Money sent to the wrong account

What to do first

Call your bank immediately on the number printed on your card, or through the bank's official app — never through a number or a link that arrives in a message. Say plainly that a transfer went to the wrong beneficiary, and give the date, the amount, the account or IBAN you used and any reference number you hold. Ask them to send an immediate recall request to the receiving bank. The earlier the request is made, the more likely the funds are still sitting unspent in the receiving account.

The trap that looks like a wrong transfer

One common trick begins with a payment into your account that looks genuine, followed by a polite request to pass the same amount on to a different account. The incoming payment is later reversed, or was made with stolen card details, and the money you forwarded is gone. If anyone contacts you about money they say they sent you by mistake, do not move it yourself: tell your bank and let the return happen through the official channel.

What the bank can and cannot do

Your bank can ask the receiving bank to recall the payment, and it can do so quickly. It cannot take money out of another customer's account without a proper basis, and the receiving bank can act only with its customer's consent or under an official order. That is why the second half of the process matters when the recipient refuses: an official report through the police or the national cyber channel is what turns a request into an investigation. Keep the reference number your bank gives you for that report.

1. Call your bank's official number now and ask for an immediate recall of the transfer.
2. Write down the reference number of your request.
3. Do not send money to anyone who promises to recover the transfer for you.
4. If the recipient refuses, report it officially through the channel for your country (below).
5. Keep the transfer receipt, the messages and the reference number together in one place.

Report it officially