Romance Scam: What to Do Now to Try to Get Your Money Back

If someone you met online or on a dating app manipulated you into sending money, the two most
important things are to stop all contact and send no more money, and to call your bank’s fraud line now and ask it to
try to recall the payments. It is not your fault — these are organised criminals. Recovering romance-scam money is
often very difficult and no one can promise it, but acting fast gives the best chance.

What to do

1. Stop all contact and send no more money. Do not send any more money, gift cards or crypto,
   however convincing the reason. If the person — or anyone new — asks for more money to ‘release’, ‘unlock’ or
   ‘recover’ what you already sent, or to pay a ‘fee’, ‘tax’ or emergency, that request is part of the scam. Block and
   stop contact.
2. Call your bank’s official fraud line now. Use the number on the back of your card or on your
   statement, never a number someone sent you. Ask them to attempt an urgent recall of the payments, to contact the
   receiving bank to freeze or return any funds still there, and to give you a reference number.
3. Put it to your bank in writing. A written report follows up the call and covers every payment.
   Because you were tricked into paying yourself, there is no automatic refund; instead you can ask your bank to review
   whether it met its obligations to detect the scam, warn you and make inquiries about suspicious payments. If a
   scammer also got into your account or you shared codes, the ePayments Code (a voluntary code administered by ASIC)
   may also apply. If you paid by card, ask for a chargeback.
4. Report it. Report the scam to the National Anti-Scam Centre at scamwatch.gov.au, and report the
   cybercrime to ReportCyber at cyber.gov.au or 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371), which refers reports to police.
5. Report the profile to the dating app or the social or messaging platform where you met the
   person, so they can take the account down and protect others.
6. Get free support from IDCARE, Australia’s free identity and cyber support service, especially
   if you shared any identity details, logins, photos or documents. Keep all your evidence — messages, the profile,
   photos and payment receipts — and do not delete anything.
7. If your bank does not resolve it, escalate to AFCA (the Australian Financial Complaints
   Authority), the free external dispute resolution scheme. From 12 March 2026 AFCA can also examine the receiving bank
   and the ‘mule’ account the money was sent to, even if you are not a customer of that bank.

Warning — money-recovery scams. After a romance scam you are very likely to be contacted by someone
claiming they can get your money back — sometimes the same criminals, sometimes someone pretending to be from the
police, a government agency, a law firm or a ‘fund recovery’ service. Romance-scam victims are deliberately re-targeted
this way. This is almost always a second scam. Never pay an upfront fee, send more money or crypto, give remote access,
or share codes or logins with anyone who contacts you promising to recover your money.

It is not your fault. Romance scams are run by organised criminal groups who are experts at manipulation and target
thousands of people. Please talk to someone you trust, and if you are struggling reach out to a support service or your
GP; if you are in immediate distress you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Do it yourself, or have it drafted

You can work through these steps yourself for free. If you would rather have it done properly and fast, Claim Done
drafts two documents for a flat $49: a formal report to your bank covering every payment and asking
for an urgent recall and a freeze on the funds, and a warm, plain-English step-by-step action guide. We cannot
guarantee recovery, and we take no percentage of anything you recover — only the flat fee.
Start your romance scam action pack.

Frequently asked questions