# Take the right steps right after falling for a scam

An urgent, ordered action plan to stop the damage after a scam, protect your accounts, report it, and avoid follow-up scams.

- Topic: Personal Life & Wellbeing
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Advanced
- Tags: Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/take-the-right-steps-right-after-falling-for-a-scam

## Prompt

```text
I think I've been scammed. Help me act quickly and in the right order.

**What happened:** [e.g. paid a fake seller, gave my bank details to a caller, clicked a link and entered my password, let someone remotely access my computer]
**When it happened:** [DATE AND TIME]
**What I gave or paid:** [e.g. money and how - card, bank transfer, gift cards, crypto, payment app; personal details; passwords; remote access]
**Accounts or devices involved:** [e.g. bank, email, phone, computer]
**My country or state:** [LOCATION - reporting options vary]

Give me:
1. What to do in the next hour, in priority order (e.g. call my bank or card issuer's fraud line using the number on my card, change passwords starting with email, disconnect a device that was remotely accessed).
2. What to do in the next 24-48 hours (e.g. turn on two-step verification, check account activity, consider a credit freeze or fraud alert, report to the platform where the scam started).
3. Where to report it, by type: police, national fraud reporting service, my bank, the payment app, the website. Mark specific agency names [CONFIRM FOR MY LOCATION] unless you're sure.
4. How to recognize recovery scams - people who contact me promising to get my money back for a fee.
5. What evidence to save: screenshots, messages, receipts, phone numbers.

Be calm and kind - scams fool careful people every day. Don't promise I'll get money back; tell me honestly that it depends on how I paid and how fast I report it.
```

## What to fill in

- DATE AND TIME
- e.g. bank, email, phone, computer
- LOCATION - reporting options vary
- CONFIRM FOR MY LOCATION

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.