A Guide to Chargebacks: Recover Your Funds After a Scam

Chargebacks: Getting Back Your Money After Being Scammed

With the increase of online trading, as well as the reliance on the internet, we’re perhaps more prone to scams now than ever before. The tactics used are increasingly more sophisticated, and the ways you can be scammed are multiplying. It’s also worth noting that people of all competencies are using the web, so even some of the oldest ways of parting people with their cash are still just as effective.

In instances of credit card fraud, we trust that our banks will be able to recover our money or at the very least, recredit our accounts. But what if you fall foul of a crypto scam? Or, what happens if you end up losing money through Nigerian advance-fee fraud? Read on to learn what a chargeback is and how they work.

What Is A Chargeback?

Chargebacks involve returning fees spent through a transaction, whether on a credit card, debit card, or through PayPal. In many ways, it’s the same as claiming a refund on missold or defunct items and asking for your money back.

However, not every chargeback requires some kind of transaction to have taken place, nor does it mean the amount spent is even done by you. In many cases, the amount that’s been debited from your account is a matter of fraud, or you’ve given it away yourself, only to find that the promise you were sold on is a scam, like a Ponzi scheme, or a bad broker that’s misusing your investments.

How Do Chargebacks Work?

How chargebacks work is entirely different for the consumer chasing their funds and the company that’s doing the chasing. All you need to do is reach out to the appropriate authority, hand over the evidence, and wait for the results.

The company responsible for recovering your funds have to review all the evidence, ascertain whether or not fraud has taken place, confront the alleged scammers, and get the funds back. Naturally, this requires a lot of knowledge, resources, and time, so you may find yourself waiting a while. Even if fraud can be proven, getting the money back isn’t always easy.

How Long Does A Chargeback Take?

How long it takes depends entirely on how you’re trying to reclaim your funds. The PayPal PayPal chargeback time limit will be different from a bank chargeback, and the same goes for your credit card.

The truth is, chargebacks are rather complex, and can take as long as 45 days; in some cases, they can take even longer than that. Depending on the amount of money taken, the nature of the chargeback – whether it’s from your bank or a site like PayPal – you may even be waiting as long as six months. There is no one answer, so be sure to ask the company that’s performing the chargeback. You might find that the amount isn’t worth the wait, or that it’ll come in quicker than you thought it would.

Pros and Cons of Chargebacks

Pros

Funds Recovery: Obviously, the best part about doing a chargeback is that you can get back the money that you’ve lost. For some, the amount taken can be huge, especially if you’ve fallen for investment scams. Getting back your lost cash is a huge relief and means you don’t have to spend years possibly trying to rebuild it.

You’re Sending A Message:
It might seem like all is lost if you’ve been scammed, but the truth is, you stand a solid chance of getting your funds back. Though it might not seem too important, you’re also sending the message that you won’t be scammed again, not least by the same broker or individual. That means you’re less likely to be hassled in the future.

You Can Keep Your Reputation: If your decisions mean your company is scammed, the last thing you want is to get your reputation ruined, or for rival businesses to find out what’s happened. Getting a chargeback means you can quietly reclaim your funds without having to let everyone know what’s gone wrong.

Pros

There Are No Guarantees: Chargebacks don’t work every time, and yours isn’t a guarantee either. If the scammer has already relocated your funds, it’s very unlikely that you’ll see them again. The faster you move, and the quicker you contact a chargeback company, the more chance you have to get your money back.

It’ll Cost You: Depending on how much the money is that you’ve lost, the fees for using a chargeback company might mean it’s best to chalk this one up to a loss and learn from it. Of course, if you’re doing your chargeback through your bank or PayPal, then the only resource you’ll be spending is time.

How To Do A Chargeback

The process of initiating a chargeback is simple enough. Read on for the three simple steps you’ll need to follow.

Step 1 – Reach Out:

The company or entity that originally held the funds that have been lost is where you turn to. For example, if you’ve been hit by an advance fee scam using funds from your debit account, then turn to the bank or fintech company that issued this account. That being said, if you want to go directly through a chargeback company like Payback to increase your chances of recovery, then this is also an option.

Step 2 – File Your Dispute:

When filing a dispute, be sure to give your reasoning, as well as the account, transaction, and any evidence associated with your case. The more information you give, the smoother the whole process will be, and it’ll no doubt make the team’s job easier that’s working on your case.

Step 3 – Wait For The Results:

At this point, there’s not much else you can do other than wait for the outcome. You might find that more evidence or reason is needed from the fraud team, but other than that, the best thing you can do is allow the experts to do their job.

Using Chargebacks To Recover Your Funds From Investment Scams

• Chargebacks For The Forex Market: You don’t have to have your money stolen to initiate a Forex chargeback. The quality of service and the choices a broker makes are also valid reasons. Brokers withholding your funds for personal gain is the more common example of Forex chargebacks, however.
• Chargebacks For The Binary Options Market: Just like with Forex, binary options is a sector where scams and scam firms are incredibly common. That’s why chargeback is so essential for this market.
• Chargebacks For The Digital Currency Market: The crypto market is relatively new, and since a lot of cryptos are always being made following the successes of Digital Coins, people of all competencies are using them. Plus, the lack of traceability with crypto means scams are rife here. Chargebacks can reclaim your funds in the event a shady platform or broker has taken them.

How Payback Can Help

At Payback, we’ve recovered almost one billion dollars of stolen money in just a few years. Whether our clients’ money has been taken through forex, crypto, or advance-fee scams, we’re able to get your money back through expertise and by working as quickly as possible.

Our team of fraud experts will swiftly review your case, compiling all the evidence we can before confronting the entity that’s stolen your money. All you need to do is reach out to a member of our team to get started – we’re ready to start your chargeback and get your funds recovered. We never take a case we’re not confident that we can win.