How recovery scammers trick vulnerable victims
If you’ve recently fallen victim to a scam, be on your guard against fraudsters contacting you claiming they can get your money back.
Recovery scams, also known as 'recovery room' scams or recovery fraud, are a form of advance fee fraud, when a scammer asks you to make an upfront payment for a 'service' before disappearing with your money.
Recent victims of bank transfer scams and investment scams are commonly targeted. Last year, we reported on how victims of a forex scam were emailed by fraudsters impersonating a cryptocurrency platform with the promise of getting their money back.
Read on to find out more about how recovery scams work and for advice on staying safe if you’ve been scammed.
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Recovery scams: the basics
Recovery scammers try to take advantage of people at a time when they’re at their most vulnerable, having recently lost money to fraudsters.
These scams can take a handful of forms. For example, the original scammer might contact you posing as someone from a firm that can get you your money back, or they may have sold your details on to another fraudster.
Alternatively, you might encounter recovery scammers on social media, stalking platforms in search of victims. We’ve also seen scammers impersonating ombudsmen and regulators in an attempt to convince victims they're genuine.
The common tactics used in recovery scams include contacting you out of the blue, scammers pressuring you to use their ‘service’, requesting your bank details and asking for an upfront fee. In some instances, scammers will create professional-looking websites full of fake five-star reviews to add a layer of legitimacy.
Recovery scammers on X
Recovery scams are rife on social media. We found suspected scammers on X (formerly known as Twitter) targeting scam victims who had messaged the fraud reporting agency Action Fraud. We also identified dodgy accounts reaching out to people who’d tweeted that they'd been scammed.
We investigated one account that claimed to offer recovery services and contacted the owner, posing as a scam victim. They told us that they could trace our losses, but would first need our bank account number, the account number of the scammer we transferred money to, the bank we sent money to and proof of the transaction.
When we told them we were nervous about sharing details having recently been scammed, they began bombarding us with messages. We were then told that to proceed we would have to pay a fee for ‘the tools used for the recovery’.
Scammers in Facebook groups
Recovery scammers also operate on Facebook, targeting groups apparently set up to identify scams and help victims.
We looked into one group with more than 7,000 members, and found a host of users claiming they could help people get their money back.
We investigated one user and found that they frequented scam support pages on Facebook. When we contacted them, they told us they could find out the scammer’s real identity and get our money back by tracing the transaction ID and hacking the scammer’s bank account.
They asked for proof of the payments we made to the scammer and said we’d need to pay a deposit to start the process.
Suspicious companies
While some of these fraudulent social media accounts might arouse your suspicions, dodgy companies with well-designed websites could catch victims out more easily.
We came across one such company and contacted it saying that we’d lost money to a scammer via bank transfer.
We were told we’d need to provide evidence of our transactions with the scammer. When we asked how the money would be retrieved and if we’d have to pay for the service, we were informed this could only be revealed after providing evidence of the transactions.
We reverse-searched images of the ‘clients’ displayed on the company’s website and found two of them on other websites under different names. We also found that the website was created just a few months ago - a common red flag.
‘I received a call saying my money could be recovered'
Joseph (not his real name) followed an advert on social media which claimed he could make money from robotic cryptocurrency trading, and invested an initial £250 on a platform. His investment appeared to be performing well, so over time he invested a total of £120,000, before realising he had been scammed.
He was then contacted unexpectedly six months later by someone claiming to work for a legitimate cryptocurrency platform, informing him they could help recover his lost money. He was told he must open an account and buy Bitcoin in order to recover his losses through the blockchain. In total, he invested a further £560,000.
‘Their calculation was I would get that money back plus another £400,000, totalling £960,000. That was the carrot dangling to tempt me,’ he says.
When the returns didn’t materialise, it became clear that Joseph had been scammed a second time.
On retracing the steps, he realised he’d been contacted on the phone number he originally entered into the trading platform, making it likely that the same scammer had successfully targeted him again or sold his details to another fraudster.
How do I identify a legitimate company?
We've focused on scammers in this piece, but there are genuine companies that claim to be able to help you recover losses.
We contacted The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and it told us it considers many companies in this sector to be engaging in claims management activity.
Claims management companies must be authorised by the FCA, unless excluded from the need for authorisation - solicitors, for example, are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Genuine companies will be listed on the FCA's register, but you'll need to do your due diligence as some dodgy operators may copy details from genuine companies.
The FCA told us that claims management companies can charge a fee for their services, though these are capped. Importantly, it emphasised that consumers can make claims for losses themselves without needing to pay a third party.
If you've lost money to a scam, take the steps outlined in the 'getting your money back after a scam' section below.
How to avoid recovery scams
If you’ve been scammed, it's vital to be on your guard against any calls, texts, emails and social media messages from people claiming they can get your money back.
Fraud reports can only be shared between law enforcement agencies, so if someone contacts you out the blue claiming they can trace your losses, they’re almost certainly lying.
If anyone asks you to pay a fee or provide your bank account or card details, end all contact immediately.
Getting your money back after a scam
If you’ve been scammed, call your bank straight away using the number on the back of your card.
You should also report the scam to Action Fraud or call the police on 101 if you’re in Scotland.
You can ask your bank to reimburse your losses. Many banks are signed up to a code designed to protect innocent victims of fraud.
If you bank rejects your claim, you can escalate the case to the Financial Ombudsman.
None of these steps will cost you money, and you don't need to enlist the services of a third party to help you make a claim.
How to report dodgy accounts and websites
You can report Facebook accounts, groups and posts by tapping the three dots in the top right-hand corner of the page and selecting ‘report.’
To report an account on X, tap the three dots above its bio and select ‘report.’ You can report individual posts by tapping the three dots above the posts and selecting ‘report.’
Suspicious websites should be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre.
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