Speed matters because receiving banks can sometimes hold funds, and because your own bank’s notes of the first call become part of the file.
On the day
- Call the bank on the number on the card or in the official app. Do not use a number the caller gave you.
- Ask them to recall the payments and to contact the receiving firm.
- Report to Action Fraud, or to the police via 101 if Action Fraud is not the right route, and keep the reference.
- Stop contact with the scammer. Do not pay a “recovery fee” to a new caller.
The next day
Write the story once, in order. Dates, amounts, who you thought you were paying, and what anyone at the bank said. Screenshot chats before accounts are blocked. Export statements. A calm page of facts is worth more than a long retelling later.
If a second person contacts you offering to recover the money for an upfront fee, treat that as another scam. A genuine review can wait until you have the bank’s written position.