The 1% AcademyScammed? Get helpScammed? Help

Book 3

If You Are Hit

What you'll get from this chapter: The five moves to make in the first hours after a scam, where to report it, and two free helplines you can call today.

About 2 min read

In this chapter
  1. Stop. Lock. Report. Do not pay a second stranger.
  2. Where to file
  3. Free helplines

Stop. Lock. Report. Do not pay a second stranger.

  1. Stop
  2. Lock
  3. Call carrier
  4. Report
  5. Watch 90 days
Five steps: Stop, Lock, Call carrier, Report, Watch 90 days.

Anyone who messages you after a loss offering to recover your money is usually the same operation, or a copycat. File with the agencies below. Keep wallet addresses, times, and amounts.

01. Stop the session

Do not send another dollar. Close the site. If you installed something, disconnect the device from Wi-Fi and cellular data.

02. Lock what they can reach

From a different device, change your email password first, then your , bank, and . Sign out of all other sessions. Revoke (cancel) any your crypto wallet gave to websites.

03. Call your carrier if the phone went dark

Ask them to freeze the number and check for a recent SIM change. Then stop using text-message () codes as a way to sign in.

04. Report while the trail is warm

File with the (FTC) and the FBI’s (IC3) the same day. Tell the exchange or bank exactly when the transfer left. Write down wallet addresses. Do not pay a “recovery agent” who contacts you next. That is the second scam.

05. Watch for 90 days

Freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion if identity details leaked. Read your statements. Tell family, because the same script often moves to them next.

Where to file

  • FTC ReportFraud: The ’s site for consumer fraud, impostors, scam texts, and unwanted calls. This is the default U.S. report.
  • FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): For internet crime, especially when money moved, cryptocurrency was involved, or a business was hit.
  • IdentityTheft.gov: The FTC’s step-by-step recovery plan if someone is using your identity.
  • Have I Been Pwned: Check whether your email address showed up in a known data breach. Then change those passwords.
  • IRS tax scams: How to tell a real (IRS) notice from a text that wants bitcoin.

Free helplines

  • AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline: 877-908-3360. Free for anyone, any age. Trained volunteers walk through what happened.¹
  • National Elder Fraud Hotline (U.S. Department of Justice): 833-FRAUD-11 (833-372-8311). For people 60 or older, or calling for someone who is.²

For a step-by-step plan for your exact situation, use the Get help now page.

Sources

¹ AARP, Fraud Watch Network Helpline. https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/helpline/

² U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, National Elder Fraud Hotline. https://www.ovc.ojp.gov/program/elder-fraud-abuse/national-elder-fraud-hotline

NEXT STEP

Open Get help now if money or information has left. Otherwise, return to the Field Kit and finish your Protection Checklist.

Margin notes