No legitimate service can guarantee it will get your money or account back for an up-front fee.

“recovery scheme fraudsters charge an up-front fee and either cease communication with the victim after receiving an initial deposit or produce an incomplete or inaccurate tracing report and request additional fees to recover funds.”

Never pay an up-front fee

FBI sources:

IC3 Public Service Announcement I-081123-PSA

FBI San Diego — Seizes Cryptocurrency Recovery Websites

All articles·6 min read·June 29, 2026

The three free channels

You do not need to pay anyone to report a scam.

These U.S. government channels are free, and they are what later steps — a bank claim, a police report, a law-enforcement case — depend on.

File the ones that apply, ideally the same day.

1. FBI — Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

File at ic3.gov for any internet-enabled crime or money loss.

For a fresh wire, a fast IC3 complaint can trigger the Financial Fraud Kill Chain, the FBI's process for trying to freeze a recent fraudulent transfer.

The FBI notes IC3 does not investigate your case directly; it routes reports to the right agencies and builds the national picture.

2. FTC — reportfraud.ftc.gov

File at reportfraud.ftc.gov for fraud of any kind.

The FTC cannot resolve an individual case, but it shares reports with thousands of law-enforcement partners and uses the data to bring cases and warn the public.

3. FTC — IdentityTheft.gov

If your Social Security number, accounts, or identity were used, go to IdentityTheft.gov.

It builds an official Identity Theft Report and a step-by-step recovery plan that credit bureaus and most companies accept.

Also do these

Your bank or payment provider: call the fraud line the same day if money moved by wire, Zelle, or card.
Local police: file a report if you know who did it or if a company requires one; bring your FTC report.
The platform: report the account on the app, marketplace, or site where the contact happened.

One warning

After you report, you may be contacted by a fake “recovery agent” or even someone posing as the FBI offering to get your money back for a fee.

That is a second scam.

Real agencies never charge an up-front recovery fee.

If your loss is large or going to court, wire fraud recovery and identity theft investigation explain when a forensic investigation is worth it.

See also: Scam & Fraud Recovery Help — the hub that maps every scam type and the free reporting steps.

Sources

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), File a Complaint. https://www.ic3.gov/
U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Report Fraud to the FTC. https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/
U.S. Federal Trade Commission, IdentityTheft.gov — report identity theft and get a recovery plan. https://www.identitytheft.gov/

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Reporting a scam: quick answers

Where do I report a scam in the United States?

Three free federal channels cover most cases: the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov for internet-enabled crime and any money loss; the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov for fraud of all kinds; and IdentityTheft.gov if your personal information or identity was used. If money moved through your bank, also notify your bank's fraud department the same day.

Will reporting get my money back?

Usually not on its own — but it is the foundation everything else stands on. For a fresh bank wire, a fast IC3 report can trigger the Financial Fraud Kill Chain and occasionally enable a freeze. More often, your report builds the official record needed for a bank claim, a police report, an insurance or tax filing, and law-enforcement cases that protect others. File anyway; it is free and fast.

What information should I have ready?

Dates and amounts; how the money moved (wire, Zelle, card, gift card, crypto); account numbers, wallet addresses, or gift-card numbers; the scammer's phone numbers, emails, and usernames; and any messages or screenshots. The more specific your report, the more useful it is. Preserve evidence before deleting anything.