After you've paid a scammer: recovery chances by payment method

Key rules

• Unauthorised payments: If you did not approve the payment, tell your bank without delay and in any case within 13 months of the debit date.
• Card disputes: Card disputes can generally be made up to 120 days from the transaction date or the date the goods should have arrived.
• Payments you approved: A payment you approved, even under deception, is not refunded automatically; ask your bank to recall it and complain if it refuses.
• Crypto and cash: Both are almost impossible to recover unless you act within hours and the funds are still traceable.
• Recovery services: Never pay upfront to a company that promises to recover your money.

The big divide: unauthorised or authorised

Your chances depend on whether you approved the payment. If someone took money without your consent, your bank must normally refund you quickly. If you approved it yourself, even because you were tricked, there is no automatic refund, and recovery is harder.

"Approved" includes entering a code, confirming in your banking app, or sending a transfer yourself. Scammers often make you do these steps, which is why many scam payments count as authorised.

Unauthorised payments: expect a refund

This covers things like a card used without you knowing, or a payment made from your account by someone who took it over.

• The bank must refund the amount immediately, and at the latest by the end of the next business day after it learns of the payment. It must also put your account back as it was.
• The bank can delay only if it has reasonable grounds to suspect you of fraud, and it must report that suspicion to the Banco de España.
• Your loss is limited to €50 if the card or device was lost or stolen before you told the bank. After you notify the bank, you owe nothing.
• You bear the whole loss only if you acted fraudulently or with gross negligence, for example by carelessly giving away your credentials. The bank must prove the payment was properly authenticated. A log showing the payment was made is not enough on its own.

Report it without delay. The outer limit is 13 months from the debit date, but waiting weakens your case. Use the message template below to put it in writing and keep the reference number.

Card payments

For a card, there are two routes.

• Unauthorised use: claim the refund described above.
• A payment you made: ask your bank for a chargeback (a "reclamación de cargo"). Your bank claims the money back from the merchant's side. Card disputes can generally be made up to 120 days from the transaction date or the date the goods should have arrived.

A chargeback is strongest for non-delivery, goods not as described, or unauthorised transactions. It is weaker if you approved the payment with a code or app confirmation. It is never guaranteed. If your bank refuses, complain to its customer service department (SAC), then to the Banco de España claims service.

Bank transfers and Bizum

A transfer you sent yourself is an authorised payment. Call your bank immediately and ask it to try to recall the transfer, and ask for a goodwill refund. A recall depends on the receiving bank and on the money still being in the account. There is no guarantee.

Bizum works the same way: you confirmed it, so treat it as an authorised payment and contact your bank at once. Do not expect an automatic refund.

If the bank says no, you have these further routes:

2. Take the complaint to the Banco de España. It issues reports that are not binding, but they can help if the bank failed in its controls.
3. File a police report (denuncia). A judge can investigate and freeze funds. In some cases the receiving bank can also be held responsible for letting scam accounts operate.
4. Bring a civil claim. Spanish courts have sometimes ordered banks to refund phishing victims when security was weak or the payment was unusual. Results vary, and a court often holds your own carelessness against you.

No general law yet forces banks to refund scams you approved. EU reforms are expected to widen bank responsibility for scams where the fraudster pretends to be your bank, so ask your bank or the Banco de España what applies now.

Crypto and cash

Recovery chances are low. Cash handed over and crypto sent voluntarily cannot be reversed, and there is no chargeback.

Recovery is realistic only if you act within hours and the money is still at an identifiable exchange or bank account. In that case:

• File a police report with the Policía Nacional or the Guardia Civil. Some fraud types can be reported online.
• Contact the exchange with the transaction hash, the unique ID of the transfer, so it can flag the receiving account. Exchanges normally freeze funds only on a court or police order.

A judge can order a freeze in a criminal case. But most scammers are abroad, use mixing tools or cash out fast, and only a small share of money is ever recovered.

Beware of recovery services

Companies that promise to retrieve your money for an upfront fee are commonly a second scam. Never pay to get paid back. The warnings and questions below cover this in more detail.

Timeline and deadlines

• Report the payment to your bank and ask in writing for a chargeback and refund: straight away

• Tell your bank about an unauthorised payment: without delay and in any case within 13 months of the debit date

What to watch out for

• Payments you approved are not refunded automatically: If you authorised the payment while being deceived, the automatic refund rights do not apply, and no general duty to refund exists. Your bank may also say you were grossly negligent. Ask your bank at once to recall the transfer, then complain to its customer service and the Banco de España, and file a denuncia.

• Your bank may refuse an unauthorised-payment refund: The bank can hold back a refund if it suspects you acted fraudulently, and you bear the losses if you acted with intent or gross negligence. Ask for the refusal in writing. A record of card use alone does not prove you authorised it, so complain to the bank's customer service, then to the Banco de España.

• Cash and crypto are almost impossible to recover: Cash handed over and crypto sent voluntarily cannot be reversed and no chargeback exists. Most scammers are abroad or cash out fast. Act within hours: file a police report and send the exchange the transaction hash so it can flag the receiving account.

• Recovery services that charge upfront are usually a second scam: Firms that promise to retrieve your money for an upfront fee commonly just take more of it. Do not pay anyone upfront. Use your bank, the police and the courts instead.

Message to your bank to dispute a fraudulent payment

Use this message only if you did not approve the payment, for example a card used without your knowledge. If you were tricked into approving or sending the payment yourself, the bank's duty to refund works differently. Send the message anyway and ask for the bank's position in writing.

Send it through the bank's official channel that leaves a record: the secure message area in the app or online banking, a branch (ask for a stamped copy), or the email address for complaints. Fill in the blanks in brackets. Attach copies of your evidence and keep the originals unedited.

Message in Spanish

Asunto: Reclamación por operación de pago no autorizada – [últimos 4 dígitos de la tarjeta o IBAN]

Estimados señores:

Mi nombre es [nombre y apellidos], con [NIE/DNI/pasaporte] n.º [número], y soy titular de [la tarjeta terminada en XXXX / la cuenta con IBAN ES......].

Les comunico que no he autorizado la siguiente operación de pago, y les solicito su devolución:

• Fecha del cargo: [dd/mm/aaaa]
• Importe: [importe y moneda]
• Comercio o beneficiario: [nombre, o "desconocido"]
• Referencia o ID de la operación: [número, si consta]

Me he dado cuenta del cargo el [fecha en que lo detectó]. Esta comunicación se realiza sin demora y dentro del plazo de 13 meses desde la fecha del adeudo.

Conforme a la normativa de servicios de pago, les solicito que:

1. Me reembolsen el importe íntegro de la operación no autorizada de inmediato y, a más tardar, al final del día hábil siguiente a esta comunicación.
2. Restablezcan mi cuenta al estado en que se encontraba antes del cargo, incluidos los gastos, comisiones o intereses derivados de la operación.
3. Bloqueen [la tarjeta / el acceso a mi banca online] y me envíen [una tarjeta nueva / nuevas credenciales].
4. Me entreguen por escrito el número de referencia de esta reclamación.

Si consideran que la operación fue autenticada correctamente, les solicito que me faciliten por escrito las pruebas de la autenticación, del registro de la operación y de la ausencia de fallos técnicos. Si consideran que existen motivos para sospechar fraude por mi parte, les ruego que me lo indiquen por escrito y de forma motivada.

Declaro que [no he facilitado mis claves, códigos ni datos de la tarjeta a nadie / describa brevemente lo ocurrido: cómo y cuándo se dio cuenta]. [He presentado denuncia ante la policía el dd/mm/aaaa, n.º de atestado: ______.]

Adjunto copia de: [extracto de la cuenta o tarjeta con el cargo; capturas de pantalla con fecha; denuncia, si la hay; otros documentos].

Les ruego que me respondan por escrito a [correo electrónico] o [teléfono]. Si no recibo una solución satisfactoria, me reservo el derecho de presentar una reclamación ante el servicio de atención al cliente de la entidad y, después, ante el Banco de España.

Atentamente,

[Nombre y apellidos] [Fecha] [Teléfono y correo electrónico]

Terms the bank expects

Before you send it

• Attach screenshots, statements and transaction IDs as they are. Do not crop or edit them.
• Keep the bank's reply and reference number. Note the date and time of every call.
• Do not delete chats, emails or accounts linked to the fraud.
• Keep a copy of the sent message, or the stamped copy from the branch.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get my money back if I approved the payment myself?

Not automatically, because the automatic refund rights only cover payments you did not authorise. You can still ask your bank for a recall and a goodwill refund, complain to the bank's customer service, then to the Banco de España, and file a denuncia (police report) so a judge can investigate.

Can a court make my bank pay me back after a scam?

Sometimes, but there is no guarantee. Spanish courts have ordered banks to refund phishing victims when the bank's security was weak or the transaction was unusual, though gross negligence on your side is often held against you.

Can a card chargeback work if I confirmed the payment with a code?

It is weaker, but a chargeback may still work if the goods never arrived or were not as described. Ask your bank in writing for the chargeback and refund, and keep the complaint reference.

Should I pay a company that promises to recover my crypto?

No, a recovery firm that asks for an upfront fee is commonly a second scam. Instead, file a police report and give the exchange the transaction hash, so it can flag the receiving account.