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How To Recover Your Money From A Scammer

After being scammed, the next thing everybody thinks of is the possibility of recovering such lost funds. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), recovering money lost to an Internet scam can be extremely difficult, particularly when the funds have been sent overseas via commercial money transmitters such as Western Union. In essence, getting money back would require a reversal of the wire transfer, which is almost impossible when the funds have been claimed by the recipient (Hirby, 2019).

In all, you need to calm down and approach everything with a sense of decency. If you are unnecessarily temperamental, you might end up losing out on both sides. The first step you are to take after being scammed is to make a contact with your bank.

Put together all the documents relating to the scam. You will need to prove to your bank or credit card company that you were the victim of a scam. You’ll be more believable if you have detailed information about your interactions with the scammers to back up your story. For example, if the scammer contacted you through email, print copies of the emails so you have them for reference. However, do not delete the original emails and rely solely on printed copies. The emails have information in the headers that may be useful for investigators attempting to find the scammers. If the scammer contacted you in other ways, such as through the mail, through text messages, or on social media, make copies of those messages as well. As with emails, save the originals (Wiki How, 2018).

Compile a chronology of your interactions with the scammers and specific amounts of money transferred. You can use receipts, bank records, or credit card statements for this. Include any information you have about the location of the scammers, even if you doubt its accuracy.

The next step is to call the customer service center of your financial institution or credit card outfit. Contact your bank or credit card company as soon as possible after you discover that you’ve been victimized by a scammer. You may be able to recover some or all of your money. However, you generally must notify your bank or credit card company within 30 days of the transaction, at the latest. Your credit or debit card has a customer service number on the back. Operators typically are available on these lines 24 hours a day. Follow the automated prompts and select the option for reporting fraud (Wiki How, 2018).

Feed your bank or credit card company with the information at your disposal. Remain calm, and describe the facts of the scam in chronological order. Be as detailed as possible, including the date and amount of the transaction. If there were multiple transactions, be prepared to explain why you sent the scammers more money. Take the name and any identification number of the customer service representative you talk to. Ask if they have a direct number so you can talk to them again if necessary. If you have physical documentation, find out how you can submit it.

Be prepared to answer some follow-up queries from your financial institution. Your bank or credit card company likely will initiate an investigation of the scam. The money may be provisionally credited to your account. However, you’ll need to stay in touch to make sure you get your money back. For example, your bank or credit card company may want a copy of the police report. Send it as soon as possible. You may also be able to take it to a local branch in person (Wiki How, 2018).

If a month passes and you hear nothing, call the customer service number and ask about the status of your complaint. Keep in mind that resolving a complaint does not necessarily mean that they find in your favor or refund your money.

There are other mediums people can be scammed apart from through banks and the use of cards. Let’s have a look at some of them:

PayPal

If the scammer has taken payment for an item through PayPal and then hasn’t sent, there is a way you can go about it. In some cases scammers set up convincing looking PayPal payment forms which actually just gather your bank details. In this case, you will have a difficult time retrieving the money.

On the other hand, where a scammer pays through PayPal, takes delivery of the order, and then claims that they didn’t receive it and makes a claim through PayPal Buyer Protection or section 75. If you’re caught by this scam you’ll probably want to make a claim under PayPal Seller Protection. But this has conditions and requirements – particularly around the delivery address that’s used and the seller having proof of delivery. As long as you’ve met all of the criteria you should be protected. In some instances the scammer will be aware of these rules and will specify a different delivery address or collect in person.In this case you won’t be covered by seller protection because you’ve not met the condition of posting the item to the account holder’s registered address(Consumer Rights, 2019).

Wire Service

Unfortunately, you can’t always get your money back if you’ve been scammed, especially if you’ve handed over cash or you’ve paid via a wire service such as MoneyGram, PayPoint or Western Union. All of these services provide advice on how to avoid fraud and scams, so it’s a good idea to read their advice to safeguard yourself against future scams of this kind (Consumer Rights, 2019).

Unauthorized Payment

If there is a transaction on your card you know nothing about, then you can make a claim from your bank as an unauthorized transaction. If you hand over your card to have a particular amount debited from it, and then you find more money has been taken without your permission, or a sum has been taken by someone else, you can make a claim for this extra amount (Consumer Rights, 2019). This is easier handled than any other form of fraud; the bank bears the brunt.

References

Consumer Rights (2019). How To Get Your Money Back After Scam. Retrieved from https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-to-get-your-money-back-after-a-scam

Hirby, J (2019). How To Get Money Back From An Internet Scam. Retrieved from https://thelawdictionary.org/article/how-to-get-money-back-from-an-internet-scam/

Wiki How (2018). How To Recover Your Money From  A Scammer. Retrieved from https://www.wikihow.com/Recover-Money-from-a-Scammer

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