You paid a scammer. Breathe. Then move fast.

Step 1: Phone your bank's fraud line, right now

Before anything else. Ask for three things in one call: an urgent payment recall, a fraud flag on the transaction, and notification to the receiving bank. Be honest about the odds: an EFT you authorised has no automatic reversal right, and a recall only works while the money is still sitting in the fraudster's account. In practice the window is roughly the first 24 to 72 hours, and it closes for good once cash is withdrawn. Every hour counts more than every other step on this page.

Step 2: Preserve every scrap of evidence

• Proof of payment and the transaction reference
• The account number and bank you paid
• Every WhatsApp, SMS, email and phone number used, screenshotted with dates visible
• The advert, listing or website that started it, before it disappears

Step 3: Open a SAPS case and get your CAS number

Go to any police station with your ID and the evidence bundle. You will give a statement; the case is registered on the system and you receive a CAS number. Everything downstream, the banks, the ombud, insurance and SARS if the loss is business related, will ask for it. It costs nothing and cannot be skipped.

Step 4: Report to the receiving bank too

Phone the fraud line of the bank you paid into, give the account number, the CAS number and the story, and ask them to restrict the account pending investigation. Mule accounts are often used for multiple victims; your report helps freeze what is left and builds the pattern.

Step 5: Protect your identity with SAFPS (free)

If the scammer has your ID number, documents or card details, apply for protective registration with the South African Fraud Prevention Service: online, via their app, or [email protected] (011 867 2234). Credit providers then apply extra verification before opening anything in your name. A reference is issued within about 48 hours, free.

Step 6: If your bank drops the ball, escalate free

Complain formally in writing to your bank first; it has 15 business days to respond. Unresolved or fobbed off? The National Financial Ombud Scheme (the 2024 consolidation of the banking, credit and insurance ombuds) takes it free: 0860 800 900, WhatsApp 076 574 8055, nfosa.co.za. Lodging with the NFO suspends prescription while they investigate, and complaints should reach them within three years of when you knew about the problem.

The honest part

Recovery often fails. If the money was withdrawn before the recall, no process on this page brings it back, and anyone who promises guaranteed recovery for an upfront fee is usually the second scam. What these steps do is give you the best real chance in the window that exists, protect your identity going forward, and put the paper trail in place for the ombud, insurance or a tax loss claim.