It is an awful moment, one that you will never forget. Your bank or credit card statement shows charges for items you did not buy. Someone else is collecting your social security. Your investment broker was a scam artist. You feel angry, ashamed, embarrassed. “How could I be so stupid?” you rant.

The truth is that scammers can be very convincing. Nearly 2.8 million frauds were reported to the FTC in 2020. Estimates are that only one in six frauds are reported. Even very famous people can fall for scams. Actors Kevin Bacon and John Malkovich, Steven Spielberg’s Wunderkinder Foundation, the musician Sting and golfer Tiger Woods are a few of those who were swindled.

What can you do now? Here are a few tips:

First, do not send any more money to the scammer. No matter what he/she says or promises, it is a lie.

Second, start gathering all documentation related to the scam – name and position used by the fraudster, bank or credit card statements, emails and email addresses, texts, chat dialogues, receipts, transfer records, phone numbers, cancelled checks, correspondence, etc.

Write up a timeline of what happened.

Next, secure your identity. If a credit card was compromised, call the credit card company to get a new card and report the problem. If a bank account was scammed, notify the bank. Banks deal with many scams, so they will know how to help you safeguard your account.

If your social security information was stolen, contact one of the three national credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to request a free one-year fraud alert. Also contact Social Security. If you logged into a scammer’s website using a login or password you use on other sites, change the login/password on those sites. If you have been the victim of identity theft, file a report on the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov website.

Next, report the scam/fraud to the legal authorities. The usa.gov site’s 5 tips for reporting a scam says, “If you’ve lost money, possessions, or other personal and valuable information, call your local police department.” Be prepared to share the documentation you gathered earlier. If you lost money on the Internet, file a report on the FBI’s IC3 webpage. A number of different agencies including the FTC, SEC (stocks), HHS Office of the Inspector General (Medicare/Medicaid fraud) and National Center for Disaster also gather fraud complaints. The Better Business Bureau, assorted consumer fraud agencies and watchdog TV stations can be a help for local or regional cases.

You have changed your passwords, talked with the bank, filed complaints with six different government agencies. Will you get your money back? Maybe. Law enforcement is vastly outnumbered in this area. If the FBI goes after your bad guy, it can take years before the case is resolved.

If you can identify the scammer and your claim is less than $3,500, you can take your documentation and file in small claims court. No lawyer will be needed. If you win, the court will not collect for you. Collection of the judgment is not simple, but if you are willing to research the process it can be done.

Sometimes credit card companies, wire transfer companies and others refund funds, but those taken in by stock and cryptocurrency scams often have staggering losses. Scammer Sam Bankman-Fried caused the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, losing customers an estimated $8 billion. Bernie Madoff, caught in the early 2000s, defrauded stock investors of at least $50 billion.

“If I won’t get my money back, why report the scam?” Your report will be more one step in helping law enforcement to identify patterns and protect us all from scammers and defrauders. Each report helps.