First: it's not your fault, and you're not alone. Scams work because they're professionally engineered. What matters now is speed — the first hour makes the biggest difference.
The checklist
1. Stop all contact. Don't reply, don't answer calls, and never pay a "recovery agent" who promises to get your money back — that's a follow-up scam targeting the same victim list.
2. Call your bank or card issuer immediately. Fraud departments run 24/7. Card payments and bank transfers can sometimes be reversed or frozen if you act within hours.
3. If you sent a gift card, call the issuer (Apple, Amazon, Google, etc.) with the card number. Some can freeze unspent balances.
4. Change your passwords — starting with email and banking — and turn on two-factor authentication. If you shared your SSN, freeze your credit at all three bureaus (it's free).
5. Report it: reportfraud.ftc.gov for most scams, ic3.gov for internet crime. Reports build the cases that shut these operations down.
6. Save the evidence. Screenshots, phone numbers, email addresses, payment receipts — everything helps your bank and investigators.
Help protect the next person
When you check a scam message with Scambook, the anonymized signals — the phone number, the email, the script pattern — strengthen the database that protects every other user. One check can save someone else from the exact scam that got you.
