The Information Security team wants to ensure you have the tools and support needed to respond if a scam affects your personal accounts, finances, identity, or device.
In addition to reporting the incident to Information Security through Report a Security Concern, take the steps below that apply to your situation. Acting quickly may help limit financial loss and prevent additional misuse of your information.
Stop Contact and Preserve Evidence
- Stop communicating with the scammer and block further contact.
- Do not send additional money or information, even if the scammer claims it is necessary to recover what you lost.
- Save emails, text messages, chat transcripts, voicemails, phone numbers, websites, usernames, receipts, and transaction records.
- Document what happened, including dates, times, payment amounts, information disclosed, and actions you took.
- Do not delete suspicious messages until relevant information and evidence have been preserved.
Contact Your Financial Institution or Payment Provider
If you sent money or disclosed financial information, contact the appropriate organization immediately using a trusted phone number or official application:
- Bank transfer, ACH, or Zelle: Contact your bank or credit union and ask whether the transfer can be stopped or reversed.
- Credit or debit card: Contact the card issuer, report the fraudulent transaction, and request a replacement card if necessary.
- Payment application: Report the transaction through the payment provider and request that it be reversed.
- Wire transfer: Contact the bank or wire-transfer company immediately and request a recall.
- Gift card: Contact the gift card issuer, provide the card and receipt information, and ask whether the remaining balance can be frozen or refunded.
- Cryptocurrency: Contact the cryptocurrency exchange or ATM operator and provide the wallet address and transaction details.
Continue monitoring the affected accounts and promptly report any additional unauthorized activity.
Secure Your Accounts
If you provided a password, verification code, or account information:
- Change the affected password immediately.
- Change the password anywhere else it was reused.
- Enable multifactor authentication.
- Sign out of other active sessions or devices.
- Review account recovery email addresses, phone numbers, forwarding rules, and other security settings for unauthorized changes.
- Contact the service provider through its official support channel if you can no longer access the account.
If a Villanova account was involved, include that information when submitting the Report a Security Concern.
Check Your Computer or Mobile Device
If you installed software, opened an attachment, or allowed the scammer to remotely access your device:
- Disconnect the device from the internet if the scammer still has access.
- Remove unfamiliar remote-access applications or browser extensions.
- Update the operating system and security software.
- Run a full security scan.
- Change passwords from a different, trusted device.
- Report the incident to Information Security if a University-owned device was involved.
Protect Your Identity and Credit
If you disclosed your Social Security number, driver’s license, banking information, or other sensitive personal information:
- Visit IdentityTheft.gov to report identity theft and receive a personalized recovery plan.
- Consider placing a free credit freeze or fraud alert with the credit bureaus.
- Review your credit reports for accounts or activity you do not recognize.
- Contact the issuing agency if a driver’s license, passport, or other government identification was exposed.
- Monitor financial, email, healthcare, tax, and benefits accounts for suspicious activity.
Report the Scam to IC3
Report online or internet-enabled scams to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) as soon as possible. IC3 accepts reports involving financial fraud, account takeover, investment or cryptocurrency scams, identity theft, extortion, impersonation, and other cyber-enabled crimes.
When filing:
- Go directly to www.ic3.gov and verify that the address ends in
.gov.
- Provide a clear, chronological description of what happened.
- Include available contact information used by the scammer, financial transaction details, websites, usernames, email headers, and cryptocurrency wallet information.
- Save or print the completed complaint before leaving the confirmation page. IC3 will not email you a copy.
- Keep all original evidence securely stored. IC3 does not accept attachments, but law enforcement may request the evidence later.
Filing an IC3 complaint does not guarantee that an investigation will be opened or that funds will be recovered. However, reports help law enforcement connect related incidents, identify scam trends, and pursue criminal activity.
Scammers frequently target previous victims by claiming they can recover lost money for an upfront fee. Be cautious of anyone who contacts you unexpectedly and promises guaranteed recovery. IC3:
- Does not charge a fee to file a complaint
- Does not request payment to recover funds
- Does not recommend paid recovery companies
- Does not operate social media accounts
- Will never instruct you to transfer money through cryptocurrency, gift cards, wire transfers, or prepaid cards
Additional Resources