Scammers will often:

• PRETEND to be from an agency or organization you know.
• Say there’s a PROBLEM or promise a PRIZE.
• PRESSURE you to act immediately.
• Tell you to PAY in a specific way.
• Will call you and their caller ID says they are a bank or another legitimate company and ask for money.

If you paid a scammer, your rights depend on whether you sent money or someone else used your info to send money without your permission, how the money was sent, and how soon you let your bank know that the transaction was due to fraud or was “unauthorized”. The best thing you can do now is act fast to report the fraud to your bank, and to government agencies that regulate your bank.

Immediately contact your bank to report unauthorized transactions induced by fraud. Ask them to reverse the transaction and give you your money bank.

Be sure to use contact information for your bank that you have on your account statements or the back of a credit (or debit) card, and not something you received from the scammer!

For example, scammers are able to call your cell phone and have the caller ID say the name of a legitimate bank and ask for your account information saying that they detect fraud on your account. Banks almost never call you if they detect fraud; they usually freeze the card or account and wait for you to call them.

If this happens to you, someone calling you saying they are a bank and they detect fraud, you should tell the person that you are going to hang up and call the bank’s phone number on an account statement or the back of your credit/debit card.

Follow up with a letter to your bank. In the letter be sure to include:

• Your name,
• account info,
• a list of what transactions were not authorized,
• a short statement that you did not authorize these transactions.

Keep a copy of your letter and proof that you mailed it, such as mailing it registered or certified.

**Did you already receive a contract with a notice that you have a right to cancel? If yes, follow these instructions to cancel ASAP and keep records that you did so. If no, do not contact the scammer for any reason.

Complain early and often to various government agencies. Report the scam and keep copies of reports.

• If the scam was online, report it to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
• If the scam involved the mail, report to the USPIS online or call 877-876-2455.
• If the scammer took or used your information or sent money without your permission, report to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
• If the scammer convinced you to send money, report the scam to the FTC.
• Report to the New York State Attorney General or call 1-800-771-7755
• Report to the New York State Department of Financial Services or call 1-800-697-1220
• If your bank does not cooperate in refunding you your money, complain to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or call 855-411-2372

• Make new passwords for accounts the scammer may have accessed. · Check your credit reports for free at annualcreditreport.com and dispute anything you do not recognize.
• Review other steps from your FTC report.
• AVOID debt relief and credit repair companies. Instead, work with a NYC Free Financial counselor or call 311 and request a free financial counselor to make an appointment.

The AARP has information about some common, specific scams. Check out their website for information about:

• Business impersonation scams,
• Romance scams,
• Shopping scams,
• Service and car scams,
• Charity scams,
• Government and celebrity imposter scams,
• Investment and tax scams,
• Real estate and home-related scams, and
• Gambling, travel, and entertainment scams.

The information in this document has been prepared by The Legal Aid Society for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. You should not act upon any information without retaining professional legal counsel