Getting your money back
Speed is the only real advantage you have. Work down this list in order.
The first hour
Call your bank. Ask specifically for a wire recall or a SWIFT indemnity request. If you paid by card, ask for a chargeback. If you used Zelle, Cash App, Venmo or PayPal, open a dispute in the app and then call the bank or card behind it. Do not use email for any of this — the window is measured in hours.
The first day
Preserve everything before it disappears. Screenshot the listing, the full message thread, the invoice, the payment confirmation and the seller's profile. Save the phone number, the email address and the website. Accounts are usually deleted within days.
File the official reports. reportfraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov. Then your state attorney general, and — if the seller claimed a dealer licence — your state motor vehicle department, which can act against the licence itself.
The first week
Report it publicly. File a report here with the number, the domain and the address. It is the thing that reaches the next buyer searching that number, and it is often how investigators find the pattern across victims.
Talk to a lawyer if the sum is large. Many state consumer protection statutes provide for costs and multiplied damages in vehicle sale fraud, which changes what is worth pursuing.
Common questions
Can a wire transfer be reversed?
Sometimes, if you act fast. Ask your bank for a wire recall or a SWIFT indemnity request. It works only while the receiving bank still holds the funds, which is often a matter of hours rather than days. Call, do not email.
What about Zelle, Cash App or Venmo?
Open a dispute in the app immediately, then call the bank or card behind the account. Protections are weaker than for cards because these are treated as authorised payments, but banks have reversed them where fraud is reported quickly.
Does reporting to the FTC or FBI get my money back?
Not directly, but the FBI's IC3 operates a recovery asset team that can freeze wires inside a limited window, so filing early matters. Both agencies also use reports to build cases against operations running at scale.
The seller has offered a partial refund if I remove my report. Should I?
Take the refund if it is real, but you are not obliged to withdraw an accurate account to get money you are owed. Tell us if a refund is paid and we will note the resolution on the report.
Vehicle Fraud Registry is not a law firm and nothing here is legal advice. It is a summary of the routes that have worked for people who filed reports with us.