Wire Transfer Scams and What to Do Next
Scammers push people to wire money because it is easy to take the money and disappear. Here is why, the schemes they use, and what to do next.
Why wire transfers draw scammers
Many scams end with a request to wire money.
The FTC says scammers pressure people to wire money because it is easy to take the money and disappear. Your job is to spot the lie before you pay.
Why scammers want you to pay by wire transfer
Scammers often push people to pay by wire transfer. The FTC says the reason is that it is easy to take the money and disappear. Once you wire money, there is usually no way to get it back. Scammers can pick up your money at any of the wire transfer company's locations throughout the world. The FTC says it is nearly impossible to identify who picked it up or track them down.
Scammers also know you won't have the same protections you get by paying with a credit card.
That is why the FTC says never wire money to anyone you haven't met in person, no matter the reason they give. It is also illegal for a telemarketer to ask you to pay with a wire transfer.
Common wire fraud schemes
Scammers dress the same trick in many outfits. The FTC names several that rely on wires.
Family emergency scams. Someone calls pretending to be a family member or close friend who needs money wired right away.
Prize scams. You've won, they say, but you need to wire money back to cover taxes and fees.
Rental scams. Scammers put their own contact information on apartment or vacation rental ads and use photos they hijacked from someone else.
Fake check scams. A scammer overpays you for something you're selling online. Or they send a check as part of a mystery shopping assignment to evaluate a wire transfer service. Then they ask you to wire back the extra. The check is fake, and the FTC says it can take weeks for the bank to figure it out. When the bank does, it will want you to repay the money you withdrew. You can read more about how these work in our guide to check fraud.
Business email compromise. The FBI says this is one of the most financially damaging online crimes. A scammer spoofs an email account or website, using slight variations on legitimate addresses to fool victims. Or they use malware to infiltrate company networks and gain access to email threads about billing and invoices. Read more in our page on wire transfer fraud.
How to spot a wire fraud attempt before you send money
The FBI and FTC give clear warning signs. Watch for these.
Pressure to act fast. The FBI says to be especially wary if the requestor is pressing you to act quickly. The FTC says never wire money to anyone who pressures you into paying immediately.
A claim that wire is the only way to pay. The FTC says don't wire money to anyone who says a wire transfer is the only way to pay.
A request from someone you never met. The FTC says never wire money to someone who tries to sell you something over the phone.
A change in payment details. The FBI says you should verify any change in account number or payment procedures with the person making the request. Look up their number yourself and call back.
Odd email addresses. The FBI says to carefully examine the email address, URL, and spelling used in any correspondence.
Unexpected attachments and links. The FBI says never to open an email attachment from someone you don't know, and to be wary of attachments forwarded to you. It also says not to click on anything in an unsolicited email or text asking you to update or verify account information.
The FBI says to verify payment and purchase requests in person if possible, or by calling the person to make sure it is legitimate. It also says to look up a company's phone number on your own and call the company to ask if a request is real.
What to do if you already wired money
The FBI says you should contact your financial institution immediately and ask it to contact the financial institution where the transfer was sent. Ask the wire transfer company to reverse the transfer and give you your money back. The company decides whether it can. Nobody can promise you a refund in advance.
How to report wire fraud
Two agencies take these reports.
The FBI says to report business email compromise scams at ic3.gov, the Internet Crime Complaint Center. The FTC says that if anyone demanded that you wire money, you should report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC also says to report anyone who asks you to pay by wiring money, even if you caught it in time and paid nothing.
Other ways scammers take money
Wires are not the only way scammers take money. Card payments fall under different protections than wires do, which our page on credit card fraud explains. Thieves also still go after cards in person, as our page on credit card fraud skimming covers. The common thread is the same. Someone lies to get money moving their way.