You entered a password or OTP
Change the password wherever it was reused, review sessions and recovery settings, and notify the affected provider. An OTP may have approved a login or transaction, so state exactly when and where it was entered.
Recover in the right order
What to do after a scam
The safest response depends on what happened: clicking a link, sharing a password or OTP, installing an app, sending money, or exposing identity documents. Start with the action that limits further loss.
Do not pay to make the problem disappear
Scammers often demand another payment for tax, verification, withdrawal, cancellation, or recovery. Stop contact and do not send more. Act from a trusted device and tell providers the complete story, including any code, access, or approval you gave.
The first hour matters
Work through these priorities even if you do not yet know the full impact.
- 01
Stop access and payments
End remote-access sessions, disconnect a suspicious device from sensitive activity, and contact financial providers. Ask whether cards, accounts, beneficiaries, devices, or transactions should be blocked.
- 02
Secure email, then financial accounts
Email often controls password resets. Change its password from a trusted device, sign out unknown sessions, remove forwarding rules, review recovery details, then secure banking and messaging accounts.
- 03
Preserve evidence before cleanup
Save messages, account names, URLs, receipts, transaction IDs, and the sequence of events. Evidence helps the bank, platform, and investigators understand what occurred.
- 04
Warn contacts and make reports
Tell contacts if a messaging or social account may be used to impersonate you. Report to the platform and appropriate Philippine channels, retaining every reference number.
Respond to what was exposed
Different forms of access require different recovery actions. Do not assume that changing one password fixes everything.
You installed an app or shared your screen
Remove remote access, stop using the device for sensitive accounts, and seek trusted technical help. Change important passwords from another known-safe device.
You sent money
Contact the payment provider immediately and ask about recall, hold, dispute, or fraud procedures. Recovery is not guaranteed, but delay reduces the available options.
You shared identity documents
Ask issuers and affected providers about replacement, monitoring, or fraud flags. Watch for new accounts, SIM changes, password resets, and impersonation attempts.
Get help through verified channels
Ignore unsolicited recovery offers. Contact each organisation yourself.
Your providerOpen official channel ↗BSP BOBOpen official channel ↗CICCOpen official channel ↗
Immediate account and payment response
Use the official fraud or customer-protection channel for blocking, review, dispute, and transaction tracing.
Second-level financial consumer complaint
Escalate only after reporting to the BSP-supervised institution and obtaining its complaint reference.
Online scam reporting
Call hotline 1326 and follow CICC instructions for the incident and evidence.
Recovery is a process, not a promise
Banks, platforms, and investigators may need time and cannot guarantee that money will be returned. Anyone who guarantees recovery in exchange for a fee, crypto payment, remote access, or secrecy is creating a second scam.