How to Report Cybercrime and Online Fraud in Uruguay (2026)
Scammed or hacked in Uruguay? Who to call (911, cybercrime unit +598 2030 4625), how to report to the police and CERTuy, and how to try to get your money back.
Uruguay is a sovereign country with its own police, prosecutors and a dedicated cybercrime unit, so if you are scammed or hacked here you deal with the Dirección General de Cibercrimen at the Ministerio del Interior, not a foreign agency. Uruguay also passed a new cybercrime law in 2024 that gives banks the power to freeze suspicious transfers, which can matter a great deal if you move fast. 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: Ministerio del Interior · AGESIC / CERTuy · Banco Central del Uruguay · URCDP
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, recall or freeze the payment. 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.
- Cybercrime, fraud or hacking: report to the Dirección General de Cibercrimen at the Ministerio del Interior. You can go to any seccional (local police station), call the unit directly on (+598) 2030 4625, or email [email protected]. Once a complaint is filed, the Fiscalía (Ministerio Público) takes over the investigation.
- A cyber incident or vulnerability: report to CERTuy, the national CERT run by AGESIC, through the reporting form on gub.uy.
- Fake bank websites or apps: notify the Banco Central del Uruguay (BCU) at [email protected].
- Other financial-consumer complaints, including unregistered lenders or money-transfer firms: file through the BCU's usuariofinanciero portal.
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 track offenders.
Getting your money back
Uruguay uses the Uruguayan peso ($, UYU). How you paid decides your options, and speed is everything.
| How you paid | What to do |
|---|---|
| Bank transfer | Call your bank within minutes. Uruguay's 2024 cybercrime law lets banks freeze funds from an unauthorised transaction, so a fast report to your bank and the Cibercrimen unit gives you the best chance of a hold before money moves further. |
| 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 the Cibercrimen unit at once, and beware "recovery agents" who contact you, that is usually a second scam. |
There is no automatic refund guarantee for bank transfers. Report promptly, claim from your bank, and escalate a refused claim through the BCU's usuariofinanciero complaints channel.
Scams that hit Uruguay
Uruguayan authorities have warned repeatedly about:
- Phone and email impersonation of BCU officials, where fraudsters claim to be calling from the central bank to "verify" an account or transaction.
- Unregistered lending and money-transfer firms operating online, a pattern the BCU tracks and warns consumers about directly.
- Marketplace scams built on too-good-to-be-true pricing combined with phishing links, flagged by the Ministerio del Interior's cybercrime unit. See how this kind of messaging works in our explainer on how phishing works and how to stop it.
The law and your data
Uruguay's cybercrime law, Ley N° 20.327, was approved in August 2024 and published on 25 September 2024. It covers cyberstalking, computer fraud and damage, unauthorised access, interception, data breaches and digital identity theft, and it is the law that empowers banks to freeze funds from unauthorised transactions. Your personal data is protected by Ley N° 18.331 (2008), regulated by the Unidad Reguladora y de Control de Datos Personales (URCDP). URCDP guidance points to a 72-hour breach-notification window with an initial mitigation step expected within 24 hours; check the current URCDP guide directly, as notification timelines can be updated.
FAQ
Where do I report a cybercrime in Uruguay?
At any local police station (seccional), directly to the Dirección General de Cibercrimen on (+598) 2030 4625, or by email. The Fiscalía then takes the case forward.
Someone made an unauthorised transfer from my bank account. Does that change anything?
Report it immediately to your bank and the Cibercrimen unit. Uruguay's 2024 cybercrime law lets banks freeze funds tied to an unauthorised transaction, but that only works if you report fast, before the money is moved again.
I only got a suspicious message and lost nothing. Should I still report it?
Yes. Forward it to CERTuy or the Cibercrimen unit. It helps authorities warn others and track patterns even when no money changed hands.
Sources: Ministerio del Interior · AGESIC / CERTuy · Banco Central del Uruguay · URCDP
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.