What to do after a suspected fraud

In simple terms

Discovering that you have been defrauded is frightening, and the instinct is often to freeze, hide it or try one more payment to get the money back. The most useful thing you can do is the opposite: stop, act quickly and in order, and tell the right people.

Some money is recovered, especially when it is reported fast. Some is not. Either way, the steps below limit further losses, give the authorities what they need, and protect you from the second scam that often follows the first.

The first hour

1. Stop all payments. Do not send anything more, whatever you are told about withdrawal fees, taxes, penalties, "account upgrades" or the risk of losing everything. These demands are part of the fraud.
2. Call your bank using the number on its official website or the back of your card. Report the transactions as fraud and ask what can be blocked or held. If cards or net banking may be compromised, ask the bank to block them.
3. Report to the national cybercrime helpline or reporting portal. Reporting quickly gives the best chance that money still moving between accounts can be traced and held. Keep the complaint reference number. Find the current helpline number and portal on the government's official cybercrime website, and save them in your phone today, before you ever need them.
4. If your trading or demat account is involved, contact your broker through its official channels and ask it to block the account while you investigate.

The first day

Save the evidence before it disappears. Fraudsters delete groups, change numbers and take down apps.

• Screenshots of chats, group names and member lists, profiles and adverts.
• The app's name, where you downloaded it, and screenshots of its screens.
• Every payment: date, amount, transaction reference, and the account or payment ID you paid.
• Phone numbers, email addresses, websites and any documents you were sent.
• A short written timeline of what happened, while you remember it clearly.

Secure your accounts and devices, especially if you shared a login, an OTP or screen access.

• Uninstall any screen-sharing or remote-access app, and any app you were asked to install.
• Change passwords for your email, banking and trading accounts, from a device you trust.
• Log out of all sessions and turn on two-factor authentication, as the impersonation and phishing lesson describes.
• Check your demat holdings, recent contract notes and bank statements for anything you did not do.

File a police complaint if your bank or the cybercrime report asks for one, or if there were threats, identity theft or large losses. Take your evidence and reference numbers.

The first week

• Follow up with your bank and the cybercrime report, quoting your reference numbers.
• If a registered firm was involved, such as a broker whose systems were misused, complain to it and escalate as described in the investor complaints lesson.
• Report the accounts and groups to the platform where you met the fraudsters, so others are warned.
• Tell family and friends. Fraudsters often target a victim's contacts next, sometimes using the victim's own name.

Recovery scams

People who have lost money are targeted again. Soon after a fraud, or after posting about it online, victims are contacted by "recovery agents", "lawyers", "cyber cell officers" or even people claiming to be from SEBI or a court, offering to get the money back for an upfront fee. Some send official-looking letters or fake court orders.

Genuine authorities do not contact you offering recovery for a fee, and they do not ask you to pay to have a crime investigated. Treat any unsolicited recovery offer as a second fraud.

Why it matters

The first hours after a fraud decide how much more you lose and whether anything can be traced. Panic, shame and hope push people towards the wrong steps: paying again, waiting, or trusting a recovery offer. A clear order of actions, decided in advance, makes the right steps easier when it matters.

Limitations

There is no guarantee that lost money will be recovered, even with fast reporting; much depends on how quickly the money was moved and where. Helpline numbers, portals and procedures can change, which is why this lesson tells you where to find them rather than listing them. This lesson is general information, not legal advice. For large losses, consider consulting a lawyer.

Common mistakes

• Paying a "withdrawal fee" to release money shown in a fake app.
• Waiting out of embarrassment. Fraud is a crime against you; reporting is what victims are expected to do.
• Deleting the chats in anger before saving them.
• Keeping the remote-access app installed.
• Paying a recovery agent. It doubles the loss.

Try it yourself

Prepare now, so you never have to search under stress:

1. Find the national cybercrime helpline number and reporting portal on the official government website, and save both in your phone.
2. Save your bank's and your broker's official fraud reporting numbers.
3. Write a one-line note to yourself: "If I am defrauded: stop paying, call the bank, report, save evidence."
4. Share these with an older relative or anyone you know who has started investing.