Lost money to a scam? The first 24 hours, step by step
Most people lose the first hours of a scam arguing with the caller or waiting for the money to come back. The first 24 hours matter most. This checklist covers what to do, in order.
Your first 24 hours at a glance
If you only have a minute, follow this order. Each row links to the full step further down.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Right now | Stop replying, send no more money and do not share any OTP or PIN. Then call 1930. Full step: Stop contact, Call 1930 |
| Within the first hour | Call your bank on its official number, ask it to block the payment or put a hold on the receiving account, and write down the complaint number. Full step: Tell your bank |
| The same day | Report at cybercrime.gov.in with your acknowledgement number, and save screenshots, UTR numbers and the scammer's details before you delete anything. Full step: Report online, Save the evidence |
| Within 3 working days | Make sure your bank has your report. Under the RBI's current rules, reporting within 3 working days of the bank's alert can leave you with no loss when the breach was neither your fault nor the bank's. Full step: The RBI's rules |
| If the amount is large | Go to your local police station or the cyber police station with your acknowledgement numbers, your evidence and your ID. Full step: Police complaint |
| If your bank does not help | Complain to the bank in writing. If it has not replied within 30 days, or you are not happy with its reply, you can go to the RBI Ombudsman. There is a 90-day limit for filing, and the full step explains how it is counted. Full step: If your bank does not help |
Stop all contact with the scammer
Do this first. Every minute you keep talking gives the scammer another chance to ask for more.
- Do not send any more money, including a "release fee" or "verification charge" to get back the first payment.
- Do not share an OTP, UPI PIN, card number or screen-sharing access with anyone who calls you, even if they say they are from a bank, the police or a government office.
- Banks and government agencies do not ask for your OTP or PIN.
Call 1930 now
The National Cyber Crime Helpline is 1930. It is a toll-free number run by the Government of India for reporting financial fraud. Call as soon as you realise money has gone. Early reports give the best chance of stopping a transfer.
Keep the transaction ID or UTR number, the amount, the time and the scammer's UPI ID, account number or phone number in front of you before you dial. Your report goes into a national system run by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which alerts the banks and wallets the money passed through so they can hold it while it is still there. Note the acknowledgement number you are given, and quote it when you file online.
Tell your bank immediately
- Call your bank's customer care number from the bank's official website, or the number printed on the back of your card. Do not use a number given to you in a message or by the caller.
- Give the transaction details and ask the bank to block the payment or put a hold on the receiving account. Not every payment can be stopped, but ask anyway.
- Ask for a complaint or reference number, and write it down with the date and time.
- If you paid by UPI, your UPI app may also let you raise a complaint about the payment (look for UPI HELP on the payment's details page). For a fraud, do not wait for the app. Call your bank and 1930 first.
What the RBI's rules say about your loss
How much your bank must make good depends on whose fault the fraud was and how quickly you reported it. These are the RBI's current rules for unauthorised electronic transactions, which apply to transactions up to 31 December 2026:
- The bank was at fault: you bear no loss, however late you report.
- A breach somewhere else in the system, neither yours nor the bank's: you bear no loss if you report within 3 working days of the bank's alert. If you report within 4 to 7 working days, your loss is capped at the transaction value or ₹5,000, ₹10,000 or ₹25,000 (depending on the type of account), whichever is lower. After that, your bank's own policy decides.
- You shared an OTP, PIN or card details: you bear the loss until you report it. Anything taken after your report is the bank's responsibility.
- While the bank investigates, it must credit the disputed amount to your account within 10 working days of your report.
From 1 January 2027, a revised framework applies. You must report within 5 calendar days of the transaction to both your bank and 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in. Victims of small frauds, including people tricked into approving the payment themselves, can get a one-time compensation of 85% of the net loss (after any money recovered), up to ₹25,000, for a gross loss of up to ₹50,000. It is paid once in a person's lifetime and applies only to frauds that occur within one year of 1 January 2027. It is not automatic: you must have reported within those 5 days, and your bank decides under its own policy whether the claim is genuine.
Report online at cybercrime.gov.in
Use the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal at cybercrime.gov.in. Choose the option for financial fraud, enter the transaction details and attach your evidence. Save the acknowledgement number, and keep it together with your bank's reference number.
Save the evidence before it disappears
Scammers delete chats and apps quickly. Save these before you delete anything from your phone:
- Screenshots of the chat, call log, SMS, email or link
- The phone number, UPI ID, account number and website address the scammer used
- The transaction ID or UTR number, amount and time of each payment
- The name of any app the caller asked you to install. Note it, then uninstall it after you have saved the evidence.
File a police complaint if the amount is large
For a larger amount, go to your local police station or the cyber police station in your city. Take your acknowledgement numbers from steps 2 to 4, your evidence and your ID. Ask for a copy of the complaint and its number.
If the money is frozen
A hold placed after your report stops the money from moving further, but it does not send it back to you. Getting it released often needs an order from a court, so ask the police station handling your complaint what you need to file, and keep checking the complaint's status with your acknowledgement number. Keep your acknowledgement numbers, your bank's complaint number and your evidence together, because each step will ask for them.
To write to your bank's nodal officer or a cyber police station, use the cyber cell and bank nodal officer directory, which drafts the letter for you. The money recovery and chargeback tool works out your deadlines and any compensation due.
If your bank does not help
Under the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026, you must first complain to your bank in writing. You can approach the RBI Ombudsman if you are not satisfied with the bank's reply, or if the bank has not replied within 30 days of receiving your complaint (or within the time RBI, NPCI or the card network sets for that kind of complaint, whichever is longer). Your complaint to the bank must also be made before the limitation period under the Limitation Act, 1963 runs out.
- File with the Ombudsman within 90 days of the date the bank's timeline ends or of its last communication with you, whichever is later.
- File online on the CMS portal at cms.rbi.org.in, by email to crpc@rbi.org.in, or by post to the RBI's Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre in Chandigarh.
- The toll-free helpline 14448 gives recorded guidance 24×7, and staff answer Monday to Saturday, 8 am to 10 pm, except national holidays. You cannot file a complaint through the helpline itself.
Keep copies of your written complaint to the bank and every reply you receive, because the Ombudsman will ask for them.
What not to do
- Do not pay a "recovery agent" who promises to get your money back. This is a second scam.
- Do not install remote-access apps such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer because someone asked you to.
- Do not post your bank details or the scammer's details publicly. This can cause problems later and can tip off the fraudsters.
Common scams and your first move
Scam scripts change, but the first move is almost always the same: stop, do not pay, and check through a number you found yourself. The guide to how modern scams work explains these patterns in more depth.
| Scam | What it looks like / Your first move |
|---|---|
| "Digital arrest" call | What it looks like: The caller says they are from the police, CBI, narcotics department, RBI or Enforcement Directorate, claims a parcel in your name holds illegal goods, and keeps you on a video call until you pay. Your first move: Hang up. A genuine agency does not hold you on a video call or take money to settle a case. If you have already paid, tell 1930 and your bank straight away. |
| "Update your KYC" message or call | What it looks like: A text, link or call says your account will be blocked unless you update your KYC, and asks for an OTP, card details or an app install. Your first move: Do not click or share anything. Check through the bank's own app or its official number. If you gave an OTP or PIN, call your bank at once. |
| Fake customer-care number | What it looks like: You search online for a helpline, call the first number, and are asked to install a screen-sharing app or pay a "small fee". Your first move: Hang up. Use only the number on the bank's official website or on your card. If you installed an app, save your evidence, uninstall it and call your bank. |
| "Enter your PIN to receive money" | What it looks like: A buyer or someone sending a "refund" asks you to approve a collect request or enter your UPI PIN so the money arrives. Your first move: You enter a UPI PIN only to send money, never to receive it. Decline the request. If you approved one, tell 1930 and your bank. |
| Investment, task or trading group | What it looks like: A stranger adds you to a chat group full of "profits", asks for more deposits, then demands "tax" or a "fee" before you can withdraw. Your first move: Stop paying. A fee to release your own money is a sign of a scam. Save the chat and payment details, then report to 1930 and at cybercrime.gov.in. |
These are patterns, not a full list. If a request asks you to hurry, keep it secret or pay first, treat it as a scam until you have checked through a number you found yourself.
Questions people ask
How soon should I call 1930?
As soon as you realise the money has gone. Early reports give the best chance of stopping a transfer while the money is still in the system, so call first and sort out the paperwork afterwards.
Will I get my money back?
Not always. A hold placed after your report stops the money from moving, but it does not send it back, and getting it released often needs a court order. How much your bank must make good depends on whose fault the fraud was and how quickly you reported, as explained in the section on the RBI's rules above.
Do I need to report to my bank, to 1930 and at cybercrime.gov.in, or is one enough?
Report to all of them, because they do different jobs. Your bank can block or hold a payment and handles your claim under the RBI's rules. 1930 and cybercrime.gov.in put your report into the national system that alerts the banks and wallets the money passed through. From 1 January 2027 the RBI's revised framework also requires you to report within 5 calendar days of the transaction to both your bank and 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
Can I report a scam through UPI HELP?
Do not rely on it for a fraud. Your UPI app may let you raise a complaint about a payment, but for a fraud call your bank and 1930 first, then report at cybercrime.gov.in.
I shared an OTP or PIN myself. Is it still worth reporting?
Yes. Under the RBI's current rules you bear the loss until you report, but anything taken after your report is the bank's responsibility, so every hour counts. Report straight away and say plainly what happened.
What should I do with my phone and accounts after the call?
From a different phone or computer, change your net-banking and app passwords and your UPI PIN, and ask your bank to block your cards or net banking if you shared details. Save your evidence before you uninstall any app the caller asked you to install.
Fraudsters rely on panic and secrecy. Slow down, tell one person you trust, and check through a number you found yourself. Most scam scripts fall apart at that point.
Where this information comes from
This guide is general information, not legal advice. The facts in it come from these public sources:
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (Ministry of Home Affairs) and the 1930 helpline for reporting financial fraud.
- Ministry of Home Affairs alert on "digital arrest" and blackmail scams, 14 May 2024.
- The RBI's rules on customer liability for unauthorised electronic banking transactions and the RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026, published at rbi.org.in. Complaints are filed on the RBI CMS portal.
- NPCI's UPI dispute redressal page, for how to raise a complaint about a UPI payment.
Rules, limits and phone numbers change. Confirm the current details at cybercrime.gov.in, rbi.org.in or with your bank before you act.