What to do in the first hour after being scammed
The first hour matters most. Move quickly through these steps in order — speed gives you the best chance of limiting the loss.
- Contact your bank or card provider immediately to stop transactions, freeze the account or recall the payment.
- Change the passwords for any accounts involved, plus anywhere you reused the same one, from a clean device.
- Turn on multi-factor authentication on your email and banking straight away.
- If a device was involved or remote access was given, disconnect it and have it checked before reusing.
- Call IDCARE on 1800 595 160 for a tailored plan if your identity or personal details are exposed.
- Report it to Scamwatch and ReportCyber, and keep all evidence and reference numbers.
Still stuck after those?
You’ve done the right thing by trying. Send whedo.it a quick note — what you tried, what you saw — and a senior pair of eyes will be on it the same business day.