SCARS Institute’s Encyclopedia of Scams™ Published Continuously for 25 Years
Interpol on Online Scams: It Might Not Be Too Late For Money Recovery
INTERPOL shows that taking action quickly can intercept funds lost to online financial fraud
From denial to anger to acceptance, victims of financial fraud often go through grief and trauma when a scam is discovered. But this is the worst time, since time may be of the essence for money recovery!
Too often, victims of online scams will be reluctant to take action once they realize they have been defrauded, feeling shame or assuming that it is already too late to get their money back. But money recovery can often happen if victims act fast. This is especially true in the case of bank wire transfers.
According to Interpol: frontline police officers can also be unsure as to what should be done for money recovery, especially when the scams contain an international component such as cross-border financial transactions.
However, an INTERPOL toolkit shows that even after a victim’s money has been transferred from their account, it could still be possible to intercept the funds.
Entitled “Take Action: Urgent Stop-Payment Requests and Provisional Money-Freezing Orders” and visible to law enforcement only, the toolkit is being shared across INTERPOL’s network of 194 member countries.
A webinar on the same subject was held on Wednesday 29 July 2020 for over 500 representatives of law enforcement, national financial intelligence units (FIUs) and international anti-money laundering bodies, with more than 100 countries represented. Interpol is doing its part to facilitate money recovery, but victims can help make their local police aware of these resources.
Act NOW – Call Your Bank, Call The Police
“Many people think that there is nothing that can be done once a victim’s money is transferred abroad but there are systems in place to recall fraudulent transactions,” said Tomonobu Kaya, Financial Crimes Coordinator at INTERPOL.
“The first course of action should always be for the victim to contact their bank, inform them that the transaction was fraudulent and urge them to make a recall request on their dedicated bank-to-bank communication system to the beneficiary bank abroad,” Mr Kaya added.
Bank Wire Transfer Money Recovery – How It Works: On receipt of a recall request, the bank that emitted the fraudulent transfer will send a message requesting cancellation of the payment to the beneficiary bank by following the same route taken by the victim’s money. As long as the funds have not already been withdrawn from the beneficiary bank by the perpetrators, there is a good chance that the funds can be blocked and refunded. Just as importantly, many banks when presented with proof of the crime will voluntarily return all or part of the victim’s money!
No Time To Waste
If the victim can identify the beneficiary bank themselves, it is also worth contacting that bank directly.
Free online tools can be used to locate the beneficial bank, based on the individual and unique taxonomy of each account number in combination with the bank code. Another quick search using the beneficiary’s bank’s name and the keywords “complaint” or “online contact” should then shows victims the appropriate point of contact.
Find A Bank By SWIFT CODE: Locating Banks By Swift Code
Find A Bank By Routing Number For An Account: ABA Routing Number Lookup (1 of 2)
While these two courses of action are pivotal in the immediate term, the Interpol toolkit consolidated and promoted by INTERPOL also describes further channels and steps law enforcement can take to intercept and recover the proceeds of financial fraud. These include liaising with dedicated points of contact within INTERPOL’s National Central Bureaus or domestic FIUs.
“The bottom line is that neither victims nor police officers should feel powerless when confronted with online financial fraud,” said Jose de Gracia, Assistant Director of INTERPOL’s Criminal Networks division.
“There are systems in place and people to help intercept fraudulent transactions. The key is to call your bank, call the police and – most importantly – act quickly. When it comes to combating online scams and other types of fraud, there is no time to waste.”
But just contacting the bank is not enough – they may put a temporary hold on the receiving account, but unless your law enforcement follows through they will remove the hold and the money will be lost.
When Talking To The Police Initially Or Following Up
Not all police even know it exists.
Remember, the police are busy and are not always experts in transnational cybercrime. This is relatively NEW – not all police even know it exists. Go back or call them and tell them that this resource exists. It just might make the difference between getting your money back or not!
You have to be your own advocate with the police. Do not get lost in the story, always stick to the facts – who said what does not matter, it was all lies anyway. What matters are the basic facts and that this is a crime. Always insist that they take a report and give you a report number – when reporting to a police agency through an online portal they will give you such a number – do not lose it! Then follow up with this information to make sure they know something can be done!
Share this link with your local police: https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2020/Online-scams-It-might-not-be-too-late-to-get-your-money-back
Too Late?
Of course, if the crime was several years ago, then probably nothing can be done about this, BUT it is worth talking to your police’s cybercrime unit. Most cybercrime units are new – less than 2 years old and will be more responsive to the information you have. They may not be able to help you, but it may also give them the information they can use now.
Remember …
This is not the only thing you have to do! Be sure to read our articles on interacting with the police for more guidance.
- How To Effectively Follow Up – Scams and the Local Police
- MoneyGram Refunds Update
- Reporting Scams To The United States Secret Service – Cryptocurrency Recovery – Forget The FBI! [VIDEO]
- Working With & Understanding Your Local Police
- The Restitution Process for Victims of U.S. Federal Crimes
- Can The Police Trace Cryptocurrency & Recover It?
- SCARS Quick Guide To Money Recovery
- A Scam Victim’s Checklist
- Scam Victim Finance & Money Recovery
You can also use our site search to find more!
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Important Information for New Scam Victims
- Please visit www.ScamVictimsSupport.org – a SCARS Website for New Scam Victims & Sextortion Victims
- Enroll in FREE SCARS Scam Survivor’s School now at www.SCARSeducation.org
- Please visit www.ScamPsychology.org – to more fully understand the psychological concepts involved in scams and scam victim recovery
If you are looking for local trauma counselors please visit counseling.AgainstScams.org or join SCARS for our counseling/therapy benefit: membership.AgainstScams.org
If you need to speak with someone now, you can dial 988 or find phone numbers for crisis hotlines all around the world here: www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines
A Note About Labeling!
We often use the term ‘scam victim’ in our articles, but this is a convenience to help those searching for information in search engines like Google. It is just a convenience and has no deeper meaning. If you have come through such an experience, YOU are a Survivor! It was not your fault. You are not alone! Axios!
A Question of Trust
At the SCARS Institute, we invite you to do your own research on the topics we speak about and publish, Our team investigates the subject being discussed, especially when it comes to understanding the scam victims-survivors experience. You can do Google searches but in many cases, you will have to wade through scientific papers and studies. However, remember that biases and perspectives matter and influence the outcome. Regardless, we encourage you to explore these topics as thoroughly as you can for your own awareness.
Statement About Victim Blaming
Some of our articles discuss various aspects of victims. This is both about better understanding victims (the science of victimology) and their behaviors and psychology. This helps us to educate victims/survivors about why these crimes happened and to not blame themselves, better develop recovery programs, and to help victims avoid scams in the future. At times this may sound like blaming the victim, but it does not blame scam victims, we are simply explaining the hows and whys of the experience victims have.
These articles, about the Psychology of Scams or Victim Psychology – meaning that all humans have psychological or cognitive characteristics in common that can either be exploited or work against us – help us all to understand the unique challenges victims face before, during, and after scams, fraud, or cybercrimes. These sometimes talk about some of the vulnerabilities the scammers exploit. Victims rarely have control of them or are even aware of them, until something like a scam happens and then they can learn how their mind works and how to overcome these mechanisms.
Articles like these help victims and others understand these processes and how to help prevent them from being exploited again or to help them recover more easily by understanding their post-scam behaviors. Learn more about the Psychology of Scams at www.ScamPsychology.org
Psychology Disclaimer:
All articles about psychology and the human brain on this website are for information & education only
The information provided in this article is intended for educational and self-help purposes only and should not be construed as a substitute for professional therapy or counseling.
While any self-help techniques outlined herein may be beneficial for scam victims seeking to recover from their experience and move towards recovery, it is important to consult with a qualified mental health professional before initiating any course of action. Each individual’s experience and needs are unique, and what works for one person may not be suitable for another.
Additionally, any approach may not be appropriate for individuals with certain pre-existing mental health conditions or trauma histories. It is advisable to seek guidance from a licensed therapist or counselor who can provide personalized support, guidance, and treatment tailored to your specific needs.
If you are experiencing significant distress or emotional difficulties related to a scam or other traumatic event, please consult your doctor or mental health provider for appropriate care and support.
Also read our SCARS Institute Statement about Professional Care for Scam Victims – click here to go to our ScamsNOW.com website.
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I feel the same as the above two comments. In my case the local law enforcement “forgot about me” for almost 4 months until I processed a complaint through email. Then they were all apologies. Additionally, before my crime ended I did go through identity theft. I went through an unholy 24 hours where accounts were opened faster than I could read the emails. At one point a great deal of money was taken from our joint checking account. At this time the bank was very helpful. Two days later an even greater amount was taken from my personal checking. Instead of being “so helpful” I was getting dark looks and glares. This was because the bank had to front the money for both frauds. Both of the withdrawals were made to look like I had authorized them through a Citibank mobile platform – which I don’t use. My name was on both withdrawal/payment requests. What we found was that the money flowed through Citibank and into the criminals account. Citibank was not helpful as well and accused me of creating the withdrawals and not being careful – “after all it is very easy to accidentally add an additional zero.”
Eventually, Citibank reimbursed our local bank for the two frauds, but it took much pushing from myself to get them to be responsible. To the end the maintained I had created the two transfers as payments and “forgot” that I had authorized that much.
The banks are not that helpful honestly. They have fraud teams but those teams are to protect the other depositors from the depositors who are not “careful.”
I tried with my bank and they refused to help. They said I gifted my money to those criminals and that they couldn’t get the money back from the bank account my money were wired transferred to. They insisted that I “authorized” the transactions, even when I told them they were made under false pretenses. More than $90,000.00 went down the drain. I escalated the case to the CFPB but they came back saying, they didn’t have jurisdiction because I do bank business with a credit union.
If this was true then why did my local Police Fraud department not do more to help me. 5 years ago I got caught in a Romance Scam. Which stripped me of a great deal of money along with all my savings etc. Having to sell my Motorcycle which I purchased from my divorce settlement. Meaning I had to take out an IVA to enable to pay off my creditors. I will not finish my IVA until October next year. I am now at retirement age but I have to keep working to survive. Inn that time I have been isolated by some of my family and many of my friends.
BECAUSE THEY WERE IGNORANT ABOUT THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE. You have to advocate for yourself. Take this article to them, tell them about the Interpol process and ask the to recover your money. It may be too late, we cannot say, but at least try!