verification fees,” do not move funds to a “safe account.”

• Preserve evidence before you block or delete anything. Screenshots, emails, transaction numbers, and phone numbers all matter.

• Contact your payment provider first — not the FTC, not the police. The payment method determines your recovery path.

• The 60-day window under Regulation E is real. Missing it can eliminate your legal protection for unauthorized electronic transactions.

• Report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or call 1-877-382-4357. You'll receive a report number and tailored next steps.

What Happens If You Do Nothing

I need to be direct with you about something: inaction is the worst thing you can do right now.

Every hour you wait, three things get harder:

1. Your money becomes harder to recall. Wire transfers can sometimes be recalled within hours. After that, the funds have likely moved through multiple accounts. Payment app transfers are even faster.

2. Your legal protections weaken. Under Regulation E, your liability for unauthorized electronic fund transfers increases dramatically if you don't notify your bank within set timeframes. The 60-day rule is not a suggestion.

3. The scammer keeps working. They will keep contacting you with new “opportunities” to recover your lost money. Or they will sell your information to other scammers who will contact you with fake recovery offers.

The FTC has warned that recovery and refund scammers specifically target people who already lost money, sometimes impersonating government agencies, consumer groups, or law firms. The FBI's IC3 has issued similar alerts, noting that scammers impersonating IC3 employees contacted over 100 victims between December 2023 and February 2025.

The first 60 minutes is not about getting your money back. It's about making sure you don't lose more.

The First 60 Minutes: 4 Steps, In Order

Step 1: Stop All Contact and Protect Your Accounts (Minutes 0-5)

End the conversation. Hang up the phone. Close the chat window. Do not reply to the next message.

Do not click any new links. Do not pay a “verification fee.” Do not move money to a “safe account” the scammer claims will protect your funds. Do not install remote-access software. Each of these is a continuation of the scam, not a solution.

If you shared your online banking password, your account may still be accessible to the scammer. From a device you trust, log in and change your password immediately. Check for unfamiliar sessions and revoke them. Turn on multi-factor authentication if it's not already active.

If you gave the scammer remote access to your computer or phone, disconnect from the internet, then update your security software and run a scan.

If you're still on the phone with the scammer: hang up now. Everything else can wait 30 seconds.

Step 2: Preserve Evidence Before You Block Anyone (Minutes 5-10)

Your instinct will be to block the scammer and delete everything. Don't do that yet.

Screenshots, emails, text messages, and transaction confirmations are your evidence. Without them, your bank dispute becomes your word against a transaction record. With them, your dispute has context.

Save these items:

• Screenshots of all conversations — texts, emails, social media messages, chat logs

• The scammer's identifying information — phone numbers, email addresses, usernames, website URLs

• Transaction records — confirmation numbers, dates, amounts, payment method used

• Any documents the scammer sent you — fake invoices, contracts, investment “statements”

• Your own written timeline — what happened, when, and in what order

The FBI's IC3 specifically asks victims to retain original records including emails, financial transaction information, and details about how contact was initiated when filing complaints.

Create a folder — physical or digital — and put everything there. I keep a physical incident folder in my kitchen. It sounds old-fashioned, but when you're on the phone with a bank investigator who needs a reference number, having it in one place matters.

Step 3: Contact Your Payment Provider — This Is Your Critical Call (Minutes 10-45)

This is the call that matters most, and it should happen before you contact the FTC, the police, or anyone else.

Call your bank, credit card issuer, or payment app using the official phone number on your card or their website. Do not use a number the scammer provided. Scammers frequently set up fake customer service lines that mimic legitimate institutions.

When you call, tell them: “I need to report a fraudulent transaction and I want to know what my options are for stopping or disputing it.”

Here's what happens next depends entirely on how you paid:

Debit card or credit card — Your strongest protections

If the transaction was unauthorized — meaning someone used your card without your permission — you have legal protection under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E for debit cards, and the Fair Credit Billing Act for credit cards.

Ask specifically: “Is this being processed as an unauthorized transaction or as a scam payment?” This distinction matters. An unauthorized transaction means someone accessed your card without permission. A scam payment means you were tricked into authorizing it. These follow different rules, and banks handle them differently.

If the transaction is still pending, ask if it can be stopped. If it has posted, ask for the dispute process and request written confirmation of your claim.

Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, or similar payment apps — Faster, harder to reverse

Payment app transfers move like cash. If you sent the money to a scammer, recovery is difficult. Contact the payment app immediately and report the transaction as fraudulent. Then contact your linked bank, because the bank may have additional options the app doesn't.

The FTC advises contacting the company you used to send money regardless of payment method. Ask them directly: “Can this payment be reversed or recalled?” The answer may be no, but you need it on record that you asked.

Wire transfer — Time is everything

Wire transfers are the hardest to reverse. If the wire was sent very recently, your bank may be able to recall it. Call your bank's fraud department and say: “I need you to attempt a wire recall. This was a scam.” The bank will contact the receiving institution, but there is no guarantee the funds will be returned.

Gift cards — Contact the issuer immediately

If you bought gift cards and gave the scammer the card numbers, contact the gift card issuer using the number on the back of the card. Tell them a scammer tricked you into sharing the card number and PIN. Keep the physical cards and receipts — you may need them to follow up.

Cryptocurrency — Almost always irreversible

Cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed. Contact the exchange or ATM operator immediately and report the fraudulent transaction. Then report it to federal law enforcement. Recovery is extremely unlikely, but the report creates a record.

Here's a quick reference table:

After the call: Ask for the representative's name, a reference number, and written confirmation of your dispute. My rule has always been the same — every phone call gets followed by a written date, time, name, and reference number. You will not remember these details in three weeks.

Step 4: File Your Reports (Minutes 45-60)

Once you've contacted your payment provider, file your reports. These create the official record that banks, law enforcement, and credit bureaus can reference later.

Report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov or call 1-877-382-4357.

The FTC is the nation's consumer protection agency. Filing a report takes about 10 minutes. You'll be asked what happened, how you paid, and how the scammer contacted you. At the end, you'll receive a report number and a personalized recovery plan with next steps.

Your report also feeds into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure national database available to local, state, and federal law enforcement. One report may not trigger an investigation, but thousands of reports about the same scam pattern do.

If the scam happened online — through email, social media, a website, or an online payment — also file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.

If your personal information was exposed — Social Security number, date of birth, account numbers — file at IdentityTheft.gov. This generates a personalized identity recovery plan.

A police report matters more than you think. Many banks and insurance companies require a police report number before processing certain fraud claims. File with your local police department, even if they can't investigate directly. The report number itself has value.

If you are 60 or older and need help filing an IC3 complaint, you can contact the DOJ Elder Justice Hotline at 1-833-372-8311.

The Deadline You Cannot Miss: The 60-Day Rule

This is the part most people never hear until it's too late.

Under Regulation E, you must notify your bank within 60 days after the bank sends you the statement showing the first unauthorized electronic transfer. If you miss that window, you have unlimited liability for transactions that occur after the 60-day period.

Here's how it works with a simple example:

You notice an unauthorized $400 charge on January 2 and a $600 charge on January 6. Both appear on your February 5 bank statement. You do nothing. On April 10, another unauthorized charge of $800 occurs. You call the bank on April 30 — more than 60 days after the February statement.

Your liability: $50 for the first $400 charge, $450 of the $600 charge (you're responsible for anything over $50 after the first two business days), and the full $800 charge that occurred after the 60-day window.

Bottom line: Call your bank today. Not tomorrow. Not after you've “figured out the right thing to say.” The call itself — even if you're confused, even if you don't have all the details — starts the clock on your protection.

Where to Write Everything Down

Before you make any more calls, open a document or grab a notebook. Create a simple timeline:

You will forget details. The bank will ask questions you can't answer from memory. The FTC report will ask for specifics you'll wish you had written down. This one page solves that.

The FTC report process specifically asks for dates, amounts, payment methods, and how the scammer contacted you. Having a written timeline means you can complete the report in 10 minutes instead of trying to remember everything under pressure.

What Not to Do

These are the things that make recovery harder — some of them irreversibly:

Do not pay a “recovery fee.” Real investigators, real banks, and real government agencies never ask you to pay to recover your money. If someone contacts you offering to get your money back for a fee, it is a second scam. The IC3 will never ask for payment to recover lost funds, nor will they refer you to a company that charges for recovery services.

Do not move money to a “safe account.” Your bank will never ask you to transfer funds to a new account for “safekeeping.” That's a scam tactic, not a bank procedure.

Do not trust caller ID. Scammers spoof bank phone numbers, government agency numbers, and even FBI field office numbers. Hang up and call the institution back using the number on your card or their official website.

Do not send gift cards or cryptocurrency to anyone who says they can recover your funds. These payment methods are untraceable and irreversible. The moment someone asks for them, you know it's a scam.

Do not blame yourself. You are not the first person this has happened to, and you won't be the last. The FBI reported over $16.6 billion in scam losses in 2024 alone. These operations are professional, sophisticated, and designed by people who do this for a living. Your shame helps no one — least of all you. And it definitely doesn't help the bank investigator trying to process your claim.

Your Most Important Move

Here's the thing about being scammed: the scammer already took something from you. What they're counting on is that you'll be too embarrassed, too confused, or too ashamed to act. That you'll wait a few days to “see if it sorts itself out.” That by the time you call, the money is untraceable and the trail is cold.

Don't give them that.