3 Ways You Can Recover Money Stolen By Scammers

• Peer-to-peer apps. Starting June 30, the more than 2,000 U.S. banks that provide customers with Zelle, the nation’s largest dollar-volume peer-to-peer (P2P) payment service, are investigating and recovering money lost to scammers. “This is a massive change,” says Ben Chance, chief fraud risk management officer for Early Warning, the network owner and operator for Zelle. Previously, scam victims could recover money lost in unauthorized Zelle transactions only when a criminal took over an account. This rule change even covers transactions authorized by users “if you have fallen for a certain type of impostor scam,” Chance says. “The scammer has to be impersonating a government agency like the IRS or Social Security Administration, a financial institution like a bank or a service provider like a utility company.” Last fall, Congress opened an investigation of Zelle’s fraud and scam recovery policies, saying fraudsters used the service to steal $441 million from users in 2021.

Reporting tip: If you paid scammers using Zelle, you can report it to the bank or credit union where you have your Zelle account up to 120 days after an incident. But sooner is better for bank investigators. The nation’s two other largest P2P apps, Venmo and CashApp, recommend users contact customer service if they’ve been scammed. But, they say, most of the time, payments to criminals cannot be canceled.

• Gift cards. Gift card companies may be able to recover some or all of the money sent to scammers via gift card numbers if you act quickly The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) noted in a recent alert that some companies are now flagging fraudulent transactions and freezing stolen gift card money so criminals can’t access it. 
  

“With a receipt and swift reporting, funds or partial funds can be recouped,” says Martha Weaver, spokesperson for the Retail Gift Card Association “The sooner you take action, the more likely you are to minimize the damage and protect yourself from further financial harm.”

Reporting tip: “There should be a 1-800 number on the back of the card — call that number,” Weaver says. “Some gift card issuers may have specific procedures for handling fraud claims, so be sure to follow their instructions. If there is not a 1-800 number on the card, go to the company’s website and contact customer service.” 

Also tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.