I have already sent money
The next hour matters more than the next day. Start with the first two steps and read the rest afterwards.
Last reviewed 28 August 2026
Why the hour matters
Money taken this way is usually moved on within minutes, through a chain of accounts, and withdrawn. A bank can sometimes freeze the receiving account before that happens. Once the money has been withdrawn, recovering it stops being a banking matter and becomes an investigation, which is slower and far less likely to end with your money back.
Reporting on the same day is the single thing most strongly associated with getting money back. Not the amount, not who you are, not how it happened.
Then, in order
File on the cybercrime portal
Type cybercrime.gov.in into your browser yourself. Quote the reference number 1930 gave you. What to have ready.
Write down everything while it is fresh
The time, the amount, the number or ID that contacted you, what they said, and what you did. Screenshot everything before you delete anything. You will be asked for this more than once.
Change the passwords you used
Net banking, UPI PIN, email. Do it from a device that was not involved, and never through a link.
Uninstall anything they asked you to install
Especially screen-sharing apps such as AnyDesk, TeamViewer or QuickSupport. While it is installed, someone else can see everything you type, including the new password.
Tell one person you trust
Not for comfort, though that matters too. People who have just lost money are approached again, and having someone else to sanity-check the next call is the practical protection.
What a bank can and cannot do
Can, sometimes: freeze the receiving account if the money is still sitting in it, block your card, stop further transactions, and raise a dispute for an unauthorised transaction.
Cannot: reverse a UPI transfer you approved yourself, once the money has moved on. UPI is designed to be instant and final. If you entered your PIN, the bank’s position is that you authorised it, and recovery then depends on the police reaching the money before it is withdrawn.
This is worth knowing before you are told it by someone at a counter. It is not a reason to skip any of the steps above; it is the reason speed is the whole game.
This was not your fault
These messages are written and tested to work. They target people who are busy, worried, or in the middle of something else, and they are pressed by people who do this all day. Being caught by one says nothing about how careful or clever you are, and shame is the thing most likely to stop someone reporting in the hour when reporting still helps.