Someone sent me money by mistake: is it a scam? What to do

If money you weren't expecting lands in your account and a stranger asks you to send it back, don't send it yourself, even if the story sounds honest. Leave the money where it is and contact your bank or wallet through its app or the number on its official website, so they can check where it came from and handle the return through their own process. That protects you whether the mistake is real or a scam.

How the "I sent you money by mistake" scam works

It shows up in Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Mexico and elsewhere, on bank accounts and on wallets like Nequi, Yape or Mercado Pago. The script is almost always the same:

1. A transfer from someone you don't know arrives in your account, or a message says it did.
2. Minutes later you get a WhatsApp message, a text or a call. It's a polite, worried person: they sent their rent money to the wrong number and need it back.
3. They ask you to send it to a different account or number: "my account got blocked", "send it to my brother's number", "use this other account".
4. If you hesitate, the pressure grows: crying, urgency, a screenshot of a receipt, or threats to report you to the police or publish your data.

The request to return the money somewhere new is the key detail. A real sender who made a mistake has a simpler option: asking their own bank or wallet, which can see exactly where the money went.

Where the money really comes from

The money is often real, which is what makes the trick convincing. What matters is whose it is.

• A loan in your name. The scammer uses your ID number and personal data to take a quick online loan, and gives your account or number for the payout. You "return" the money to them, and the lender later asks you to repay a loan you never saw. Nequi warned about this version in Colombia in 2025.
• Stolen money. The transfer came from a hacked account or a stolen card. When the real owner complains, the banks can freeze that money in your account or claim it back. What you sent to the scammer is gone, and your account appears in a fraud case as the one that received and moved stolen money. An account used this way is called a money mule.
• No money at all. The "transfer" is a fake text message that imitates your bank, or an edited screenshot. Your real balance never changed.

Sometimes it really is an honest mistake. The steps below work then too: the bank returns the money to the right person.

What to do, step by step

1. Check in the official app, not in the message. Open your bank or wallet app yourself and look at your balance and the movement. Only the app counts. A text message or screenshot proves nothing.
2. Don't spend it, move it or send it back. Not to the number that wrote to you, and not to "the other account" they give you. Just leave it.
3. Contact your bank or wallet through official channels. Use the help chat inside the app, or the phone number printed on your card or listed on the official website. Explain that you received a transfer you don't recognize and that someone is pressuring you to return it. Ask them how to return it through their own process.
4. Follow only the platform's process. Each bank and wallet handles this differently. Nequi says not to return money when someone contacts you about a supposed error, and to go through its official channels. Yape, in Peru, has a process in its app's Help Center through which the app itself contacts the person who received the money. If a return request comes that way, follow the app's own steps. A legitimate process never asks you, in a personal chat, to pay a new number.
5. Don't argue with the person writing. If you want to answer, one line is enough: "Please ask your bank; mine will handle it." Then block the number. Before you block it, take screenshots of the chat, the number and the dates.
6. Get a second opinion on the message. Paste it into the scam checker. It recognizes common scam scripts like this one and looks at any links in the message. The text is read in your browser and never leaves it; only the links go to our server (api.ethorns.com) to see where they lead and how old their domain is, and the results are kept for up to an hour.
7. Watch for a loan in your name. In the next few days, look out for messages from lenders or debt collectors you don't know. If one appears, don't pay it: read how to find out if someone took a loan in your name.

If you already sent the money

Act quickly: the first hours matter most.

1. Call your bank or wallet now, using the number from the app or your card. Tell them you were scammed, give the date, the amount and the account or number you sent it to, and ask whether they can stop or recover the transfer. There's no guarantee, but the sooner they know, the better your chances.
2. Keep every piece of evidence: the chat, the number, your receipt and the incoming transfer.
3. Report it. The "scammed or hacked? what now" tool gives you steps by situation (choose "money you sent") and the official places to report in your country. It's a page of steps and sends nothing anywhere. For more detail, see where to report a scam.
4. Check whether someone took a loan in your name, as in the last step above.
5. Be wary of anyone who later offers to "recover" your money for a fee. That's a second scam aimed at people who were already scammed.

Why the bank should do the return, not you

When you send money back by hand, you make a new, separate payment. It doesn't cancel the first one. If the original money is later claimed back, because it was stolen or fake, you lose the money twice: once when you sent it, and again when the bank takes back the incoming transfer.

A return handled by the bank or wallet is different. They can trace the original transaction, see who really sent it and return it through their own process, with a record that you acted in good faith.

Keeping money that isn't yours isn't the answer either. In several countries, knowingly keeping a transfer you received by mistake can have legal consequences. Reporting it to your bank is how you show you didn't keep it, and it's also what protects you from the scam.

Quick checklist

• I checked my balance in the official app, not in a text or screenshot.
• I didn't spend, move or return the money on my own.
• I contacted my bank or wallet through the app or the number on my card.
• I kept screenshots of the chat and the number, then blocked it.
• I'm watching for messages about loans or debts I don't recognize.
• If I already sent money, I called my bank and reported it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get in trouble for not returning the money?

Not if you report it to your bank or wallet and leave it untouched. The risk is in spending it or moving it to a stranger. Telling your bank is the honest, documented way to give it back.

Can I just send it back to the same account it came from?

It's still safer to let the bank do it. A manual return is a new payment, so if the original transfer was stolen or came from a loan in your name, it may be claimed back anyway and you end up paying twice.

They sent me a screenshot of the receipt. Isn't that proof?

No. Screenshots and text messages are easy to fake. The only proof is the movement you see when you open your own app yourself.

They say they'll report me to the police. What should I do?

Don't let it rush you. Someone who really made a mistake can ask their own bank, which can see where the money went. Threats are a pressure tactic. Keep the messages and tell your bank about them.

Try it

• 1.1Is it a scam?Paste a message or link you received and see its warning signs: brand look-alikes, new domains, short links, scam wording.
• 1.2Scammed or hacked? What nowSteps for the first hours after a scam or a hack: a bad link, a shared code, a stolen WhatsApp, money sent.