If you have just realised you transferred money to a scammer, every hour matters. This guide walks you step by step through what to do — from calling the bank to filing a police report and seeking legal help. The faster you act, the better the chance of recovering your money.
1. First 30 minutes — stop the payment
The first and most important step is to contact your bank urgently. If the payment has not yet been processed, it can be frozen. What happens next depends on the payment type:
- Card payment (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro) — the bank can initiate a chargeback under the card scheme rules. Act within 8 weeks.
- SEPA bank transfer — chargeback does not exist. The bank can only file a SEPA recall request to the recipient's bank, which will return the money only if the recipient agrees. Chances are low once the funds have been withdrawn.
- Revolut, Wise and similar — reach out through the in-app help section and select "report fraud".
Find contact details on your bank's website — look for the urgent help or fraud line:
At the same time:
- Change your online banking and email passwords immediately.
- Block the card if you gave its details to the scammer — they can charge it again.
2. First hour — collect evidence
Evidence is essential for every next step — for the bank, the police, the court. Gather as much as possible and keep the originals.
- Screenshots of all conversations (SMS, Messenger, Telegram, email)
- Payment confirmation from your bank (PDF or screenshot)
- Scammer's IBAN, phone number, email, name, company code
- Scammer's website or advertisement link (URL, screenshot)
- Any documents: invoices, contracts, receipts
Tip: save all evidence into a separate cloud folder (Google Drive, Dropbox) so nothing is lost.
3. First 4 hours — report to the police
A police report is required both for insurance and for any future court case. Without it, many institutions will refuse to handle the case.
- Online: ePolicija.lt — select "Statement on a criminal offence"
- In person: at the nearest police station (all addresses at policija.lrv.lt)
- Required data: your personal code, scammer's IBAN/phone, payment date and amount, evidence
- Write down the report number — you will need it for the bank and a lawyer
4. Report on Apgavo.lt — join other victims
An individual lawsuit is often too expensive when the lost amount is small. Apgavo.lt joins people hit by the same scammer into one case — costs are shared and impact grows. The sooner you register, the sooner your report links with others and our partner law firm can assess a group lawsuit.
- Register the scammer — add IBAN, phone, email and other identifiers
- Upload the evidence you collected and the police report number
- You will be notified automatically when someone else reports the same scammer
- No commitment — you decide whether to join the lawsuit once the case is assessed
5. First 24 hours — other institutions
Within the first day inform the remaining relevant institutions. The more of them that know about the scam, the higher the chance of stopping the scammer and recovering money.
- Bank of Lithuania — complaint about financial services lb.lt/lt/skundai
- NKSC (CERT-LT) — if the scam involves the internet nksc.lt
6. First week — what to do next
The first 24 hours are only the start. Within the first week take additional steps to protect yourself from further harm.
- Monitor your bank account — scammers often try a second time
- Check your credit history at Creditinfo.lt
- If personal data was stolen — notify the Centre of Registers and replace ID documents
- Warn close ones — scammers may try to contact people in your circle
- Free psychological support: viltieslinija.lt or jaunimolinija.lt