What to do right after you've been scammed
It happens to careful people. What you do in the first hour matters most, and there is no shame in acting fast.
In the first hour
- Stop contact. Do not reply, send more money or follow new instructions, even if the person turns friendly or threatens you.
- Call your bank or e-wallet through its official app or hotline, not a number from the scammer. Tell them what happened and ask them to secure or freeze the account and flag the transaction. Banks and e-wallets can act faster the sooner they hear.
- Change your passwords, starting with email, then banking and e-wallets, and log out of all other devices. If you installed an app on a caller’s request, uninstall it.
- Keep evidence. Take screenshots of chats, numbers, links and payment receipts. Write down dates, amounts and reference numbers. Do not delete the conversation.
Report it
- In the Philippines: report to your bank or e-wallet first. GCash, for example, has a “Report a scam” process in its Help Center, and it advises reporting to the authorities (PNP or NBI) as well. The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) is another place to start, and the NTC handles complaints about text scams.
- In Singapore: make a police report, and use ScamShield’s official channels at scamalert.sg.
- Tell the platform where it happened (Facebook, Shopee, Telegram and so on) so the account can be removed.
Links open each organization’s main website. Look for its complaints or contact page.
Beware of “recovery” scams
After a scam, people often get messages from someone claiming they can get the money back for a fee. That is usually the same scammers or a copycat. Only your bank, e-wallet and the authorities can act on your case, and none of them will ask you to pay a stranger.
Tell people you trust
Tell your family and friends what happened and how the scam worked. It protects them, and it helps you, because scammers rely on shame to keep their victims quiet.
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Last reviewed 17 Oct 2026.