Where do I report a scam if I am not sure which agency handles it?

Start at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The Federal Trade Commission takes reports on nearly every kind of scam, including phone, text, email, mail, and in-person fraud, and it routes what it receives to the right investigators. If a Social Security number or an account in your name is involved, use IdentityTheft.gov instead, because it produces the official Identity Theft Report that banks and credit bureaus ask for.

Is there a phone number I can call to talk to a real person about a scam?

Yes, two of them, and both are free. The National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311 is run by the U.S. Department of Justice and staffed by case managers who help you report the crime and find local support, weekdays 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. The AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360 is open to anyone, member or not, weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.

Can I get my money back after a scam?

Sometimes, and speed decides it. If a wire transfer left in the last 72 hours, file at IC3.gov immediately and say the transfer is recent, because the FBI runs a recovery process built for that window. If you paid with a gift card, call the card issuer right away, since some balances can still be frozen. Credit card charges have the strongest protections, debit is weaker, and wires, Zelle, and cryptocurrency are the hardest to reverse.

Does freezing my credit hurt my credit score?

No. A credit freeze has no effect on your score. It is free by federal law, it can be lifted temporarily whenever you actually apply for credit, and it is the single most effective step for stopping someone from opening new accounts in your name. You have to place it separately at all three bureaus.

Should I report a scam if I did not lose any money?

Yes. Attempts are what let investigators see a pattern before it spreads, and most enforcement cases are built from reports by people who did not fall for it. It takes about ten minutes at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

What do I do if I think a caregiver or relative is taking money?

Call the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 and ask to be connected to Adult Protective Services in your county. APS can investigate financial exploitation without the older adult having to press charges, and in most states you can make the report anonymously.

Who to Call After a Scam: A Directory of Free Help for Seniors and Families

By Josh C.

If someone you love has just been scammed, you probably do not need another article explaining what a scam is. You need a phone number.

This page is that. Every organization listed here is free, legitimate, and staffed by people whose job is to help. We checked every number and link in September 2026.

Bookmark it, print it, or tape it inside a kitchen cabinet. The worst time to go looking for this is the moment you need it.

The first hour matters more than the paperwork

If money moved in the last few hours, do these three things before anything else. Reporting can wait twenty minutes. Stopping the loss cannot.

Call the bank or card company directly. Use the number printed on the back of the card, not a number anyone gave you over the phone. Ask them to stop the payment, recall the wire, or freeze the account.
Freeze your credit at all three bureaus. It is free, it takes about fifteen minutes, and it is the most effective way to stop someone from opening accounts in your name. Numbers are further down this page.
Write down what happened while it is fresh. Names used, the number that called, amounts, times, what was said, how you paid. Everyone you contact next will ask for this.

Then start making the calls below.

Free hotlines with a real person on the other end

These are the numbers to call when you would rather talk to someone than fill in a web form.

National Elder Fraud Hotline — 833-372-8311

Run by the U.S. Department of Justice. Case managers help you report the crime, then connect you to services near you. Available in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, Arabic, French, German, and Italian.

Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. Best for: anyone 60 or older who has lost money, and the adult children calling on their behalf.

AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline — 877-908-3360

You do not need to be an AARP member. The specialists and trained volunteers who answer have talked thousands of people through this, and many of them were targeted themselves.

Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern. Best for: talking it through with someone before you decide what to do, including when you are not yet sure it was a scam.

Eldercare Locator — 800-677-1116

The federal front door to local services. They connect you to your Area Agency on Aging and to Adult Protective Services in your county, which is who you want when a caregiver, a new friend, or a relative has access to the money.

Senior Medicare Patrol — 877-808-2468

Free one-on-one help with anything that looks like Medicare fraud, including charges you do not recognize on a Medicare summary notice.

Where to file an official report

Filing takes ten to thirty minutes. It rarely recovers money by itself, but it is what puts the scammer into the databases investigators actually work from, and several of the recovery steps below require a report number.

ReportFraud.ftc.gov

The Federal Trade Commission, and the right place for almost anything: phone, text, email, mail, fake checks, door-to-door. If you only do one, do this one.

IdentityTheft.gov

Also the FTC, but use this instead when someone has your Social Security number, opened an account in your name, or filed a tax return as you. It builds a personal recovery plan and generates the official Identity Theft Report that banks and credit bureaus ask for by name.

IC3.gov

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, for anything that happened online: romance scams, investment and cryptocurrency fraud, business email compromise, ransomware. If a wire transfer left in the last 72 hours, file here first and say the transfer is recent. The FBI runs a recovery process built specifically for that window.

Your local police

Worth doing even when it feels like nothing will come of it. Many banks and insurers will not process a claim without a police report number, and Adult Protective Services cases move faster with one attached.

Your state attorney general

Consumer protection divisions handle contractor fraud, deceptive sales, and price gouging. They also have subpoena power that federal agencies rarely spend on a single case. Search your state's name plus "attorney general consumer complaint."

Others worth knowing

U.S. Postal Inspection Service, 877-876-2455. Anything that arrived by mail, or where you mailed a payment. Mail fraud is a federal crime with real consequences.
Social Security fraud, oig.ssa.gov. For the calls claiming your Social Security number has been suspended. It never has been. That call is always a scam.
Medicare, 800-633-4227. Billing you do not recognize, or anyone asking for your Medicare number over the phone.
FCC, consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. Robocalls and spoofed caller ID.

Locking down money and credit

Freeze your credit

A freeze stops new accounts from being opened in your name. It does not affect your credit score, it costs nothing, and you can lift it temporarily any time you actually want credit. You have to place it at each bureau separately.

Bureau	Phone	Online
Equifax	800-685-1111	equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze
Experian	888-397-3742	experian.com/help
TransUnion	888-909-8872	transunion.com/credit-freeze

Check what is already on your report

AnnualCreditReport.com is the only federally authorized free source. Every other site advertising "free credit reports" is selling something, and a few of them are scams themselves.

Expect the calls to get worse, not better

People who have been scammed once get resold. Lists circulate, which is why a first loss is so often followed by a wave of new calls, sometimes from people offering to recover the money you just lost. Register at DoNotCall.gov, but understand its limit: it stops legitimate telemarketers, and criminals ignore it completely.

When the person taking the money is someone they know

The hardest cases are not strangers on the phone. They are a caregiver, a new friend who turned up recently, or a family member with access to the checkbook.

Adult Protective Services exists for exactly this. They can investigate financial exploitation without the older adult having to press charges, and in most states a report can be made anonymously. Reach your county's office through the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116.

Legal help after a loss

When a loss traces back to a company's data breach, or to a pattern that hit a lot of people at once, there may be a claim worth exploring.

One note before you click anything in this section. Most websites offering to check whether you have a case are published by law firms, and the eligibility forms are client intake. That does not make the information wrong, and a good firm may be exactly what you need. It does mean you should read those pages as advertising and hold back personal details until you have decided you want a lawyer.

Swindling Seniors: A Guide to Senior Scams — Class Action U. A plain-language overview of how fraud against older adults works and what the warning signs look like. Published in affiliation with the Milberg law firm; the page is attorney advertising and offers a free consultation alongside a claim eligibility form.
Your state bar's lawyer referral service. The neutral option. Most state bars will match you with a vetted attorney for a free or low-cost first consultation.
Legal aid. Free representation for elder financial abuse if you qualify by income. Find your local office through the Eldercare Locator, 800-677-1116.

The cheaper move is not answering

Everything above is what to do afterward. It is worth saying plainly that almost none of it is as effective as the call never reaching your parent in the first place.

Most fraud against older adults still starts with a ringing phone from a number nobody recognizes. Gini Help answers those calls first, asks who is calling and why, and only rings through when it is someone real. Here is how call screening works.

More from us

Numbers and links on this page were verified in September 2026. If you find one that has changed, tell us at hello@gininow.com and we will correct it.