What to do When you get Scammed?

Posted on by

What to do When you Get Scammed?

Scams are real, it is a fact. Still, many people do not believe that they get scammed. We got emails on a daily basis, people asking, what to do when get scammed? So, here is the answer.

First, in the case of scams, awareness is the best thing. It comes after knowing about the site before the usage. Second, some steps you must follow are discussed below.

Step1: Calm Yourself

When you ask the question ‘What to do when you get scammed?’ The first and foremost step is to Clam yourself. People become furious when they got scammed. It is natural and it happens to all people. The problem is that in the moment of anger we lose the most important thing i.e. ‘Time’.

After getting scammed people blame themselves and become hard on themselves. Believe us, it is of no use. Regret has never been a solution to any problem. You can learn from your mistakes, no matter how big or small they are. But if you lose your calmness then it will be very hard to recover your money.

“If we allow ourselves to be full of hate, then they have won.  We must not let them take our hearts.”

Machine Gun Preacher

Make yourself calm and don’t feel guilty about getting scammed. Scammers are taking advantage of our ignorance and anger. We have to act rightly at a time of crisis like this. It is because instead of spending our time grieving or being angry with our-self we can use this time to fight back.

Step2: Don’t try to contact scammers

Some scammers who are not much learned got caught by the authorities but still number of scammers never get caught. It is only because they know their craft and how to manipulate. Scammers are learned people and with their experience, they are evolving daily.

They know ‘how people react when they get scammed’. They take advantage of your ignorance and waste your time when you contact them. When people try to bash out on the scammers for scamming them, the scammers actually wasting your time.

It is of no use to contact the scammers. Never contact them and do not mail them. They have already taken advantage of your information (personal as well as financial) and now do not let them waste your time.

Different scammers work differently. Some scammers never reply to your message. If this is the case then you are very lucky as you can proceed to file a complaint against them. But nowadays, scammers have evolved they engage with their victims.

As they have to send only one message that your issue is in progress or your product delivery date is extended or any other reason to waste your time.

There is no proper or practical definition of scams. People understand it very late and till that time the golden period is lost. The thing is it happens with everyone, so there is no need to panic. You can still do something about it.

People’s Experience

From people’s experiences which they have shared with us by commenting on our site or emailing us. We came to understand that scammers, especially those that run an online store provide some options to people.

They first confirm to the victim that their site is not a scam and simultaneously provide some options like they offer a 5-10% refund, send the product back and get a new one, get a voucher of 60% off on your next purchase, etc.

It short, they have set the traps at different levels, if you keep engaging with them then they will keep scamming you or wasting your time.

Step3:  Contact the Payment Merchant

As we have put much emphasis on ‘Time’, we have to understand it. The purpose of writing the “What to do when you get scammed?” article is to give you a holistic approach to dealing with the crisis you face.

Payment Institutions also know scams working online and people becoming a victim on a daily basis. If you are scammed by online stores and any other site where goods are involved then you have a good chance to get your money back.

It is because bank officials are aware of this kind of scam and they process your issue without wasting any time.

How to recover your money from scammers?

For Online Store Victims

As you know you get scammed, contact your payment merchant ASAP. Nowadays every bank has a special cell dedicated to dealing with online scams.

They are the real people that can help you. Even if they are not able to bring your money back, they can stop any further suspicious transactions from your account and other transactions to the same account (of scammer).

Never believe in some other site or people other than your payment merchant. It is because some scammers contact as a helper then scams again.

If you want to understand what is Chargeback? Then click the link for a better understanding. Scammers are unethical people and they take advantage of people’s vulnerability. Therefore, keeping yourself calm is the first step.

Step 4: Always Report the Scam

We always encourage people to share their stories. Most of the time people don’t report the scam either due to embarrassment or the money they lose is not much.

The reason for sharing your story on sites like Wisdom Ganga is that people come and read those comments. After reading the story of others, they feel encouraged too;

Because of the comment of the people, we also come to know about the new methods that scammers are using. By having knowledge of new methods, we are also able to be aware, of others of the same. These kinds of actions look very small but they have much impact.

Reporting scams also mark a dent in the scam site as they are not able to scam others with the same site and method. As many people still believe that they will not get scammed.

Items not received or a potential fraudulent seller in PayPal

We wrote against many online store scams. Since most people use PayPal, therefore, we decided to write the points you have to follow to claim our money in PayPal.

It happens many times you send the payment but has not received the item or you believe the sales to be fraudulent then you should visit the Resolution Center of PayPal.

The below points are taken from the PayPal Blog: How do I report potential fraud to PayPal?

  1. Go to the Resolution Center.
  2. Click Report a Problem.
  3. Select the transaction you want to dispute.
  4. Click Continue.
  5. Select either I didn’t receive an item I purchased or the item I received was significantly not as described or I want to report unauthorized activity, depending on the nature of your dispute.
  6. Click Continue.
  7. Follow the instructions to file your dispute.

End-Note

In conclusion, the purpose and aim of the ‘What to do when you get scammed?’ article are to just make you aware of the points that come in handy at the time of crisis. We know it feels terrible to be getting scammed. It is a hard lesson that most people learn by getting scammed.

We also feel sad because most people search for the site after they get scammed. Our aim or motive to write about scam sites and their nature is straight and simple. We want every one of you to share the knowledge with the people around you.

We all have to be aware people that scams are real they should become aware of fundamental points found on the scam website. By knowing only such points people will be able to eliminate 90% of the scam. Scammers are way ahead of us, the only way to defeat them is to work collectively.

Due to the internet, our reach is global and we want all of us to become a global community and do our bit to defeat unscrupulous people who scam innocent people. Alone we can’t do much but together we can mark a big dent in scammers’ activity.

Our work is not to create fear among people. It is of no use. Please understand it just a little bit of awareness can help you to save yourself from scammers. Scammers cannot harm us until we help them. Until you don’t see things objectively, scammers will harm you in many different ways.

Please comment, your thought in the below comment box. Your comment keeps us motivated to work round the clock and write about the scam site and save as many people as we can.

Since our reach is limited, therefore, share this article near and dear to you. Post it on your social media platform. Like our Facebook Page and follow us on Instagram.

Stay Safe! Be Healthy! Be Happy!