Emergency Fraud Response Guide
Your Immediate Fraud Response Guide
If you believe you were scammed, sent money to the wrong party, or had an account compromised, do not panic — but do act quickly. The first hours can matter. Use the steps below to preserve evidence, reduce additional loss, and organize what happened.
You did the right thing by starting here. Even if you do not have every detail yet, begin preserving records and documenting what happened immediately.
What to do right now
- Stop sending any additional money, crypto, gift cards, or transfers.
- Take screenshots of messages, emails, transaction confirmations, platform dashboards, and account activity.
- Secure your email account first, then secure financial accounts, exchanges, and linked services.
- Save wallet addresses, transaction IDs, bank details, usernames, URLs, and phone numbers involved.
- Write down a simple timeline of what happened, including dates, amounts, and names used.
Do not do these things
- Do not send more money to “unlock” funds or “verify” accounts.
- Do not trust recovery offers from strangers who contact you after the scam.
- Do not delete messages, emails, wallet records, or screenshots.
- Do not assume the problem is too late to document properly.
Gather these details next
You do not need a perfect file to begin, but collecting the items below will make your situation easier to understand and organize.
- Your approximate total loss amount
- Dates of the main transfers or events
- Email addresses, usernames, phone numbers, or names used
- Wallet addresses, exchange names, bank names, or app/platform names
- Screenshots of transactions, chats, emails, and account screens
- Any receipts, confirmations, TXIDs, or transfer references
