I Paid the Scammer Using Bank Transfer / Wire
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If you were the victim of a fraud and you paid via direct wire or bank transfer, your bank and/or law enforcement might be able to help you get your money back.
- The first step is to inform your bank about the fraudulent transaction. Use your personal contact or e-channels (ebanking) or the dedicated bank hotline to inform them as soon as possible. Time matters.
- The second immediate step is to file a criminal complaint with the relevant police or law enforcement agency at your place of residence.
- You can report at no cost with our Partner CYBERA. CYBERA is a technology startup company that automates the filing of the relevant complaints globally on your behalf, further increasing the chances to secure stolen funds. More information is available on their website: www.cybera.io.
In any case, gather all the evidence you possess in relation to the scam including chats, emails, messages, and any kind of interaction you had with the scammer. Make sure to send this information to your bank, the police (and/or CYBERA) as soon as possible explaining the whole situation. If you act quickly enough, it might be possible to stop the transaction from going ahead or block and recover already transferred funds.
Alternatively, you can use the following template for sending an email to your bank:
[Your address]
Dear Sir/Madam,
Reference: [Insert account number and any previous complaint reference numbers if applicable.]
On [enter date], I contacted you after being targeted by fraudsters who stole [enter amount] from my account.
[Explain here what happened - include if you can:
Date
Time
Chronological order of what happened, eg. you got a text from your bank warning you about an unknown transaction
The exact wording of any texts sent to you
The bank account number your money was sent to
When you contacted your bank and what you were told]
I did not authorize these transactions as I did not know I was talking to a fraudster. The money was taken without my knowledge or consent.
I, therefore, expect you to deal with my complaint according to the rules on unauthorized transactions, which state that unless you can prove I acted with gross negligence, you should reimburse me for this unauthorized transfer.
I urge you to reimburse me for my losses of [amount you lost here] and provide your confirmation regarding the same.
If you do not uphold my complaint, I request you send me your final response so that I can take further steps as appropriate.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
However, even after asking your bank for a refund, we cannot guarantee that you will get a refund as the right to chargeback does not apply to wire transfers.
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