⏱️ Scammed or unsure? 60-second plan
1 · Protect money
Call your bank's fraud line now — the number on the back of your card. Freeze the card and ask them to reverse any payments.
2 · Keep evidence
Screenshot texts, emails, caller numbers and payment screens. Change passwords and turn on 2-step verification.
3 · Report it
Report through your country's official channel — see the report page.
📌 More help: Report → · Help & support
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Hawala & Unofficial Money Transfers
Hawala — the informal trust-based money transfer used across South Asia — is fast and cheap, but it carries real risk: no receipt, no regulator, and fraudsters now run fake “digital hawala” apps and agents who vanish with your remittance. Here is how to send money home safely.
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⚠️ Why hawala is risky
Unofficial money exchanges are not regulated: if the agent disappears, the exchange is closed or the money is seized, you have no receipt, no record and no one to complain to. In some countries using unlicensed money transfer is itself illegal, which can put you in trouble with the authorities.
📱 Fake “digital hawala” apps
Fraudsters advertise apps and WhatsApp “agents” offering better exchange rates than the banks. You send money; the app shows a transfer that never arrives; then the app disappears. If an exchange rate is far better than official channels, it is a trap. Use only licensed exchange houses and banks.
👤 Agent “collect in person” scams
A hawala agent asks someone to “hold” money or collect cash locally on the other side, using your name. You can become part of a money-laundering chain without knowing it — and accounts linked to hawala networks are frozen by banks. Keep transfers in your own name with a receipt.
✅ The safe way to send money home
Use a licensed bank, exchange house or registered digital remittance service (the ones with a licence number and receipts). Compare official rates, keep every receipt, and never hand your card or app login to an “agent”. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it is a scam.
🚨 Report it officially
Every Gulf country has an official reporting channel. Reporting through the official route is what triggers action — use the Report page for the right portal and number in your country.
Find my country’s channel →