Experiencing a scam can leave people facing financial loss alongside uncertainty, anger, embarrassment or fear. In the immediate aftermath, knowing which actions to prioritise can help limit further harm, protect compromised accounts and personal information and begin the recovery process.
To provide clear guidance on what to do next, GASA's Consumer Education Working Group has developed After the Scam: A 5-Step Response Plan. The resource sets out five immediate actions, followed by additional steps to help protect accounts, personal information and devices in the days that follow.
Five Immediate Steps After a Scam
The Consumer Education Working Group identifies five actions to prioritise:
What Comes Next?
The response plan also includes an additional actions checklist for addressing risks that may remain after the immediate steps have been taken.
Depending on the circumstances, this can include reporting the scam through the communication platform used by the criminal, checking devices for malicious software, freezing credit and taking action where personal identifying information may have been compromised.
The Working Group also recommends monitoring accounts for unusual activity, warning close contacts about messages that may appear to come from the victim and reviewing social media privacy settings.
Staying Alert for Follow-Up Scams
Experiencing one scam can also create the risk of being targeted again. Criminals may approach victims claiming that they can recover lost money, investigate the original scam, provide legal assistance or retrieve cryptocurrency in exchange for a fee.
The response plan advises people to verify the identity of anyone who contacts them unexpectedly and be cautious of anyone promising to recover stolen funds in exchange for an upfront payment.
It also provides longer-term security guidance, including using a password manager to maintain strong, unique passwords and enabling multi-factor authentication wherever possible.
Using and Sharing the Response Plan
After the Scam: A 5-Step Response Plan was prepared by GASA's Consumer Education Working Group with the support of GASA member organisations. It is designed not only for individuals who have experienced a scam, but also for organisations looking for practical guidance they can share with customers and communities.
The resource can be distributed freely to scam victims and the wider public. Organisations can also add their own logo and adapt the visual style while retaining the original content and reference to the Global Anti-Scam Alliance.
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