Been scammed? What to do now, step by step

Ring your bank first. The rest of this page can wait an hour; this cannot.

1. 1

   Step 1: Ring your bank or card provider

   Use the number on the back of your card, or the one on your bank's own website or app. Never use a number the scammer gave you, or one from the message. Say you have been scammed, and ask them to stop any more payments.

   An Garda Síochána says to tell your bank immediately, “to minimise any financial loss to you.” These banks publish a fraud line that is open around the clock:

   • Bank of Ireland

     Freephone, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Bank's own page

     1800 946 764

   • AIB

     24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Bank's own page

     1800 24 22 27

   • PTSB

     Fraud department, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Bank's own page

     01 669 5851

   • A credit union

     Contact your own credit union directly, using the number on its own website, your card or a statement.

   • Any other bank or card

     Ring the number on the back of your card, or the one on the bank's own website or app.

   Each number above was checked on the bank's own website on 6 October 2026. If it ever differs from the number on your card, use the one on your card.

   Sources: garda.ie: Fraud; FraudSMART; Bank of Ireland; AIB; PTSB; Irish League of Credit Unions

2. 2

   Step 2: Stop any more money going

   Ask your bank to block your card, or freeze it yourself in your banking app if it lets you. Send no more money, whatever reason you are given.

   Stop talking to the scammer. Do not reply to their texts, emails or calls, and block their number. Take screenshots first (step 6).

   Sources: CCPC: If you've been scammed; CCPC: Chargeback

3. 3

   Step 3: If you gave a password, PIN or code

   Tell your bank on the same call if you shared your online banking login, your card details, a PIN or a one-time code. Then change your online banking password, and the password of your email and of any account that used the same password. Turn on two-step login (a code sent to your phone) where you can.

   Sources: Bank of Ireland; CCPC: If you've been scammed

4. 4

   Step 4: If someone got into your computer or phone

   If you were asked to download an app so someone could “help” or “fix” something, they may still be able to see and control your device. FraudSMART's advice: “disconnect your internet, power off your device, and call your bank immediately.”

   Turn off the Wi-Fi or pull out the cable, switch the device off, and use a different phone or computer to ring your bank and change your passwords. Run a security check on the device, or have it checked, before you use it for banking again.

   Sources: FraudSMART; CCPC: If you've been scammed

Once the bank knows, ask about getting the money back, keep the evidence, and report it.

5. 5

   Step 5: Ask your bank about getting the money back

   If you paid by card (debit or credit), ask for a chargeback. The CCPC explains it as a process where your card provider “can reverse the transaction and return your money”, for example when you did not authorise the payment or the goods never came. Time limits are set by the card scheme: in most cases, the CCPC says, up to 90 to 120 days. A credit card may give you more protection than a debit card or a transfer.

   If you sent a bank transfer, ask your bank to try to get it back from the bank it went to. AIB, for example, says it will “attempt to recover the payment from the receiving bank on a best efforts basis.”

   Getting money back is not guaranteed. The CCPC still says to report the scam “even if recovery is unlikely”. If the bank says no, see If your bank says no.

   Sources: CCPC: Chargeback; CCPC: If you've been scammed; AIB

6. 6

   Step 6: Keep the evidence

   Do not delete anything. Take screenshots and write down:

   • the messages, emails, adverts or web pages
   • the phone numbers, email addresses, names and website addresses used
   • the dates, times and amounts, and the account or card each payment came from

   An Garda Síochána asks you to keep anything that would help the investigation, and to bring copies of emails, account details and the advert or online post when you report.

   Sources: CCPC: If you've been scammed; garda.ie: Fraud; garda.ie: Cyber crime

7. 7

   Step 7: Report it to An Garda Síochána

   Report it at your local Garda station, or any Garda station. You can ring the station or go in. garda.ie: fraud “should be reported to your local Garda station who can investigate the matter on your behalf.”

   There is no online form for reporting fraud. The only crime garda.ie takes online is the theft of property worth €1,000 or less. And 999 or 112 is for emergencies only, as above.

   After you report, garda.ie says you should get a letter with the name of the investigating Garda and a PULSE incident number. Keep it. Gardaí say they “will listen, give guidance and support, and treat you with dignity and respect.”

   Find your Garda station

   More on how reporting works: How to report a crime in Ireland.

   Sources: garda.ie: Fraud; garda.ie: Reporting a crime; garda.ie: Declare a theft; garda.ie: Station directory

8. 8

   Step 8: Tell the organisation they pretended to be

   If the scammer said they were your bank, An Post, Revenue, your phone company or anyone else, tell that organisation. Find its contact details yourself, on its own website. garda.ie: “never use the contact details supplied to you by the caller or texter.”

   If your email or a social media account was taken over, tell that company too, so it can keep the evidence and stop further harm.

   Source: garda.ie: Fraud

The money side is with your bank and the Gardaí now. These steps protect you from what can come next.

9. 9

   Step 9: Keep checking your statements

   Look through your bank and card statements for payments you did not make, and ring your bank straight away about any you do not recognise.

   Sources: CCPC: If you've been scammed; CCPC: Chargeback

10. 10

    Step 10: Tell someone you trust

    Tell a family member or a friend what happened. You do not have to sort this out alone, and they can help you with the calls. As FraudSMART puts it: “Don't be afraid to ask for help if something goes wrong.”

    Source: FraudSMART

11. 11

    Step 11: Watch out for a second scam: the “recovery” offer

    The Central Bank of Ireland warns: “If you have been a victim of a scam or fraud, you are likely to be targeted again.” It can come weeks or years later, usually as an offer to get your money back for a fee. Its advice: “Do not send them any more of your money.”

    How the recovery scam works, and who to tell

    Source: Central Bank of Ireland

12. 12

    Step 12: If you gave your PPS number

    Contact the Department of Social Protection's Client Identity Services, the section that manages PPS numbers. gov.ie lists it as the contact for any query about your PPS number:

    0818 927 999071 967 2616

    If the message pretended to be from MyWelfare, the Department also asks you to report it: by email to [email protected], or by phone to MyWelfare on 0818 625 625, the number gov.ie lists for it.

    Sources: gov.ie: PPS number; MyWelfare; gov.ie: Social Welfare Phone Numbers

13. 13

    Step 13: Report it where it happened

    If the scam came through a website or app (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, an online marketplace or a buy-and-sell site), report the advert, profile or message there too, using its own report button. garda.ie asks you to report at your Garda station “and also use the online reporting service of the website or forum on which you were scammed.”

    If it was an advert on a platform and the platform does not act, the CCPC says you can take it further to Coimisiún na Meán or the CCPC.

    Sources: garda.ie: Cyber crime; CCPC: If you've been scammed

Being scammed is upsetting. There are people you can talk to, and a route to follow if your bank says no.