SCARS Institute Scam Victim Navigators

Stop replying to the scammer today, even to say goodbye or to tell them you know the truth. Every reply gives them another chance to pull you back in, and they are trained to do exactly that.

Block them on every app, phone, and email account. They will try again from new accounts with new stories, such as an illness, an apology, or a threat, so block each new one without reading it.

Scammers do not let go easily, because you have been a source of money for them. Expect messages that pull at your heart, such as declarations of love, desperate emergencies, or anger, and recognize them as more of the same scam.

Do not argue with them or try to trick them, since that keeps you connected and can put you at risk. Save the messages as evidence, then block the account and move on.

Call your bank right now and say you sent a wire or transfer because of fraud. Ask them to recall the payment, and ask for a fraud case number.

Banks have the best chance to stop or recover a wire in the first hours or days, so speed matters more than anything else. Ask them to watch your account for new attempts as well.

Contact the exchange or app you used to buy the cryptocurrency, such as Coinbase or a crypto ATM company, and report the fraud. Give them the wallet address you sent it to and the transaction ID.

Cryptocurrency is very hard to recover, and anyone who promises to get it back for a fee is running another scam. Reporting still matters, because exchanges and police use these reports to freeze criminal wallets.

Call the company that issued the gift cards, using the phone number on the back of the card. Tell them the cards were used in a scam, and give them the card numbers and receipts.

Sometimes the company can freeze money that has not been spent yet. Keep the cards and receipts as evidence for your police report.

Report the payment as fraud inside the app, such as Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal, and then call your bank too. Ask both for a case number.

These payments are hard to reverse, but reporting quickly gives you the best chance. It also helps the app shut down the scammer's account before they hurt someone else.

Call the number on the back of your credit or debit card and say the charges came from fraud. Ask them to dispute the charges and to send you a new card.

Card companies give you a limited time to dispute a charge, so call this week. Write down who you spoke with and the date of each call.

If you mailed cash or sent it through a courier, call the shipping company right away with the tracking number. Packages sometimes can be stopped before delivery.

If you handed cash to someone in person, call your local police today. A person who picks up cash can sometimes be identified and caught.

If you let the scammer control your computer or phone, assume they left something behind. Disconnect the device from the internet and have a trusted technician or store check it and remove anything harmful.

Until the device is checked, use a different device for banking and email. Then change your passwords from that safe device.

Change the passwords for your email, bank, and any account you shared or used while in contact with the scammer. Start with your email, because it controls the rest.

Turn on two-step sign-in, which sends a code to your phone, for every account that offers it. Never share those codes with anyone, since no real company or agency will ever ask for them.

If the scammer has your ID, Social Security number, or bank details, they may try to open accounts in your name. In the United States, freeze your credit for free with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, and make a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.

Watch your bank statements and mail for accounts or charges you do not recognize. Report anything strange right away.

Before you delete anything, save it. Take screenshots of messages, profiles, and websites, and keep receipts, bank records, wallet addresses, and the scammer's names, phone numbers, and email addresses.

Keep everything in one folder, on paper or on your computer. Police, banks, and your support team will all ask for it, and you will not need to search for it later.

Report the scam to your local police and to your country's national fraud agency. A police report is often needed by banks and card companies, and every report helps law enforcement find the criminals.

Reporting a scam is not admitting a mistake; it is reporting a crime committed against you. You will find the agencies for your country in the resources below.

After a scam, criminals often come back pretending to be investigators, lawyers, hackers, or government agents who can recover your money for a fee. Every one of these offers is another scam, no matter how official it looks.

Real police and government agencies never charge a fee to investigate a crime or return money. If anyone asks you to pay to get your money back, stop contact and report them.

The person who offered to get your money back is almost certainly part of the same criminal world, and they may be the same criminals. They often know details of your case, which makes them seem real.

Do not pay them, do not send them documents, and do not let them into your computer. Block them, save the messages, and include them in your police report.

Do not pay, and stop replying right now. Paying almost never ends the threats, and it usually leads to demands for more money.

Save the messages and the account names, then report the accounts to the platform and block them. To help keep intimate images from being shared, adults can use StopNCII.org, and anyone whose images were taken when they were under 18 can use Take It Down from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

When someone has been scammed before, their name and contact details are often sold to other criminals. That is why new scammers keep appearing, and it is not a sign that something is wrong with you.

Treat every new friendly stranger, investment offer, or recovery offer with extra caution for now. Consider changing your phone number and email address, and talk with the SCARS Institute support team about a plan.

Scammers depend on secrecy, and shame makes it feel safer to stay silent. Telling one trusted person breaks that silence and gives you someone on your side.

Choose someone who listens without blaming, such as a friend, a family member, or a member of the SCARS Institute support community. You do not need to tell everyone, and you do not need to tell everything at once.

The shock of discovering a scam affects your body as well as your mind. Eat something, drink water, and try to rest, even if sleep does not come easily.

Be as kind to yourself as you would be to a friend in your place. You were targeted by professional criminals, and it was not your fault.