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Wire Fraud Recovery: Every Step After You're Defrauded
Act within first hour: (1) call bank for wire recall; (2) file ic3.gov to trigger FBI Recovery Asset Team (58% success while funds in US); (3) call title company verified number to confirm non-receipt; file police report. 24–72hr window: international transfer = near-zero recovery. Document everything: emails, wire receipts, bank records. Second scam: "recovery fee" offers targeting fraud victims are fraud — report to ic3.gov. Own Luxury Homes® 12-Point Agent Integrity Audit™ — prevention protocol every closing.
Wire Fraud Victim Recovery: Every Step to Take in the Hours After You Discover You've Been Defrauded
If you have sent a wire and believe it may have gone to a fraudster, this guide is for right now. Not after you process it. Not after you call your family. Now. Every minute between discovery and your first action reduces recovery probability. The steps below are in priority order. Do them in this order.
Immediate Actions: The First Hour
| Action | Who to Call | What to Say | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call your bank immediately | Your bank's wire transfer department (not general customer service) | "I sent a wire transfer today that I believe may be fraudulent. I need to initiate a wire recall immediately." Give them: date, amount, receiving bank name, account number. | |||||||
| File with FBI IC3 | ic3.gov (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center) | File a complaint online with all transaction details. This triggers the FBI's Recovery Asset Team which can contact the receiving bank to freeze funds. Do this simultaneously with the bank call. | |||||||
| Call the title company using your verified number | Title company (official website number only) | "I may have wired funds to a fraudulent account. I need to confirm immediately whether you received my wire." If they did not: you have confirmed fraud. | |||||||
| Call your real estate attorney if you have one | Your attorney | Alert them; they can initiate contact with the title company and help document the fraud for insurance claims. | |||||||
| Contact local law enforcement | Local police non-emergency line | File a police report. You will need this for insurance claims. Include the report number in all subsequent filings. | |||||||
| Do not contact the fraudster. Do not respond to any emails from the fraudulent account. Do not send any additional money for any reason including "recovery fees" (this is a second scam targeting fraud victims). | |||||||||
How the FBI Recovery Asset Team Works
The Financial Fraud Kill Chain
When you file at ic3.gov and the FBI determines your case meets their criteria, they activate the Financial Fraud Kill Chain (FFKC): they contact the receiving bank directly and request an immediate freeze on the account receiving your funds. If the funds have not yet been moved out of that account, the bank can freeze them pending investigation. In 2025, the FBI's Recovery Asset Team initiated 3,900 wire recovery incidents with a 58% success rate — but this number reflects cases where funds were still in the US banking system. Once funds are wired internationally or converted to cryptocurrency, the recovery rate drops to near zero. The FBI cannot compel foreign banks to return funds. Real estate wire fraud funds are typically routed to accounts in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Mexico, and other jurisdictions outside US enforcement reach.
The Hours After: Documentation and Insurance
What to Preserve and How
Forward every email communication related to the fraud to a separate email address (your personal email if it wasn't the compromised channel, or a new account). Preserve: all wire instruction emails received; all communications with the title company, agent, and attorney around the wire; the bank wire receipt confirming your sending; any email from the fraudulent account; screenshots of all email headers (the technical routing information). Do not delete anything. If your email was compromised: change your password immediately AND enable two-factor authentication before doing anything else. A compromised email means the fraudster can see your recovery communications and may attempt to interfere with them.
Insurance Coverage: What May Apply
Homeowners Insurance
Some homeowners insurance policies have "cyber" or "identity theft" endorsements that cover wire fraud losses. Check your declarations page. Standard homeowners policies generally do not cover wire fraud — you need a specific endorsement. If you have a cyber endorsement: file the claim immediately with your policy number and your police report number. Title insurance does not cover wire fraud losses — title insurance covers title defects, not fraudulent wires.
The Second Scam: Recovery Fee Fraud
“The wire fraud recovery call I helped a buyer navigate: They called me 40 minutes after wiring $83,000 to a fraudulent account. They had seen an email from what looked like our title company with "updated" wire instructions. First call: their bank. The bank put a recall request in immediately. Second: I called the title company — funds had not arrived. Third: ic3.gov, filed within the hour. The FBI activated the FFKC. The receiving bank froze $61,000 before it moved. $22,000 had already been wired out. The buyer recovered $61,000 within three weeks. $22,000 was gone. Without the immediate action: likely zero recovery. The 40 minutes between the wire and the first call was the difference between recovering 73 cents on the dollar and recovering nothing.”
— Ryan Brown, Principal Broker & CEO, Own Luxury Homes®
What should I do if I sent money to a wire fraud scam?
Act immediately in this order: (1) Call your bank and request a wire recall; give them the receiving bank name, account number, amount, and date. (2) File at ic3.gov to trigger the FBI Recovery Asset Team. (3) Call the title company using your verified number to confirm they did not receive your funds. (4) File a police report. (5) Document and preserve all communications. The recovery window is 24–72 hours before funds move internationally. Every minute counts.
Can I get my money back after wire fraud?
Possibly, if you act immediately. The FBI's Recovery Asset Team had a 58% success rate in 2025 for cases filed promptly while funds were still in the US banking system. Once funds move internationally, recovery probability drops to near zero. File at ic3.gov within the first hour of discovering the fraud and simultaneously contact your bank for a recall.
Own Luxury Homes® — wire verification and fraud prevention integrated into every closing. 12-Point Agent Integrity Audit™. Request a verified buyer specialist ›
"The introduction Own Luxury Homes® makes is to a specialist with documented closing history in your specific market — not the county, not the metro, the submarket you're actually selling or buying in. That's the standard we verify before your name goes anywhere."
— Ryan Brown, Principal Broker & CEO, Own Luxury Homes® (FL License BK3626873)