How to Report an Online Scam to the FTC

If you have just been scammed, the order of what you do next matters more than you would think. One step is urgent, the rest can wait an hour.

Getting scammed online is disorienting, and the instinct is either to freeze or to fire off angry messages to the scammer. Neither helps. What actually helps is knowing where to report an online scam, in what order, and what each report can and cannot do. The reporting system in the United States is more useful than its reputation suggests, but only if you understand what it is built to do, which is catch patterns rather than chase down your individual case.

Here is the practical sequence, starting with the one thing that is genuinely time-sensitive.

The Short Version

If you sent money, contact your bank or card issuer first, because the window to claw funds back can close within hours. Then report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and if you lost money or it involved crypto or wire transfers, also file with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov. Neither agency resolves cases one by one. Your report joins a database that helps build larger investigations.

First, If You Sent Money

Before any government form, handle the money. If you paid a scammer by bank transfer, debit or credit card, or wire, call your bank or card issuer immediately and tell them the payment was fraudulent. Recovery often depends on speed, and for some payment methods the realistic window to reverse or freeze a transfer is measured in hours, not days.

The payment method matters. Card payments carry the strongest consumer protections and are the most reversible. Bank transfers, wires, gift cards, and crypto are much harder to recover, which is exactly why scammers push for them. If you paid by gift card, contact the card’s issuer too, since some can freeze the funds if they have not been drained. This is the step people skip while they are busy filing reports, and it is the one with a clock on it.

Where to Report an Online Scam

Once the money is handled, reporting is straightforward. There are two main federal front doors, and for an online scam it is worth using both.

• The FTC, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. This is the primary consumer fraud intake. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes, and you can file anonymously. The report feeds the FTC’s consumer fraud database.
• The FBI, at IC3.gov. The Internet Crime Complaint Center is the FBI’s cybercrime intake. File here if you lost money, or the scam involved cryptocurrency, wire fraud, or business email compromise, using the IC3 complaint form.

Filing with both is not redundant. The two agencies feed different systems, so a report in both places roughly doubles the chance your details connect to an active investigation. If the scam also impersonated a specific company or bank, tell that company directly, and consider a report to your state attorney general.

What Happens After You Report

This is the part that disappoints people, so it is better to know it going in. In almost all cases, neither the FTC nor the FBI will investigate your individual complaint or get your money back for you. That is not what the reports are for.

Your report is aggregated with others. The FTC’s intake flows into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a database shared with more than 2,800 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. When enough reports point at the same scammer or scheme, that pattern becomes the basis for investigations, lawsuits, injunctions, and asset freezes. So a single report rarely helps the person who filed it. Thousands of reports about the same operation are how that operation eventually gets shut down. Filing is a civic act as much as a personal one, and it genuinely works at scale.

What to Gather Before You File

A report is more useful, and faster to complete, if you have the details ready. Pull these together first:

1. The scammer’s contact details: phone numbers, email addresses, usernames, and any website URLs.
2. Payment information: how much you paid, the method, dates, and any transaction or confirmation numbers.
3. The messages: screenshots of texts, emails, chats, or listings, saved before you delete or block anything.
4. A short timeline: how the contact started, what was promised, and what happened.

Screenshots matter most, because blocking a scammer often erases the evidence. Capture the conversation before you cut them off.

How to Protect Yourself Going Forward

If the scam exposed personal information as well as money, treat it as a potential identity-theft problem too. A few steps limit the damage:

• If Social Security numbers, logins, or financial details were exposed, start a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov, the FTC’s dedicated identity-theft site.
• Consider a free credit freeze with the three major credit bureaus, which blocks new accounts from being opened in your name.
• Change passwords on any affected accounts and turn on two-factor authentication where you can.
• Watch for the follow-up scam. Victims are often targeted again by a fake “recovery service” that promises to get the money back for a fee. That is another scam.

This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. Reporting processes and consumer protections vary by situation and can change, so confirm current steps with the relevant agency, your bank, or a qualified professional.

What To Know

• If you sent money, contact your bank or card issuer first, since recovery windows can close within hours.
• Report online scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and to the FBI’s IC3 if money, crypto, or wire fraud was involved.
• Filing with both agencies improves the odds your report connects to an active case.
• Neither agency resolves individual complaints; reports are pooled to build larger investigations.
• If personal data was exposed, use IdentityTheft.gov and consider a credit freeze, and beware fake recovery services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I report an online scam?

Report to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov if you lost money or the scam involved cryptocurrency or wire transfers. For an online scam, filing with both is recommended.

Will the FTC get my money back?

Usually not directly. The FTC does not investigate individual complaints or recover funds case by case. It pools reports in the Consumer Sentinel Network to identify and pursue larger fraud operations. To recover money, act fast with your bank or card issuer.

What should I do first after being scammed?

If you paid a scammer, contact your bank or card issuer immediately, before filing government reports, because the window to reverse or freeze a payment can be very short. Then gather evidence and file your reports.

Can I report a scam anonymously?

Yes. The FTC’s ReportFraud.ftc.gov allows anonymous filing. Providing contact details can help if an agency needs follow-up, but it is not required to submit a report.

What information do I need to report a scam?

Gather the scammer’s contact details and any website URLs, the amount and method of payment with dates and transaction numbers, screenshots of the messages, and a short timeline of what happened. Capture screenshots before blocking the scammer.

What To Do Next

The reporting system is not built to rescue one victim, and knowing that up front changes how you use it. Handle the money first, because that is where the clock is. Then file with the FTC and the FBI, not because either will call you back, but because your report is one of the data points that eventually takes a scam operation down. It is a small act with a slow, real payoff, and the ten minutes it takes are worth spending. For more consumer guidance, see ShoutPost’s Law and Finance & Money sections.