Whether you can recover money depends mostly on how you paid and how quickly you act. Start the calls today, because the window narrows fast. Write down each call you make, the time, and any reference number you are given, since your bank may need that timeline to process a fraud claim or a recall.
Act by payment method
- Gift cards: call the card issuer's number now, report the codes as used in a scam, and ask whether any balance can be frozen.
- Debit or credit card: call your bank or card issuer and ask to dispute the charge as fraud.
- Bank transfer or wire: contact your bank immediately and ask about a recall; speed is everything with wires.
- Money app (Zelle, Cash App, Venmo): report the payment as a scam in the app and to your bank.
- Crypto: report it to the exchange you used and to the FBI's IC3. Crypto is the hardest to recover, so act fast.
Do not pay anyone to "recover" it
A service that promises to get your money back for an upfront fee is a second scam aimed at people who were already hit. Real help does not charge you to recover your own money.
Then report it
Report the scam to the FTC and the FBI's IC3, and keep your confirmation numbers. A paid "fee" to start a job is the advance-fee scam, and the full reporting steps are in how to report a job scam.
What next
If you also shared personal data, work through the broader recovery checklist. To avoid the next one, paste any offer into the free checker before you pay anything.