Checked
Written from official fraud-agency notices. Every figure and piece of advice is checked against the sources listed at the bottom.
What we found
Set out in the same plain format as reader reports.
- What kind of scam?
- Prizes, loans and charity
- In short
- After you lose money, someone contacts you offering to recover it for a fee. They are often working from a list of earlier victims.
- How does it reach you?
- Phone, email, text or social media
- What does the message look like?
- Example message written by us.We are a licensed recovery team. We have located your lost funds. Pay a $400 release fee today and we will return all of it. Do not tell your bank.
- How can you spot it?
- An upfront fee to get your money back
Anyone who asks is a scammer. - They contacted you first
They know you were scammed because of a "sucker list" they buy and trade. - A promise of a sure refund
No one can promise it. - A refund check for too much
With a request to send the difference back.
- An upfront fee to get your money back
- Is it growing?
- It is ongoing
- Where do I report it?
- FTC ReportFraud
reportfraud.ftc.gov
- FTC ReportFraud
If this happened to you
- Never pay upfront or share account numbers to get a refund.
- Check any organisation by searching its name with "complaint" or "scam".
- Look up a government agency's number yourself. Do not use the one the caller gave.
- If you paid, act quickly. Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general. See "I paid a scammer" in our guides.
Sources (1)
Sources
- US Federal Trade Commission: Refund and recovery scams (Checked 18 Oct 2026)