What to Do If You've Been Scammed

Being scammed is one of the most disorienting experiences a person can have. The shame is immediate and overwhelming. The instinct is to hide what happened — from family, from friends, from the bank, from the police. That instinct is understandable, and it is exactly what scammers count on. The silence that follows a successful scam is as valuable to the fraudster as the money itself, because it prevents reporting, delays recovery, and protects them from consequences.

This guide is not about blame. Scammers are professionals. They study human psychology, they rehearse their scripts, they work in organized teams, and they target people at moments of vulnerability. The fact that a scam worked does not reflect on your intelligence. It reflects on the sophistication of the people who designed it. What matters now is what you do next — and the first 48 hours are the most important.

**Step 1: Stop all contact immediately.** If you are still in communication with the person who scammed you — by phone, text, email, or social media — stop responding now. Do not tell them you know it was a scam. Do not try to recover your money by engaging further. Do not send any additional payments, gift cards, cryptocurrency, or personal information. Any further contact gives them additional opportunities to exploit you, and in some cases they will attempt a 'recovery scam' — posing as a law enforcement agency or recovery service that claims to be able to get your money back, for a fee.

**Step 2: Secure your accounts.** If you gave the scammer access to any accounts — banking, email, social media, or devices — act immediately. Change your passwords, starting with your email (which is the master key to most other accounts). Enable two-factor authentication on every account that offers it. If you gave remote access to your computer, disconnect from the internet and contact a trusted IT professional or your device manufacturer's support line. If you shared your banking credentials or SIN, contact your bank's fraud line directly — not through a number the scammer gave you.

**Step 3: Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.** The CAFC (1-888-495-8501 or antifraudcentre.ca) is Canada's central repository for fraud reports. Reporting does several things: it creates an official record, it contributes to national fraud intelligence that helps identify and disrupt organized fraud networks, and it may be required by your bank or insurance company as part of a recovery claim. You do not need to have lost money to report — attempted fraud is reportable and valuable data. The CAFC is not a law enforcement agency and cannot investigate individual cases, but your report feeds into investigations that do.

**Step 4: Contact your bank immediately.** If money has left your account, call your bank's fraud line as soon as possible. Banks have fraud recovery processes, but time is critical — the faster you report, the better the chance of intercepting a transfer before it clears. Be honest about exactly what happened. Banks deal with fraud daily and their fraud teams are not there to judge you. Ask specifically about chargeback options if you paid by credit card, and ask what documentation they need to open a fraud claim. If you paid by wire transfer or e-transfer, recovery is harder but not always impossible — report immediately regardless.

**Step 5: Report to local police.** File a report with your local police service. In most cases, police will not be able to investigate individual fraud cases — the resources simply do not exist — but a police report number is important documentation for insurance claims, bank fraud recovery processes, and your own records. In cases involving identity theft, a police report is often required before credit bureaus will place a fraud alert on your file.

**Step 6: Protect your identity.** If the scammer obtained your Social Insurance Number, date of birth, passport number, or other identity documents, contact the relevant agencies. For SIN compromise, contact Service Canada. For passport, contact Passport Canada. Place a fraud alert with both Canadian credit bureaus — Equifax Canada (1-800-465-7166) and TransUnion Canada (1-800-663-9980). A fraud alert requires lenders to take extra steps to verify identity before opening new accounts in your name. Monitor your credit reports for any accounts or inquiries you don't recognize.

**Step 7: Tell someone you trust.** This is the step most people skip, and it is one of the most important. Isolation after a scam is dangerous — it deepens shame, delays recovery, and leaves you without support. You do not have to tell everyone, but tell one person you trust. Not because you need to be rescued, but because carrying this alone is harder than it needs to be, and because the people who love you would want to know. If the shame feels too heavy to talk to someone in your life, the Victim Services unit at your local police service can connect you with support resources.

**A note on recovery scams.** After a fraud, many victims are targeted a second time by 'recovery scammers' — people posing as law enforcement, government agencies, or private recovery firms who claim they can retrieve your lost funds for an upfront fee. They are not real. No legitimate agency charges upfront fees to recover fraud losses. If anyone contacts you after a scam offering to help you recover your money, treat it as a second scam — because it almost certainly is.

Being scammed does not define you. It happens to people of every age, education level, and profession — including people who work in fraud prevention. What matters is what you do next. Report it. Secure your accounts. Tell someone. And know that the patterns that made you vulnerable are human patterns, not personal failures. The goal now is recovery — and recovery starts with the first step.