You got scammed.
Here is exactly who to tell.

Do these first — every scam

1. Stop the bleeding. Call your bank, card, crypto exchange, or payment app the same day. Ask for a recall, freeze, or dispute.
2. File with the FTC. ReportFraud.ftc.gov
3. If it happened online, also file IC3. ic3.gov
4. Local police, non-emergency line. Get a report number. Banks and courts often ask for it.
5. Save everything. Screenshots, emails, wallets, usernames, receipts, bank memos. Do not delete the thread.
6. Ignore recovery scammers. Anyone who DMs you offering to get the money back for a fee is almost always another scam.

Evidence checklist (screenshot this)

• Date you first made contact, and date money left
• Amount and method (wire, Zelle, card, crypto TXID / wallet)
• Names, usernames, phone numbers, emails, URLs
• Bank / card claim number
• Police report number and agency
• FTC ReportFraud confirmation
• IC3 confirmation
• Any regulator number (AG, PDC, SEC, CFPB)

Keep copies off the phone that was used in the scam.

Check the state you are in. Police process, small-claims dollar limits, lawsuit deadlines, and consumer-complaint portals change by state. Find your attorney general at naag.org/find-my-ag, then search that AG site for “file a complaint.” If you are in Washington, open the extras below.

After you file

A report number is not the end of the work. Clocks are running.

How often to follow up

• Bank / card / Zelle / wire / crypto: Same day, then every 2–3 business days until you have a claim number and a written yes/no. After 30 days, ask for a supervisor and a written denial reason.
• Police report: Call the non-emergency line or records unit in 7–10 days if you still do not have the report number. Then monthly if the case is “open.”
• FTC ReportFraud: You usually will not get a detective. File once, keep the confirmation, and add a new report only if new facts appear.
• FBI IC3: Same pattern. Save the IC3 number. Do not pay anyone who claims to be “IC3 recovery.”
• State attorney general / PDC / SEC / CFPB: 2 weeks after filing, then every 30 days. Ask “status, assigned staff, anything else you need from me.”
• Keep a one-page log: date, who you called, badge or ticket number, what they said. That log is what a lawyer, judge, or reporter can use.

Statute of limitations — do not wait this out

A statute of limitations is the deadline to sue. It is not the deadline to report. Report now even if you are unsure about court. Deadlines vary by the state you live in and by claim (fraud, theft, consumer protection, contract). Typical civil windows are often about 2 to 4 years from the loss or from when you reasonably discovered it. Some states are shorter. Look up “[your state] statute of limitations fraud” or ask a local legal-aid clinic. Criminal charging decisions belong to prosecutors.

Treat the clock as already running. If the loss is large, talk to a lawyer in your state before the first anniversary. This site cannot tell you your exact deadline.

Lawyer vs small claims vs regular civil court

• Talk to a lawyer when: the loss is more than your local small-claims cap, there are multiple victims, the person is out of state or overseas, you need discovery (bank records, platform records), or a regulator case is already open. Many bars have a low-cost first consult. Legal aid and crime-victim programs exist in most counties.
• Small claims is built for people without lawyers. Caps are set by state and county — often a few thousand to around $10,000–$20,000. Cheaper filing fee, faster, limited discovery. Good when you can name the person, prove the transfer, and they are in the same state. Winning a judgment is not the same as collecting it.
• Regular civil court is for larger losses, injunctions, or cases that need depositions and third-party records. Higher cost. This is where most people want counsel.
• A police report and FTC/IC3 numbers help both paths. They do not replace a lawsuit if you want a money judgment.

Media — when it helps, how to do it without getting used

Press will not recover your wire. It can pressure a platform, warn the next victim, and put a public-record case in front of an editor. Lead with documents, not anger.

• Local TV / paper: consumer-beat or investigative desk. Marketplace, rental, romance, and grandparent scams in one city.
• State political / campaign reporters: public money, Democracy Vouchers, PACs, fake nonprofits, grant pitches. In Washington that includes outlets that already cover the PDC.
• National consumer desks (and trade press): crypto platforms, impersonation at scale, app-store scams.
• Send 8–12 sentences: who lost what, on what date, which official report numbers you have, what the public record already shows, and one ask (“will you look at this filing”). Attach PDFs. Do not attach your full SSN.
• Never pay a “PR firm” that found you in DMs after you posted about the scam.

Your representatives

Scammers count on victims staying in the maze. Elected offices cannot freeze a wallet, but they can push agencies and write the one-portal rule this country still does not have.

• Find your House member and two Senators at usa.gov/elected-officials. Add your state legislator and city council.
• Ask for: one intake that routes FTC + IC3 + bank/crypto freeze requests; victim status updates; platform liability for paid scam ads.
• Bring the case numbers, not a manifesto. Offer to testify at a local public-safety or consumer hearing.
• Town halls, district offices, and campaign-finance hearings are fair game when public money or a licensed charity was used as the hook.

Sponsors

Fraud Hunter HQ is unpaid public-education work — playbooks, records explainers, and victim navigation. Sponsorship funds hosting, records, filing fees, and time to keep the guides current. It does not buy a case outcome or a news story.

For a named sponsor package, email [email protected] with the tier and your organization. Individuals can also use Buy Me a Coffee or the legal-fund link on the Linktree.

We will not take money from recovery firms, “fund recovery” shops, or anyone selling a miracle unlock of stolen crypto.