How to Report Cybercrime in Florida (and Get Your Money Back)

Quick answer: Report federally to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov and to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. In Florida, also file a consumer complaint with the Florida Attorney General (myfloridalegal.com, 1-866-9-NO-SCAM) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS, 1-800-HELP-FLA), and report to your local sheriff's office or police department for a case number. If money just left your account, call your bank or card issuer immediately and ask them to recall or reverse the payment before you do anything else.

What to do in 3 steps

1. Call your bank or card issuer now. Before reporting anywhere else, contact the financial institution that sent the money. Ask them to recall the wire, reverse the transfer, freeze the account, or dispute the card charge. Speed is what decides whether the money can be clawed back, so do this first and write down the time and the name of who you spoke to.
2. File the federal reports. File a complaint with the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov with every detail you have (amounts, dates, account numbers, wallet addresses, phone numbers, emails). Report the scam to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. If your identity was stolen or your information was used to open accounts, also use IdentityTheft.gov to generate a personalized recovery plan.
3. Add the Florida layer and get a local case number. File a consumer complaint with the Florida Attorney General at myfloridalegal.com (or 1-866-9-NO-SCAM) and with FDACS, the state's consumer-complaint clearinghouse, at fdacs.gov or 1-800-HELP-FLA. Then report to your local sheriff's office or city police department and ask for a written report and case number, which banks and insurers often require.

How recovery actually works

Recovery is mostly a race against the clock. When you report fast, your bank may be able to recall a wire or reverse a transfer before the funds are withdrawn on the other end, and IC3's Recovery Asset Team can work with receiving banks to freeze fraudulent transfers, though this is most effective within roughly the first 24 to 72 hours. For unauthorized debit-card or account transactions, your bank must investigate under Regulation E and your liability is capped at $50 if you report within two business days (rising to up to $500 after that, and potentially unlimited after 60 days). Unauthorized credit-card charges are protected under the Fair Credit Billing Act. If you were tricked into authorizing the payment yourself, there is no automatic refund, but the bank recall, the payment app's dispute process, and the criminal investigation opened by your reports are still your real paths forward. Be aware that no legitimate agency guarantees recovery, and anyone who contacts you promising to get your money back for an upfront fee is running a follow-up scam.

What to have ready

• Dates, times, and exact dollar amounts of every transaction
• Account numbers, wire details, or cryptocurrency wallet addresses involved
• The scammer's phone numbers, email addresses, websites, and social media handles
• Screenshots of messages, payment confirmations, and any receipts or invoices
• Names and reference numbers from every bank or company you have already contacted
• A government photo ID and proof of your Florida address

Frequently asked questions

Do I report to the Florida Attorney General or to FDACS? You can use both, and they serve slightly different roles. The Attorney General's office, through its CyberFraud Section, investigates and enforces against internet fraud and uses consumer complaints to build cases. FDACS (1-800-HELP-FLA) is the state's general consumer-complaint clearinghouse and can help mediate disputes and point you to the right agency. Filing federally with IC3 and the FTC is still essential alongside either one.

Should I bother with my local sheriff or police if I already filed online? Yes. A local report gives you a case number that banks, insurers, and credit bureaus frequently require, and certain crimes have to be worked locally. In Florida you can report to your county sheriff's office or city police; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) also investigates computer crime and works with local agencies.

How fast do I have to act to get my money back? As fast as humanly possible. Call your bank the moment you realize what happened, because wire recalls and transfer freezes only work in the first hours and days. For unauthorized account transactions, notifying your bank within two business days keeps your liability at $50 under federal Regulation E, so do not wait to gather every detail before making that first call.

Sources

• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
• FTC ReportFraud
• FTC IdentityTheft.gov
• Florida Attorney General Consumer Complaint Form
• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS): File a Complaint
• Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)

For step-by-step reporting and recovery guides covering other countries, see our cybercrime help hub.