4 simple ways to recover money from a scammer

Unfortunately, every year it seems more and more American citizens fall victim to scammers and criminals determined to relieve them of their hard-earned cash. Recently released figures from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) illustrate just how pervasive this issue is becoming, finding that consumers lost around $8.8 billion to targeted scams and fraudulent activities during 2022 alone.

Not only do these reports show the scale of the issue at hand, but when compared to figures from previous years, it’s clear that the frequency and severity of organized scams are worsening. In fact, consumer-focused losses during 2022 were as much as 30% higher than those recorded in 2021. 

As many may expect, the most commonly reported scams in recent years have involved some form of modern technology, with phishing, identity theft and online shopping scams administered via smart phones, social networking apps and other internet-connected services accounting for the most cases.

"Scams continue to evolve and grow increasingly sophisticated,” said Charles Chan, CEO of Landlord Studio, a property management and online rent collection software. "As such, it is crucial for individuals and businesses to remain vigilant in the face of online fraud. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do. The first is to learn how to identify potential scams. For example, if something appears too good to be true, it often is. The second is to learn what steps you need to take to report fraud and then act promptly if you ever are a victim.”

Thankfully, falling victim to modern scams doesn’t always mean your money becomes immediately irretrievable, though typically consumers will need to act fast if they’re to mitigate damages and be reunited with their funds. To find out how, here are 4 simple ways to retrieve money from a scammer.

1. Contact your bank

No matter whether you believe a scammer has gained access to your personal bank account or not, it’s essential that you contact your bank as soon as you’re made aware of any potentially criminal activity so that their professional fraud investigators can begin to monitor your accounts for suspicious behavior.

Oftentimes, the key to recovering your funds promptly is to not only catch the scammer in the act, but to provide your bank’s fraud investigations team with enough documentation and evidence pertaining to the incident that they can quickly identify criminal transactions and any accounts they’re connected to.

Make sure to collect as much evidence as possible to speed up this process, this means gathering all email or text message correspondence you may have exchanged with the scammer and printing off or forwarding this information directly to your bank with timestamps and a personal account of events.

Additionally, it’s wise to compile a chronology of the situation including: 

●       Specific amounts of money transferred

●       Transactions you have not approved 

●       Previous and current credit card statements

●       Relevant receipts and bank statements

Providing your bank’s fraud department with detailed and well-organized information will help you to prove that criminal activity has occurred and assist investigators in identifying where your money has gone as promptly as possible. Be as open and honest as you can be, even if it’s a little embarrassing, as this will further aid your bank in rectifying the issue and may help other victims fight future scams.  

If you’ve followed all these steps and haven’t received any updates in 30 days, follow up your claim as US law requires banks and credit card companies to begin an investigation within this allotted period.

2. Work with law enforcement

Alongside notifying your bank as soon as you believe you’ve fallen victim to a scam, it’s wise to open a dialogue with law enforcement officials to increase the likelihood of recovering lost funds. Start by getting in touch with your local police department using their non-emergency contact number, or by seeking out a dedicated financial crimes hotline by searching for your state in an official government directory.

Take the documentation and evidence you compiled to assist your bank’s fraud investigations team and pass this same information on to law enforcement officials. Not only will this help officers in their investigations, but if they’re able to locate a suspect it could help further down the line in prosecuting.  

Submit a formal report to local law enforcement and request to make a statement to an officer to pass on as much information as possible, it may also be wise to compile your own record of events as you may be required to follow up on your case at a later date, important details to make note of include: 

●       The name and badge number of the reporting officer

●       The report number assigned to your claim

●       A copy of the official written statement or report 

It’s important to remember that most police departments will be expected to deal with multiple criminal investigations at any one time, meaning your case may only be explored in a cursory manner. If your case does help to bring charges against any scammers, you’ll likely be expected to provide evidence to recover lost funds, so make sure to keep track of all receipts, statements and relevant documents.

3. Seek support from government agencies

Due to the increasing frequency and severity of sophisticated scams, there are now multiple federal government agencies positioned to assist consumers in recovering stolen funds. US law states that all banks and credit card companies are obligated to refund stolen money if presented with reasonable evidence of fraud, government agencies can help to enforce this if your bank is being uncooperative.

For example, US citizens will be permitted to file a complaint against uncooperative banks with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), an official government agency made responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. Citizens can contact this agency to pursue claims related to bank accounts, credit cards, cash transfers, virtual currencies and similar scams via their website. 

Government agencies like the CFPB will set a predetermined time frame in which offending financial institutions will be required to provide an official response to your complaint, and as these requests are made with support from the federal government, often complaints will be addressed within weeks.  

Alternatively, you may wish to seek support from your local state consumer protection offices as they may be better equipped to pursue claims relating to their jurisdiction. If you’re unaware of how to get in contact with these officials, try searching for your state within an official government directory.

4. Consider small claims court

If you’d rather take matters into your own hands, it is possible to recover money from a scammer by filing a case with your local small claims court, though to do so effectively, you’ll need to have a good idea of the scammer’s identity and be prepared to reasonably convince the court of their guilt.

This will mean compiling the same evidence as would be required to file a complaint with your bank or local police department, including copies of all communications between you and the scammer, bank statements that clearly outline fraudulent transactions and any other relevant documents that can be used to connect the accused to fraudulent and criminal actions that have resulted in financial losses.  

In addition, the amount of money lost will need to fall under the threshold for small claims court in your state, a value that can vary significantly though will typically fall somewhere between $5000-$10,000.   

Choosing to pursue a small claims case can be a good option to quickly recover money from smaller scams related to things like online rent collection and fraudulent cash transfers, costing far less than a civil lawsuit and typically being resolved much faster, though it is still advised that victims of financial fraud attempt to resolve such issues with banks or local authorities first to avoid picking up any additional costs.

Summary

Though it seems the frequency and severity of scams and financial crimes have been increasing in recent years, there are several options consumers can pursue to recover their money in a prompt and efficient manner. If you believe you’ve fallen victim to a scam, you should first look to compile as much evidence as reasonably possible, including communications, bank statements and receipts related to the incident.

Contact your bank or credit card company as soon as you can and provide their fraud investigation team with this evidence, remember to follow up on your claim if 30 days pass without response. In addition, call local law enforcement or a dedicated financial crimes authority to file a similar complaint. Lastly, if you know the person’s identity, try taking your case to small claims court to recover money from a scammer.