1. Stop and breathe. Do not send more money, even if told it will "release" the first payment or recover your loss. Recovery scams target victims.
  2. Preserve evidence now. Screenshot the advertisement, profile, chats, payment confirmation and any receipts. Save URLs, phone numbers and transaction IDs. Do not delete anything, and keep original files unedited. See preserving evidence below.
  3. Contact your bank or wallet provider immediately. Give them the transaction ID, amount, time and receiving account. Whether a payment can be reversed or frozen depends on the provider and timing, so speed matters.
  4. Report to Nepal Police Cyber Bureau. See how to report cybercrime in Nepal.
  5. Submit an incident here. Your report helps warn others and connects your case with other reports of the same identifiers.
  6. Secure your accounts. If you shared a password, PIN or OTP, change it at once and tell your bank. Be careful of calls from people who say they can recover your money for a fee.

Preserving evidence

  • Capture the whole screen including the name, number, date and time.
  • Export chats where the app allows it, and note the exact URLs of profiles and listings.
  • Keep the original files. Upload copies: each uploaded file receives a SHA-256 fingerprint so it can later be shown that it has not changed.

Never take unlawful action against the person you suspect. Let the proper authorities handle it.