Getting Your Money Back After a Scam
About this article
Sourced from primary statutes (U.S. Code, CFR, state compiled statutes) and official government agency guidance. Written in plain language for general understanding — this is educational content, not legal advice. Our editorial standards
What is this right?
Federal law gives you two distinct money-recovery routes depending on how you paid. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) covers credit cards: you have 60 days from the statement showing the charge to send a written billing-error notice; the creditor must acknowledge in 30 days and resolve within two billing cycles (no more than 90 days). The Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E cover debit cards, ACH, and most P2P transfers: you have 60 days from the statement; the bank must investigate within 10 business days (extendable to 45 if it issues provisional credit). Cash, wire, money order, and most cryptocurrency payments fall outside both regimes — recovery there is much harder and usually depends on the IC3 kill chain or the receiving bank's discretion.
Card-network chargeback rules (Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, Discover) operate alongside FCBA / Reg E. The networks set their own dispute reason codes, evidence requirements, and time limits — typically 120 days for credit and 90 days for debit, with some exceptions. The chargeback runs through your bank, not the network directly. FCBA / Reg E is the statutory floor; the network chargeback is the operational route.
When does it apply?
- A charge appears on a credit card, debit card, bank statement, or P2P app that you didn't authorize, or that you authorized for a transaction the merchant then failed to deliver (goods not received, services not performed, product not as described).
- You were tricked into authorizing a transaction (push-payment scam) — coverage is narrower under US law than under the UK APP rules, but Reg E unauthorized-transaction rules can still apply where the consumer's identity or credentials were impersonated.
- A recurring charge continues after you cancelled a subscription.
- A merchant double-charged or charged the wrong amount.
Recovering Money Under FCBA, Regulation E, and Card-Network Chargebacks
Match the recovery channel to the payment channel. Don't pick the wrong statute — you lose the deadlines that matter.
- If you paid by credit card: Call the issuer's fraud line, then send a written billing-error notice under FCBA § 1666 within 60 days of the statement. The notice must reach the address the issuer designated for billing inquiries (it's on the statement and on the issuer's site). Identify yourself, the charge, the amount, and why you believe it's an error. The issuer cannot try to collect the disputed amount, report it as delinquent, or close your account because of the dispute. Resolution must happen within two billing cycles (max 90 days).
- If you paid by debit card, ACH, or P2P (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): Notify your bank within 60 days of the statement showing the disputed item. Liability under Reg E is $50 if you report within 2 business days of learning of the loss, $500 if you report between 2 and 60 days, and unlimited after 60 days — so the day-2 deadline matters as much as the 60-day one. The bank must investigate within 10 business days (or extend to 45 with provisional credit). If the bank concludes there was no error, it must explain in writing and let you request the documents it relied on.
- File a card-network chargeback in parallel where applicable. Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, and Discover each publish reason codes (e.g., Visa reason code 13.1 'merchandise/services not received,' 13.3 'not as described,' 10.4 'other fraud — card-absent environment'). The network rules are bank-administered — when you call the issuer's fraud line, ask for the chargeback to be opened under the appropriate reason code.
- If the bank denies your dispute, escalate to the CFPB. The complaint forces a 15-day response and a 60-day final response. Cite Reg E § 1005.11(d)(1) (written explanation requirement) and request the documents under § 1005.11(d)(2). Most bank denials don't survive an FCBA / Reg E lawyer's letter — but the CFPB step is free and frequently triggers a re-opening.
- For wires, money orders, or cash: The IC3 kill chain is the main lever. File ic3.gov within 72 hours. Separately, contact the wire originator's bank in writing to request a SWIFT recall. The receiving bank is not legally required to return funds, but many cooperate with documented fraud reports.
What should you NOT do?
- Don't dispute by phone alone for credit cards. FCBA's statutory protections (no collection of disputed amount, no negative reporting, structured resolution) attach to the written notice. Phone calls start the conversation but don't lock in the rights.
- Don't dispute by phone alone for debits / ACH either. Reg E allows oral notice but the bank can require written confirmation within 10 business days (§ 1005.11(b)(2)) — and may withhold provisional credit if you don't send it. Send writing right away.
- Don't pay the disputed amount 'just to keep the account current.' FCBA expressly bars the creditor from treating the disputed amount as delinquent. Paying it makes recovery harder and waives leverage.
- Don't let the issuer call it 'authorized' when you didn't authorize it. The legal test under Reg E (12 C.F.R. § 1005.2(m)) is whether the consumer gave actual authority — a scam that tricked the consumer into authorizing the payment is harder, but the issuer often defaults to 'authorized' to deny the claim. Push back in writing.
Common Questions
Does FCBA cover all credit-card disputes?
It covers billing errors as defined in 15 U.S.C. § 1666(b): unauthorized charges, charges for goods/services not delivered or not as described, computational errors, failures to credit a payment or return, and charges for items the cardholder did not accept. Most scam scenarios fit one of those buckets. The 60-day clock runs from the statement, not the transaction.
Does Regulation E cover Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App?
Yes — Reg E covers consumer EFTs broadly, and the CFPB has confirmed P2P transfers are EFTs under the rule. The harder question is whether the transfer was unauthorized. If a thief took over your account, that's plainly unauthorized and Reg E applies fully. If you yourself authorized the transfer but were tricked (push-payment scam), banks often resist Reg E coverage — but the CFPB has pushed back on that position, and a CFPB complaint frequently changes the bank's answer.
What's the difference between FCBA and a card-network chargeback?
FCBA is a federal statute with consumer rights you can sue to enforce. Card-network chargebacks (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) are private contract rules between merchants, acquirers, and issuers. The issuer typically processes both in one workflow — they call the dispute a chargeback while running it through FCBA's process. The two rarely conflict; FCBA is the legal floor and the chargeback is the operational route.
Can I sue if the bank refuses to refund?
Yes. FCBA violations (15 U.S.C. § 1666e) and Reg E / EFTA violations (15 U.S.C. § 1693m) both create private rights of action. Statutory damages, actual damages, and attorney's fees are available. Many consumer-finance lawyers take FCBA / Reg E cases on contingency. The CFPB complaint is the no-cost first step; a lawsuit is the escalation if it doesn't work.
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