What if you’re the victim of fraud?

Unfortunately, fraud is becoming increasingly common. Criminals bombard your mailbox, call you unannounced or mislead you with false advertising. Recognising fraud is more important than ever. But what do you do if you’ve been scammed?

Below are some general tips from ECC Belgium. Looking for more specific information? Find out about various current scams.

1. File a complaint with your card issuer.If you paid with your bank card, contact your bank. Febelfin made a flyer with the numbers of anti-fraud services of the Belgian banks, reachable 24/7. If you used your credit card, dispute the payment via Mijn kaart/Ma carte.
2. Report it.File a complaint with the local police, Safeonweb or the FPS Economy’s Report platform. Without a report, the authorities cannot go after the perpetrators. You may be feeling ashamed because you think you’ve been gullible. There is absolutely no need: as a victim, you did nothing wrong.
3. Contact the seller who deceived you.Ask the seller to respect your rights as a consumer, cancel the purchase and refund your payment, if you have made any.
4. Seek help from ECC Belgium.If you’re unable to reach an agreement with the seller, contact ECC Belgium and ask for advice or mediation.
5. Write a review.That way, you warn other potential victims. Particularly if you haven’t had a response from other attempts to contact the seller, your review can lead to a breakthrough. Always remain polite: this will prevent you from being drawn into an argument.
6. Be extra vigilant.Once scammers have your details, chances are they’ll contact you and try to scam you again. They’ll impersonate someone else, claim they will ‘help’ you get your money back ... and rob you again.