When people fall victim to scammers, they sometimes don't know what to do or how to act, but there are several ways that can help clarify the situation. Sometimes the situation gets out of control and it can be difficult to figure out what needs to be done.
What to Do After Fraud
Upon realizing that fraudulent actions have occurred, the first thing to do is:
- contact the police;
- contact the bank, security service;
- provide necessary evidence of fraud (correspondence, withdrawals or payments from bank accounts in favor of scammers);
- consult a lawyer who will help sort out the situation.
The main body fighting internet scammers is the cyber police, whose capabilities allow them to track manipulations online. Thus, a filed statement of fraud gives specialists the opportunity to track the scammer and, if successful, uncover the fraud scheme and track the criminals.
If operations were conducted with a bank card or information about passwords, PIN codes was disclosed, you must contact the bank's security service and block the card. The best way is to request a reissue of the card with new details, which will help protect the remaining funds in the account.
Actions in Case of Deception
If, when making a purchase online through sites, it turned out that you became a victim of scammers, you should take some actions:
- if it turned out that bank card information was disclosed or hacked, immediately report it to the security service to block the card, preferably cancel it and order a new card;
- you can also use the password change service in internet banking;
- if fraudulent actions were committed on well-known trading sites, you can use the money-back function for buyers if they were deceived on their platform, you should send an electronic request to the company or contact an operator to resolve the issue.
How to Get Money Back After a Scam
If after the transaction, the money was transferred to internet platforms of well-known resources, you should contact its administration. Well-known sites are interested in a good reputation and will offer their help.
It is recommended to contact the bank, explain the situation and bank employees will help prepare a statement, contact the bank with a request to return the lost money to the card. This can take up to a month.
It won't hurt to file a statement with the cyber police - this can even be done without leaving home, on the organization's website. The best option is to provide as much information as possible about the fraud process:
- card numbers to which money was transferred;
- correspondence with the scammer;
- information about resources from which the offer came;
- report on clicking links and other useful information.
All these actions will help identify the scammer faster.
Where Victims of Fraud Can Turn
As already mentioned, the most competent body fighting villains has always been the police. The main body dealing with internet fraud is the cyber police. Thanks to their resources and capabilities, they have maximum access to various programs, applications, sites. And the high level of specialists allows them to identify scammers as soon as possible, especially if the statement was made immediately, and not after a few days.
Scammers are not foolish people and they try to cover their tracks, destroying sites, messages, mailings shortly after the scam. The more information provided to cyber police specialists, the faster the criminal scheme will be uncovered and there will be an opportunity to return the lost funds.
Help for Victims of Scammers
Help for victims of scammers is provided by lawyers if there is a court decision recognizing that the victim is indeed affected. Then a ruling is issued against the scammer to compensate damages and legal costs.
If fraudulent actions were committed by an acquaintance, there is an opportunity to contact them directly, resolve the issue without going to court and demand the return of money for an unfulfilled service or unsold goods. And if an agreement cannot be reached, the funds can be returned through the court.
Instructions for Victims of Scammers
If it still happened and you became a victim of scammers, you should:
- immediately secure online accounts by changing passwords
- use multi-factor authentication, which is set up during registration for security purposes, such authentication will allow not just one form of access verification to the account or application, thanks to this, the scammer, having only password and user information, will not be able to break the application;
- change card information or freeze it, or block and issue a new one;
- you should immediately stop payments to the scammer, disable the autopay function if set up, and contact the bank to secure your data.