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/
