Recovery Scams via Email
Con artists email previous fraud victims posing as recovery specialists, government agencies, or law firms, charging upfront fees and delivering nothing.
Part of: Recovery Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Recovery scams target people who have already lost money to fraud, making them among the cruelest in the scam ecosystem. Criminals obtain lists of victims — either from the dark web, from previous scam operations, or by scanning public complaints forums — and send follow-up emails posing as investigators, lawyers, or government agencies offering to recover lost funds for an upfront fee.
The fee is the entirety of the scam. After payment, 'recovery' never materialises: the operator either vanishes or invents new fees (taxes, insurance, processing charges) to extract further money before disappearing entirely.
How this scam works on Email
Recovery emails typically reference the victim's previous fraud by name or type, lending credibility. They may claim to be from an 'International Fraud Recovery Unit', a law firm, or a government task force. The email explains that authorities have traced the funds or identified the perpetrators, but a small processing or legal fee is needed to release the recovered money.
Some recovery scammers operate the original scam as well, cycling through the victim twice. Others work independently, buying victim data. A second wave of recovery emails sometimes follows the first recovery fraud itself.
Common red flags
- Unsolicited email claiming to know details of your previous fraud loss
- Upfront fee required before any recovery action is taken
- Sender claims to represent a government or law-enforcement agency but communicates only by email
- Guarantee of full recovery — no legitimate recovery process can promise this
- Payment demanded via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift card
- Pressure to act quickly before a 'legal window' closes
How to protect yourself
- Understand that legitimate fraud-recovery agencies do not solicit victims by cold email
- Never pay an upfront fee to any entity promising to recover previous losses
- Verify any agency claiming to be a government body by contacting that body through independently sourced contact details
- Report the recovery contact to your national fraud authority before engaging further
- Seek free advice from official consumer or victim-support organisations instead
How to report it
- Report to Action Fraud, the FTC, or your national fraud authority
- Notify the platform or forum where you originally complained about the fraud, as scammers monitor these
- Share details with your bank if any payment was made
Frequently asked questions
The recovery email mentions the exact company I lost money to — does that prove they're legitimate?
No — it more likely means your details were included in a victim list circulating among criminals, sometimes even sold on by the original scam operator. Knowing details about your loss is not evidence of a genuine recovery capability; it's often evidence you're being targeted a second time.
They're only asking for a small fee compared to what I lost — is that worth the risk?
No amount of upfront fee is worth paying to an unsolicited recovery offer, however small it seems next to your original loss. Genuine victim support from national fraud authorities and consumer bodies is free, and paying anything to an unverified emailer just adds a second loss on top of the first.
Is there any legitimate email-based fraud recovery service?
Genuine victim-support organisations exist but they do not cold-email fraud victims demanding upfront fees. Start with free resources from your national fraud authority or a recognised consumer-rights organisation.