Shield

What Happens After You Report a Suspected Investment Scam

The order of steps is rarely the one people expect. A bank or card issuer usually needs the transaction details and your written account of what was promised before any dispute can be opened, and each route runs on its own clock.

Getting in touch while your timeline is still running

Where to write, what to expect back, and how long a reply usually takes. If your question is about a specific stage of the process, the FAQ below covers most of what people ask first.

Most messages we receive are from people who are somewhere in the middle of a dispute and are unsure whether the next step is theirs or the bank's. That is normal. It helps to have your payment dates, the platform name, and any chat or email threads saved somewhere you can copy from.

The date and amount of each payment, the name the platform used, how you paid (card, bank transfer, crypto), and whether you have already contacted your bank. Attach or paste any withdrawal requests you made and the responses you received. The more of that is in the first email, the fewer round trips we need before we can point you to the right stage.

We answer questions from anywhere, but the practical route depends on where your bank or card issuer sits and which payment network was used.

Still unsure which stage you are at? The FAQ walks through the common points where people get stuck, and the contact page has the full set of ways to reach us.

Contact details and office hours How we handle your information

What the process actually looks like, stage by stage

A timeline is only useful if it tells you where the delays come from. Below are the stages most people move through after a fraudulent broker stops paying out, what each stage asks of you, and where the process tends to stall.

Freeze the account before anything else

Change passwords, revoke card details stored on the platform, and stop any recurring transfer. This takes minutes and prevents the next scheduled debit from clearing while you gather paperwork.

Collect the paper trail while it is still fresh

Export statements, chat logs, email threads, deposit confirmations, and the platform's terms page. Screenshots lose value once a site goes offline, so save them locally the same week you notice a problem.

Identify how the money left your account

Card payment, bank transfer, and crypto transfer follow different routes with different deadlines. The route decides which procedure applies, not the name of the platform you dealt with.

Timelines vary by payment method and by the bank handling the case. If you are unsure which route applies to your payments, the comparison on payment dispute routes breaks it down by method, and common situations covers the scenarios people report most often.

What the process looks like, step by step

First contact and a short account of events

You describe what happened in your own words: which platform, how the first deposit was made, what was promised, and when withdrawals stopped working. At this point nothing is filed anywhere. The goal is to establish the payment route and the dates, because those two facts decide which dispute procedure is even open to you.

Collecting what still exists

Card statements, transfer confirmations, the platform's terms page, email threads, and chat logs with the account manager. Screenshots are useful, but exported statements carry more weight. If the site is already offline, a saved copy of the withdrawal page and any fee requests matter more than a general description of the platform.

Sorting the payments by route

A card payment, a SEPA transfer, and a crypto transfer do not follow the same path and do not share deadlines. Each one is reviewed separately, including the ones that look too small to bother with. Small test payments made early often turn out to be the easiest to challenge, and they help establish the pattern for the larger ones.

Filing with the right counterparty

For card payments this means the issuing bank or card scheme dispute process. For transfers it is a recall request through your own bank, which depends on the receiving bank's cooperation and is not guaranteed. You file, you keep the reference numbers, and you wait. This is the stage where most people expect a fast answer and rarely get one.

Responding to requests for more detail

Banks and card issuers come back with questions, sometimes more than once, and sometimes months apart. Missing a reply window can close a case that was otherwise workable. Keep the correspondence in one place and answer specifically rather than repeating the whole story each time.

Outcome and what it does not cover

A dispute can end in a partial refund, a full refund, or a rejection with reasons.

Two related reads if you are still deciding where to start: how the work is organised across stages and which dispute route fits which payment method. You can also contact us for advice.