Sometimes it can be stopped and sometimes it can’t, and what decides it is usually how quickly the right company hears about it. The right company depends on how the money left. Find the way it was paid below, call that one first, and ask for the specific thing listed.
When a message worries you, check with the company yourself — using a number you already know is genuine. The back of your card, a statement, an app you already had installed, or their address typed in by hand. Not the number in the message, and not a search result that merely looks like them.
A transfer or wire from your bank
Call the bank’s fraud line and ask whether it can still be recalled.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center says to ask the bank for a recall and a “hold harmless” letter, and that doing it “as quickly as possible may reduce or eliminate your financial losses.” The FTC’s version is the same request in plainer words: report the fraudulent transfer and “ask if they can reverse the wire transfer and give you your money back.”
If the wire went to another country, federal rules generally allow it to be cancelled free of charge within 30 minutes of paying, as long as the money hasn’t been picked up or deposited, according to the CFPB. For a wire inside the US, the CFPB names no such window, so the call is worth making today.
Sources: FBI IC3: Elder fraud; FTC: What to know if you wire money; CFPB: What is a remittance transfer and what are my rights?. Checked on September 26, 2026.
A wire through a transfer service
Call that service directly, not your bank and ask whether it can still be stopped or refunded.
Call the company itself. Western Union’s US fraud line is 1-800-448-1492, and it says: “If the transfer has not been paid, then we can stop the transaction and refund your money.” MoneyGram asks for a call to its Customer Care Center, 1-800-933-3278, “to have the transaction canceled immediately” if the money hasn’t been received yet.
Once the money has been picked up, both are candid about the odds. MoneyGram: “wiring money is like sending cash. When you send it, it’s gone.” Western Union says each reported case is reviewed “to determine if a refund will be permitted.” The FTC still says to ask for the transfer to be reversed: “It’s unlikely to happen, but it’s important to ask.”
Sources: Western Union: Report fraud; MoneyGram: Fraud and safety; FTC: How to spot, avoid, and report fake check scams. Checked on September 26, 2026.
A debit or credit card
Call the card issuer and ask them to dispute the charge and freeze the card.
On a credit card, the FTC says federal law limits your responsibility for unauthorized charges to $50, and that a written billing dispute should reach the issuer within 60 days after the first bill with the error was sent.
On a debit card, the CFPB says the bank must be told no later than 60 days after it sends the statement showing an unauthorized transaction, and that the bank then generally has ten business days to investigate. The CFPB describes “unauthorized” as a charge “you didn’t make or allow,” so a payment she was talked into making may be treated differently. Call anyway, and let the bank say what it can do.
Sources: FTC: Using credit cards and disputing charges; CFPB: How do I get my money back after an unauthorized transaction?. Checked on September 26, 2026.
Gift cards
Call the company that issued the card, with the numbers on the back to hand and ask whether the funds can still be frozen.
The FTC’s advice: use the number on the back of the card, “tell them that a scammer tricked you into giving them the card number and PIN,” and ask for the money back. Keep the card and the receipt, and tell the store where the card was bought, too.
“No matter how long ago the scam happened, report it,” the FTC says, adding that “some companies are helping stop gift card scams and might give your money back. It’s worth asking.” Its gift card page lists the fraud contacts for the common card brands.
Sources: FTC: What to do if you were scammed; FTC: Avoiding and reporting gift card scams; FTC: How to spot, avoid, and report fake check scams. Checked on September 26, 2026.
A payment app
Call the app’s support, and the bank or card behind it and ask whether the payment can be reversed.
Zelle: call the bank or credit union, not Zelle. Zelle’s own help center says its payments “cannot be reversed” once the person receiving them is enrolled, and that “qualifying imposter scams may be eligible for reimbursement” — it points you to your bank’s customer support for that.
Venmo: contact its support in the app (Me, then Settings, then Get Help). Venmo says an unauthorized payment should be reported “at once,” and its Purchase Protection does not cover payments that weren’t tagged as goods and services.
Cash App: open the payment in the Activity tab and choose Report an issue. Cash App says payments from one Cash App account to another “usually can’t be canceled,” though the person who received one can refund it.
PayPal: report it through PayPal’s Resolution Center. PayPal’s Purchase Protection excludes personal payments sent as friends and family, and PayPal says a payment funded by a card may carry the card’s own dispute rights, which “may be broader.”
Sources: FTC: What to do if you were scammed; Zelle: Help center; Venmo: Common scams on Venmo; Venmo: Dispute filing timeframes; Venmo: Purchase Protection; Cash App: Recognize scams and unauthorized activity; Cash App: Cancel a payment; PayPal: Buyer protection. Checked on September 26, 2026.
Crypto
Call the exchange or service you sent it through and ask whether the transfer can still be stopped.
The FTC says to contact the exchange or crypto ATM operator immediately and ask them to reverse the transaction, while warning that crypto payments “typically are not reversible” and “do not come with legal protections.”
Report it to the FBI at ic3.gov without waiting, with the wallet addresses, the amounts, the transaction IDs (hashes) and the times. And be wary of anyone offering to recover the money for a fee: the FBI says it “does not work with any non-law enforcement entity, such as law firms or crypto services, to recuperate lost funds”.
Sources: FTC: What to do if you were scammed; FTC: What to know about cryptocurrency and scams; FBI IC3: Cryptocurrency; FBI IC3: Home. Checked on September 26, 2026.
A check or money order
Call your bank for a check, or the company that issued the money order and ask whether payment can still be stopped.
For a personal check, the CFPB says to “contact your bank or credit union right away if you want to stop payment on a check,” and that the bank may charge a fee for it. Most states, it adds, have laws that keep a check from being cashed for six months if the stop-payment request is made in writing before the check has been completely processed.
For a money order, the FTC says to “contact the company that issued the money order right away to see if you can stop payment,” and, if it went by US mail, to call the Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455 to try to stop delivery.
If she deposited a check from the scammer and sent money back, the FTC warns that “fake checks can take weeks to be discovered,” and that the bank can ask for that money back — so tell the bank now.
Sources: CFPB: How do I stop payment on a check?; FTC: How to spot, avoid, and report fake check scams. Checked on September 26, 2026.
Then report it
The FTC takes reports at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and says it uses them to build cases against scammers, spot trends and educate the public.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center takes reports at ic3.gov, and says you can file on behalf of someone else. Save a copy before you close the page: the IC3 says that is the only time you can keep one, and that you won’t hear back from it, because it doesn’t investigate cases itself. For someone 60 or older, the National Elder Fraud Hotline, (833) 372-8311, helps with filing.
The CFPB also suggests your state attorney general, and your local police or sheriff’s office on its non-emergency number. For services for older adults and the people caring for them, the FTC points to the Eldercare Locator.
Sources: FTC: What to do if you were scammed; FBI IC3: FAQ; FBI IC3: Elder fraud; CFPB: Who do I contact for help with a scam or fraud?; FTC: Pass It On. Checked on September 26, 2026.
Watch for the second call
The FBI warns to be wary of cryptocurrency recovery services, “especially those charging an up-front fee,” and says it does not work with law firms or crypto services to recover lost money. Anyone who calls offering to get the money back for a fee is worth hanging up on.
Sources: FBI IC3: Cryptocurrency; FBI IC3: Home. Checked on September 26, 2026.
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