Already fell for one? Do these first.

Scams are built to fool careful people. What matters now is acting fast.

If you paid with a card or a bank transfer

Call your bank or card issuer now, using the number on your card or in your banking app. Tell them it was a scam and ask them to stop or reverse the payment and send you a new card.

If you paid with a gift card, wire transfer, payment app or crypto

Contact the company you paid through right away, whether that is the gift card company, the wire service, the app or the exchange. Tell them it was fraud and ask them to reverse the payment. Keep the receipt or the card.

If you gave a password or a code

Change that password now, and anywhere else you used it. Turn on two-step verification. If it was your bank login, call your bank too.

If you let someone into your computer

Disconnect from the internet. Update and run your security software and remove anything it flags. Then change your passwords from a device you trust.

If you gave your Social Security number

Go to IdentityTheft.gov for a step by step recovery plan.

Then report it

ReportFraud.ftc.gov: the Federal Trade Commission's report form for any scam.
IC3.gov: the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, for scams that happened online.
Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM), free on most US carriers.