Consumer Alert
Paid someone you think is a scammer?
Last week, we kicked off the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month with ideas about recognizing and avoiding scams. This week, it’s about what to do if you think you’ve paid a scammer. These steps might not apply to you, but there’s probably a family member, a friend, or someone in your community who could use them. So please help share these through your community.
Scammers can be very convincing. They call, email, and send text messages trying to get our money or personal information. They often target specific communities, including Latinos, and frequently use scare tactics. And, unfortunately, they're good at what they do.
So if you’ve already paid someone you think is a scammer, what’s your next step?
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Act quickly. If you think you’ve sent money to a scammer or government impersonator, contact the bank, gift card, or credit card company you used to send the money. Tell them that it was a fraudulent transaction. Then ask them to reverse it and give you your money back.
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Did you send a wire transfer through a company like Western Union or MoneyGram? If so, contact the wire transfer company. Tell them it was a fraudulent transfer. Ask them to reverse the wire transfer and give you your money back.
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MoneyGram: 1-800-MONEYGRAM (1-800-666-3947)
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Western Union: 1-800-325-6000
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Scammers often ask people to pay using wire transfers. The FTC brought successful cases against both Western Union and MoneyGram, and the companies agreed to return hundreds of millions of dollars to people who were tricked into wiring money to scammers using their services. The settlements also required both companies to make changes to make it harder for scammers to use MoneyGram or Western Union to defraud customers.
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Did you send cash? If so, chances are it’s gone. But contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455 and ask them to intercept the package. To learn more about this process, visit USPS Package Intercept: The Basics. If you used another delivery service, contact them as soon as possible.
If you spot a scam, tell your loved ones and people in your community about it so they can avoid it, too. Then tell the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Your reports can make a huge difference in knowing what’s happening in your community.
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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.
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In reply to I was scammed out of more by higgs1104
In reply to I was scammed out of more by higgs1104
In reply to Gift card companies will not by Mon92721
In reply to Gift cards need to be by M.G.Don't use …
Gift cards are for gifts, not for payments.
But they’re popular with scammers because they’re easy for people to find and buy, and they have fewer protections for buyers compared to some other payment options. They’re more like cash: once you use the card, the money on it is gone. Scammers like this.
If someone calls you and demands that you pay them with gift cards, you can bet that a scammer is behind that call. This FTC article tells more about gift card scams.
In reply to Gift cards are for gifts, not by FTC Staff
In reply to Gift cards need to be by M.G.Don't use …
In reply to Gift card companies will not by Mon92721
In reply to I also reported to FTC the by higgs1104
The FTC uses reports like yours to investigate and bring cases against fraud, scams, and bad business practices. The FTC isn't able to respond to each report individually, and it can't take action on behalf of individual consumers. When you submit your report, we offer you next steps you can take to protect yourself or recover from fraud. If you include your email address in your report, we'll also send you an email with these steps. You can read more about what happens after you report in these Frequently Asked Questions
In reply to It's not fraud if you buy the by rubi2021
In reply to Gift cards are cashed by Granny
A scammer might cash a gift card quickly.
If you paid a scammer with a gift card, tell the company that issued the card right away.
The FTC has a list of contact information for popular gift card companies, including Amazon, Ebay, Google Play, iTunes, Steam, and MoneyPak.
In reply to If you paid a scammer with a by FTC Staff
In reply to Why aren't companies required by Upset
The FTC has a list of contact information for popular gift card companies, including Amazon, Ebay, Google Play, iTunes, Steam, and MoneyPak.
In reply to Someone sent me a letter from by Fcunn
It's good that you looked for a number and called the Department of Labor to check on the letter. When you get a letter or email you don't expect, it's safer to look up a number yourself and contact the business directly to ask for information.