How to Report Cybercrime in Argentina (and Get Your Money Back)
If you were scammed online in Argentina, report to the cybercrime prosecutor UFECI, call your bank immediately and, if it stalls, escalate to the Banco Central. Here is the exact route and the refund reality.
Quick answer: For an emergency or a crime in progress, call 911. To report a cybercrime (ciberdelito), email the federal cybercrime prosecutor UFECI at [email protected] or, in the City of Buenos Aires, file online at denuncias.fiscalias.gob.ar. Call your bank right now to freeze the account or card and get a complaint number. Refund reality: Argentina has no automatic reversal law, so getting money back depends on your bank and on card-network chargebacks, and it is far more likely if you report within hours.
What to do in 3 steps
- Call your bank immediately. Use the number on the back of your card or in your banking app. Ask them to block the card or homebanking access, flag the transactions as unrecognised (desconocidas), and give you a written complaint number (numero de reclamo). Keep that number.
- File the criminal report (denuncia). Email the federal cybercrime unit UFECI at [email protected], or in CABA file online at denuncias.fiscalias.gob.ar (helpline 0800-33-FISCAL). Outside the City, find your local prosecutor through the official map at mpf.gob.ar/mapa-fiscalias.
- Escalate to the Banco Central if the bank stalls. If at least 10 business days pass after your complaint to the bank without a satisfactory answer, lodge a free claim with the BCRA online, attaching your ID, the bank complaint number and a description of the transactions.
How recovery actually works
Argentina has no equivalent of Europe's PSD2, so there is no blanket legal right to an automatic refund. Recovery runs on two tracks. First, your bank: report unrecognised activity at once and the bank may reverse it or, for card purchases, raise a chargeback through Visa or Mastercard under network rules. Second, the regulator: the Banco Central (BCRA) acts only as a second instance, after you have complained to the bank and waited the minimum period, and it can press the entity to resolve and refer unresolved cases to consumer protection. Speed is the single biggest factor. Funds sent by immediate transfer are often gone within minutes, so the earlier the bank and prosecutor act, the better your odds.
What to have ready
- Your DNI (identity document) and the affected account or card number.
- The bank complaint number (numero de reclamo) and date you reported.
- Dates, amounts and reference numbers of every unrecognised or disputed transaction.
- Screenshots of messages, emails, fake websites, profiles or phone numbers used by the fraudster.
- Any receipts, CBU/alias of the account money was sent to, and chat or call logs.
Frequently asked questions
Do I report to the police or to a prosecutor? Cybercrime reports go to the Ministerio Publico Fiscal. The federal unit UFECI takes reports by email at [email protected]; in the City of Buenos Aires you can file online at denuncias.fiscalias.gob.ar; elsewhere use your local fiscalia. Call 911 only for an emergency or a crime in progress.
Will I definitely get my money back? No. There is no automatic-refund law in Argentina. Unauthorised card or homebanking transactions reported quickly have the best chance, through the bank or a card chargeback. Payments you authorised after being deceived are much harder to recover, which is why reporting within hours matters.
The bank rejected my claim. What now? If at least 10 business days have passed since your complaint to the bank without a satisfactory resolution, file a free claim with the Banco Central (BCRA), which can open a second instance with the entity and, if still unresolved, refer it to national consumer protection.
Sources
- UFECI, Unidad Fiscal Especializada en Ciberdelincuencia, Ministerio Publico Fiscal
- Argentina.gob.ar, how to report a cybercrime (Con Vos en la Web)
- Ministerio Publico Fiscal de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, online complaints portal
- Banco Central de la Republica Argentina (BCRA), make a claim for fraud or scam
- Argentina.gob.ar, denunciar un delito informatico
For step-by-step reporting and recovery guides covering other countries, see our cybercrime help hub.