How to get your money back after an online scam

After an online scam, the first question is always the same: can I get my money back? The honest answer is "sometimes". It depends mostly on how you paid, how quickly you act and where you live. This guide explains each route in plain language, what you can realistically expect, and how to make your claim as strong as possible.

Rules, deadlines and protections differ between banks, card networks and countries, and they change. Treat the time limits below as typical examples and always confirm them with your own bank or payment provider. Nothing here is legal advice.

Before anything else: call your bank today

Whatever method you used, contact your bank or payment provider as soon as you realise something is wrong. Use the phone number on your card or in your banking app. Every hour can matter, especially with bank transfers, because scammers move money on quickly.

Have this ready:

• date, amount and recipient of each payment
• the website address and any order numbers
• screenshots of the site, the order and your messages with the seller
• a short, honest description of what happened

If you haven't done so yet, our guide What to do if you've been scammed online covers the other urgent steps, such as changing passwords and reporting to the police.

Credit card: the chargeback

If you paid by credit card, you're in the best position. A chargeback is a process run by the card networks (such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express) through which your card issuer can reverse a transaction, for example when goods never arrived or were not as described.

How it works:

1. You contact your card issuer and say you want to dispute the transaction.
2. You explain what happened and send your evidence.
3. The issuer raises the dispute with the merchant's bank. The merchant can respond.
4. The issuer decides, and if you win, the money is credited back.

Time limits: often around 120 days from the transaction or from the date the goods should have arrived, but this varies by network, dispute reason and bank. Some issuers ask you to report much sooner. Check with your bank and don't wait.

Tips for a strong claim: state clearly whether the item never arrived, was counterfeit or was completely different from the description. Include the shop's address and any attempt you made to contact them. If the shop has vanished, say so.

Extra protection in the UK: Section 75

In the UK, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act makes your credit card provider jointly responsible with the seller for purchases priced between £100 and £30,000 paid at least partly on a credit card. That is a legal right, separate from a chargeback. If the item cost less than £100, a chargeback is still worth trying.

In the US: billing disputes

In the US, the Fair Credit Billing Act lets you dispute certain credit card charges, including goods that weren't delivered. You generally need to send a written dispute within 60 days of the statement on which the charge first appeared. Your card issuer's dispute process will usually cover this for you.

Debit card

Debit card payments can often be disputed through the same chargeback system, but the protection is usually weaker and the bank's willingness to help varies. There's no legal equivalent of Section 75 for debit cards in the UK. Still ask: many banks process debit chargebacks for non-delivery.

PayPal: Buyer Protection

If you paid for goods with PayPal as a normal purchase ("goods and services"), PayPal Buyer Protection may cover items that never arrived or were significantly not as described.

• Open a dispute in the PayPal Resolution Center. PayPal's time limit for this has typically been 180 days from the payment; check the current terms for your country.
• First the dispute goes to the seller. If it isn't resolved, escalate it to a claim so PayPal decides.
• Payments sent as "Friends and Family" are generally not covered. Scammers know this and often ask for exactly that payment type, sometimes offering a discount for it.

If you paid through PayPal with a credit card linked to your account, you may also be able to approach your card issuer, but don't open two disputes at once without asking which route they prefer.

Bank transfers

Bank transfers are the hardest to reverse, because you authorised the payment yourself. But it's not always hopeless.

SEPA transfers in the EU

For a SEPA credit transfer there is no chargeback right. What your bank can do is send a recall request to the receiving bank. If the money is still in the scammer's account, the receiving bank may return it, but once the money has been credited, they usually need the account holder's consent or a legal reason to do so. That's why speed matters so much.

Also ask about instant payments: if you used one, the money arrived within seconds and a recall depends entirely on whether it's still in the receiving account.

Report the scam to the police too. In some cases a police report helps the receiving bank to freeze the account.

SEPA direct debits

If a scammer collected money from your account by direct debit, you're in a much better position. Under SEPA rules you can generally ask your bank to refund an authorised direct debit within eight weeks, no reason needed, and an unauthorised one for up to 13 months. Ask your bank for the exact rules on your account.

UK: Faster Payments and APP scam reimbursement

In the UK, banks have been required since October 2024 to reimburse many victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams sent by Faster Payments or CHAPS, up to a set limit per claim. There are conditions and exceptions, for example if you were grossly negligent, and the claim usually has to be made within a set period. Tell your bank clearly that you were tricked into sending the money, and ask whether your case qualifies.

US: wire transfers and payment apps

For wire transfers, contact your bank immediately and ask them to request a recall. Also file a complaint with the FBI at ic3.gov. Payment apps such as Zelle, Venmo or Cash App are designed like cash: once sent, money is very hard to recover. Contact the app and your bank anyway; policies are changing and some providers do reimburse certain scam cases.

Gift cards and crypto

Gift cards: contact the company that issued the card (not the shop where you bought it) straight away, give them the card numbers and ask whether the balance can be frozen. Keep the receipts and the cards.

Cryptocurrency: transactions can't be reversed. If you sent crypto from an exchange, report it to the exchange immediately; they can sometimes flag the receiving address. Report it to the police too. Our article on crypto investment scams covers this in more detail.

What doesn't work: recovery services

After a scam, many victims are contacted by "fund recovery" firms, "crypto tracing experts" or people pretending to be from the police, a regulator or a law firm. They promise to get your money back for an upfront fee. These are almost always a second scam. Legitimate police and banks don't charge you for recovering stolen money, and nobody can reverse a blockchain transaction for a fee.

If your bank says no

• Ask for the decision and the reasons in writing.
• Use your bank's formal complaints process.
• If you're still not satisfied, many countries have a free financial ombudsman or arbitration service. In the UK it's the Financial Ombudsman Service; in Germany, banks have ombudsman schemes; in the EU, the European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) can help with cross-border disputes with traders.

Help others avoid the same site

Once your claim is underway, report the website on websurely.com. Confirmed reports raise the site's Scam Score, so the next person who checks it sees a warning. Our guide How to report a scam website lists the official places to report by country.

Check a website now

The best refund is the one you never need. Before you pay on an unfamiliar site, check it on websurely.com. It's free, and the browser extension can warn you automatically.