It just happened.

1. Don’t enter anything on the page it opened. Close it.
2. If you typed a password anywhere after clicking, change that password now — and everywhere you reuse it.
3. Run your device’s built-in security scan (Windows Security, or a scan from an app store you trust).
4. Watch the relevant account for a few weeks; turn on login alerts if offered.
5. Report the message: forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) and report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Clicking alone is usually survivable — it’s what gets typed afterward that hurts. If you entered card or bank details, jump to that section below.

1. Change that password immediately — from a device the scammer never touched, if possible.
2. Change it everywhere else you use the same or similar password. This is the step people skip; it’s the one that matters most.
3. Turn on two-factor authentication for that account and your email.
4. Check the account’s recovery settings — scammers add their own email or phone as a backdoor. Remove anything you don’t recognize.
5. If it was a bank or investment password, call that institution’s fraud line too.

1. Assume the account that sent the code is being taken over right now. Log in immediately and change the password.
2. If you can’t log in, use the “forgot password” flow right away and reclaim it before they change the recovery details.
3. If the code was from your bank, call the fraud line — a code often means a payment or login was being approved.
4. If it was a phone-carrier code, call your carrier: ask if a SIM swap or number transfer was just requested, and add a port-out PIN.
5. Review recent activity on the account and turn on two-factor authentication.

1. Call the number on the back of the card. Report it compromised; they’ll cancel and reissue.
2. If it was a bank account number and routing number, ask the bank to watch or close/reopen the account.
3. Dispute any charges you didn’t make — card disputes strongly favor you; act within your statement cycle.
4. Freeze your credit at all three bureaus (free, 15 minutes): Equifax 888-378-4329, Experian 888-397-3742, TransUnion 800-916-8800.
5. Watch statements closely for two cycles — small “test” charges come first.

1. Call your bank’s fraud line immediately and say the words “I need a wire recall.” Recalls sometimes succeed in the first hours; they rarely succeed after a day.
2. File at ic3.gov the same day — the FBI’s Financial Fraud Kill Chain can sometimes freeze funds on large recent wires.
3. For Zelle/Venmo/Cash App: report the payment as fraud inside the app AND to your bank.
4. Save everything — messages, receipts, account numbers you sent to. Screenshots now; they disappear later.
5. Report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and ignore anyone who contacts you promising recovery for a fee — that’s the same scammers coming back.

1. Find the cards and receipts. Call the gift-card company now — Apple: 800-275-2273 · Google Play: 855-466-4438 · Amazon: 888-280-4331 · Target: 800-544-2943 · Walmart: 888-537-5503. Fast calls occasionally freeze remaining balances.
2. Ask the store where you bought them if a refund is possible on unspent cards.
3. Keep the physical cards and receipts as evidence.
4. Report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
5. Be kind to yourself. Gift-card scams are engineered to keep you on the phone and off-balance — this works on sharp people every single day.

1. Stop all further payments — especially “fees to unlock your withdrawal.” Every additional payment is lost.
2. File at ic3.gov with wallet addresses, transaction IDs, amounts, and dates. This is the report that matters for crypto.
3. If you used an exchange (Coinbase, Kraken, etc.), report the fraud to them — they can flag destination wallets.
4. Save every message and screenshot of the platform before it disappears.
5. Treat any “crypto recovery service” that contacts you as a scam. Only law enforcement recovers crypto, and they never charge.

1. Disconnect it from the internet now — unplug the cable or turn off Wi-Fi.
2. From a different device, change your email and banking passwords.
3. Call your bank if you ever use that computer for banking — ask them to watch the account.
4. Uninstall anything they had you install (AnyDesk, TeamViewer, UltraViewer are common), and run a full security scan. When in doubt, have a local shop you chose wipe it.
5. If they showed you a “refund” and asked for gift cards or a return payment — that was theater; see the gift-card section above.

1. Freeze your credit at all three bureaus — free, and the single strongest lock: Equifax 888-378-4329 · Experian 888-397-3742 · TransUnion 800-916-8800.
2. Go to IdentityTheft.gov — the FTC builds you a personal recovery plan.
3. If Medicare numbers were shared, call 1-800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227) and watch statements for services you didn’t receive.
4. File your taxes early next season — it beats fraudsters to your refund.
5. Watch bank and credit card statements for two cycles.

1. Try the provider’s account-recovery page immediately (search “[provider] account recovery”). Speed beats the scammer changing your backup email.
2. Once in: change the password, remove unknown recovery emails/phones and connected devices, and turn on two-factor authentication.
3. Email first, always — it’s the master key to your other accounts. Secure it before anything else.
4. Warn your contacts: the scammer may already be messaging them “stranded, need money” in your name.
5. Check for auto-forwarding rules in email settings — scammers add them to keep reading your mail after you change the password.

This is the hardest one, because part of what you feel is real — your part was always real. That’s not foolishness; that’s being a person.

1. Don’t announce anything to them yet. Just pause all money — “my bank froze my account” works fine as a reason.
2. Reverse-image-search their photos and reread the money requests with fresh eyes, or with one trusted person.
3. Talk to someone before deciding anything: the AARP Fraud Watch Helpline 877-908-3360 is free, kind, and has heard every version of this story.
4. If money moved, work the wire/gift-card/crypto sections above — without shame. This crime has professional scripts and full-time practitioners.
5. Expect grief. It’s a real loss, and treating it as one is how people come out whole.

1. Lead with the money, not the argument: if funds are moving, help them call the bank’s fraud line first. Debate later.
2. Never say “How could you fall for this?” Say “These are professionals — this happens to sharp people every day.” You need them talking, not defending.
3. Work the relevant section above together, with them holding the phone wherever possible — dignity is protective.
4. If they’re not ready to hear it (common in romance scams), stay close, stay kind, and call 877-908-3360 (AARP) or 833-372-8311 (DOJ Elder Justice) for coaching on next moves.
5. Afterward, set up the protections as a family — safe word, pause-before-payment rule: the Family Scam-Safety Plan.