How to Report Cybercrime and Online Fraud in the Dominican Republic (2026)
Scammed or hacked in the Dominican Republic? Who to call (911), how to report to DICAT and PEDATEC, and how to try to get your money back.
The Dominican Republic is a sovereign country with its own police, prosecutors and cyber laws, so if you are scammed or hacked here you deal with the Policía Nacional and the Procuraduría General de la República, not a foreign agency. There is no single online portal for filing a cybercrime complaint: the real reporting channel is a specialised police unit you visit or call directly. This guide shows you exactly who to contact, how to preserve evidence, and how to try to get your money back. Act fast: the sooner you tell your bank, the better your odds.
Primary sources: Sistema Nacional de Atención a Emergencias 911 · Centro Nacional de Ciberseguridad (CSIRT-RD) · ProUsuario, Superintendencia de Bancos · Procuraduría General de la República
On this page
First: stop the loss
- Contact your bank or card issuer immediately. If you sent money or shared card details, call the number on your card or statement, report the fraud, and ask them to stop or recall the payment and freeze the account. For card payments, ask about a chargeback. Our chargeback guide explains how.
- Stop all contact with the scammer. Never send more money to "release" or "verify" funds, and never install remote-access software a caller asks for. That is the scam. Block the number, email and account.
- Secure your accounts by changing passwords, signing out other devices and turning on two-step verification. If you clicked a link, see what to do after clicking a phishing link.
- Keep evidence: screenshots, payment references, phone numbers, account details and the exact wording of any messages.
Who to report to
- Emergency or a crime in progress: call 911.
- General fraud or theft: the Policía Nacional can be reached on (809) 682-2151 or (809) 685-2020.
- Cybercrime, hacking or high-tech fraud: report to DICAT (Departamento de Investigación de Crímenes y Delitos de Alta Tecnología), the Policía Nacional's specialised unit, at its offices in Santo Domingo or Santiago. There is no general online form for this, so plan to go in person or call ahead through the police switchboard. Cases are prosecuted by PEDATEC at the Procuraduría General de la República under Ley 53-07.
- Extortion specifically: PEDATEC has said victims of extortion can also use the "Línea Vida" hotline (*211, 809-200-1202, [email protected]). Be aware this line's primary purpose is gender-based violence support, not general cybercrime, so if your case is not extortion, go directly to DICAT instead.
- A cyber attack or hacking incident: report to CSIRT-RD under the Centro Nacional de Ciberseguridad (CNCS) at [email protected].
- Fake banks or financial fraud: the Superintendencia de Bancos handles this through ProUsuario (prousuario.gob.do, (809) 685-8141).
Reporting does not by itself return your money, but it creates an official record and feeds investigations. Report even if you did not lose money, because it still helps authorities build a pattern against repeat offenders.
Getting your money back
The Dominican Republic uses the Dominican peso (RD$). How you paid decides your options, and speed is everything.
| How you paid | What to do |
|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Call your bank within minutes to try to stop or recall the payment. Ask whether it will reimburse you, and file a claim in writing. |
| Debit or credit card | Ask your card issuer for a chargeback and dispute the transaction in writing. Card payments carry the strongest protection. |
| Crypto, cash app or gift cards | Rarely recoverable. Report to the platform and DICAT at once, and beware "recovery agents" who contact you, that is usually a second scam. |
There is no automatic refund guarantee for bank transfers here. Report to DICAT, claim from your bank, and escalate a refused claim through ProUsuario at the Superintendencia de Bancos.
Scams that hit the Dominican Republic
Dominican authorities have warned repeatedly about:
- Smishing, phishing, quishing (QR-code phishing) and vishing (voice call phishing), the focus of the Superintendencia de Bancos' "Verifica Primero" awareness campaign.
- Phishing impersonating government social-aid programs, a pattern PEDATEC has specifically flagged, using fake benefit or subsidy messages to harvest personal and banking details.
- Bank and payment-app impersonation, where messages claiming to be from a bank ask victims to "verify" an account. See how this messaging works in our explainer on how phishing works and how to stop it.
The law and your data
Cybercrime in the Dominican Republic is defined and prosecuted under Ley No. 53-07 sobre Crímenes y Delitos de Alta Tecnología, passed on 8 March 2007, which covers unauthorised access, data theft, computer fraud and related offences. On privacy, the country has no general-purpose data protection authority. Ley 172-13 (2013) establishes some data-protection principles, but oversight is limited to credit-reporting bureaus, exercised through the Superintendencia de Bancos. If your complaint is about broader misuse of personal data rather than credit reporting, there is currently no dedicated Dominican regulator to escalate it to; your practical options are DICAT (if it involves a computer crime) or your bank or service provider directly.
FAQ
Can I file a cybercrime complaint online in the Dominican Republic?
No, not through a dedicated portal. Report to DICAT, the Policía Nacional's high-tech crime unit, at its offices in Santo Domingo or Santiago, or call the general police lines to be directed there.
Is Línea Vida the cybercrime hotline?
Not primarily. Línea Vida (*211) is mainly a gender-based violence support line. The Procuraduría has said extortion victims can use it too, but for hacking, fraud or other cybercrime, go directly to DICAT instead.
My email or social media was hacked. Who do I tell?
Secure the account first: change the password, sign out other devices and turn on two-step verification. Report the incident to CSIRT-RD, and to DICAT if money, identity or business communications were affected.
Sources: Sistema Nacional de Atención a Emergencias 911 · Centro Nacional de Ciberseguridad (CSIRT-RD) · ProUsuario, Superintendencia de Bancos · Procuraduría General de la República
If you have been targeted, you are not alone. See our country-by-country cybercrime help hub for step-by-step reporting and recovery guides.