If you paid a fake online store with a U.S. credit card, contact the card issuer today and ask to dispute the charge as a billing error. Report it as unauthorized only if someone used the card without your permission. Those are different claims. Checking out yourself on a dishonest site is not stolen-card fraud, and the wrong label can send the case down the wrong path.

PayPal, debit cards, bank transfers, and wires each follow a different process. A chargeback is not an automatic refund. What helps is acting quickly and keeping a clean record of what was promised versus what happened. The steps below follow U.S. rules; other countries handle this differently.

Match the payment method to the actual problem

Payment method Describe the problem accurately First step
Credit card Unauthorized use, non-delivery, counterfeit goods, or goods not as described Call the issuer, then send a written billing-error notice
PayPal Item not received or materially different from the listing Open a dispute in PayPal's Resolution Center
Debit card Unauthorized debit-card transaction or a purchase problem Contact the bank or card issuer immediately
ACH or bank transfer Payment sent to a fraudulent recipient Ask the bank whether it can stop, return, or recall the transfer
Wire transfer Fraudulent wire payment Contact the sending bank's fraud department and request a recall immediately

If you authorized checkout and the store never shipped, don't call the transaction unauthorized. Use item not received, not as described, counterfeit, or refund not received, depending on what actually happened.

What to do today

Call the number on the back of your card or use the bank's official app. Don't dial a number from a follow-up email or text that claims to be the store.

Tell the provider what happened and ask whether you should block or replace a compromised card, stop recurring charges from that merchant, change the account number or payment credentials, watch for related transactions, and submit a formal dispute or fraud report.

Change any password you typed on the fake site, including accounts where you reused it. A supposed refund agent should never get your password, one-time code, or full card number.

Scam stores often vanish or swap product pages, so save evidence before you spend time on the seller:

Make a one-page timeline: order date, promised delivery, messages, cancellation request, and the day you contacted the payment provider. Keep the original files. Before you upload anything, redact passwords, Social Security numbers, full card numbers, and one-time codes.

Send one short refund or cancellation request through a contact method you already trust. Don't wait on a site that looks fraudulent before you dispute. The FTC's online shopping guidance says a seller must ship within the time promised in its advertising. If no shipping time was promised, the seller generally must ship within 30 days after receiving the information and payment needed to complete the order. Save the request even if the email is ignored or comes back undeliverable.

Then use the provider's official dispute channel. Explain events in order, attach the strongest evidence first, and ask for a case number plus the deadline for extra documents.

How to dispute a credit card charge

U.S. credit card billing-error protections can cover an unauthorized charge and certain problems with goods or services, including merchandise that wasn't delivered as agreed. The FTC's credit card dispute guidance lays out the formal process.

To use that process, your written notice generally must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first statement containing the error was sent to you. The clock is tied to the statement, not always to the day you ordered.

Send the letter to the issuer's billing inquiries address on the statement or card agreement. That address may not be the one used for payments. Include:

Keep a copy and proof of delivery. You can call or use the issuer's online portal first to open the case, but don't skip the written notice if you're relying on the formal billing-error process.

A simple factual format is:

I dispute the $___ charge from [merchant] posted on [date]. I authorized the purchase, but the item was not delivered by the promised date and the seller has not provided a refund. I have attached the order confirmation, delivery information, my written refund request, and the seller's response. Please investigate and correct the billing error.

Change the wording if the card was used without your permission, or if the goods were counterfeit or materially different from the listing.

The issuer generally must acknowledge a written complaint within 30 days unless it has already resolved the issue, and generally must finish the investigation and tell you the result within 90 days.

It may post a temporary credit while it investigates. That credit isn't guaranteed and can be reversed if the claim is denied. Pay any undisputed part of the bill by its due date, and follow the issuer's instructions for the disputed amount.

Issuers may also run a card-network chargeback. That process is separate from the federal billing-error rules and can have its own paperwork and timing. Don't rely on a generic claim that every card dispute allows 120 days. Ask your issuer for the deadline that applies to this transaction and file promptly.

How to dispute a fake-store payment through PayPal

PayPal disputes are controlled by PayPal's account terms, not by the U.S. credit card billing-error procedure. Under PayPal's U.S. Purchase Protection terms, a dispute generally must be opened within 180 days of the payment. Some transactions also have a 30-day-from-delivery-or-fulfillment limit, and the earlier applicable deadline controls.

Open the transaction in PayPal's Resolution Center and pick the reason that matches the facts, such as item not received or materially not as described. Upload the order record, site screenshots, seller messages, tracking, and refund request. Keep the conversation inside the case when you can, and follow the Resolution Center if the dispute has to be escalated to a claim.

PayPal decides eligibility under its current terms and the information you submit. A fake website doesn't automatically qualify, so describe exactly what was promised and what you received, or didn't receive.

If the PayPal payment was funded by a credit card, don't automatically open both a PayPal case and a card dispute. PayPal's terms say you must choose between its protection process and pursuing the matter with the card issuer or another available right, and you can't receive a double recovery. Check the applicable terms and ask the providers which route to use before filing overlapping claims.

Debit cards, ACH payments, and wire transfers

A debit-card purchase doesn't use the same federal credit-card billing-error process. Contact the bank immediately, especially if the card details were stolen, and ask how to report the transaction, block the card, replace it, and submit supporting documents. The bank's procedure can differ based on whether you authorized the purchase, entered a PIN, used a digital wallet, or reported an unauthorized debit. Don't assume the 60-day credit-card deadline applies.

For an ACH or bank transfer, call the bank that sent the money and ask whether a stop, return, or fraud recovery request is still possible. Give the amount, date, recipient details, confirmation number, and evidence of the scam. A completed transfer may not be reversible, so speed matters. Keep the bank's case number and ask what written statement or fraud report it needs.

For a wire, request a recall through the sending bank's fraud department as soon as you can. A recall is an attempt, not a guaranteed recovery. Don't send more money to anyone who promises to release, trace, or recover the original payment.

If you paid with a gift card, contact that card's issuer immediately and keep the card, receipt, and transaction number. For cryptocurrency, contact the exchange or wallet provider promptly, but expect fewer reversal options than with a credit card.

Evidence that makes a dispute clearer

Payment providers usually want a factual file, not a long story. Put the strongest pieces first:

  1. Transaction proof: statement, receipt, order number, amount, and date.
  2. What was promised: product page, advertisement, shipping date, return policy, and checkout terms.
  3. What happened: non-delivery, counterfeit goods, wrong item, unexpected charge, or failure to refund.
  4. Your response: messages to the seller, cancellation request, refund demand, and any reply.
  5. Independent records: carrier tracking, delivery confirmation, photos, or a report to the platform that hosted the ad.
  6. A dated timeline: one page showing the sequence.

Don't exaggerate, and don't attach evidence from a different order. If the seller produces tracking marked "delivered," check the delivery date, address, and carrier details against your order. Submit any credible discrepancy rather than repeating that the seller is a scam.

Deadlines and expected stages

Payment or rule Timing to remember What it means
U.S. credit card billing error Written notice generally must reach the issuer within 60 days of the first statement containing the error This is the formal federal billing-error window
Credit card investigation Acknowledgment generally within 30 days and resolution generally within 90 days These are stages of the issuer's investigation, not a guaranteed refund date
PayPal Purchase Protection Generally 180 days from payment, with an earlier 30-day delivery or fulfillment rule for some transactions Check the current transaction terms and Resolution Center deadline
Seller shipping Within the promised period, or generally within 30 days if no period was promised Helps establish a non-delivery timeline; it isn't a chargeback deadline
Debit card, ACH, or wire Provider and transaction rules vary Report the problem immediately rather than waiting for a fixed deadline

None of these periods guarantees a decision in your favor. A card-network deadline, account agreement, or platform rule may add another limit, so ask the provider for the exact date that applies to your transaction.

If the dispute is denied

Don't restart the case with a different story. Read the denial and see whether the issue was authorization, delivery, evidence, timing, or the merchant's response. Request the documents or explanation the provider relied on, if they're available. Send a short rebuttal that answers that reason point by point, and add anything still missing, such as the promised delivery date, an undeliverable message, or photos of counterfeit goods. Ask for a supervisor review or the provider's formal appeal process. Keep copies of every submission and the date of each call.

If a credit card issuer appears not to have followed the written billing-error process, preserve the dates and correspondence before using the issuer's complaint channel or contacting the appropriate consumer regulator. A regulator complaint can address process problems. It doesn't replace the payment dispute.

Report the fake website

Report the scam at the FTC's Report Fraud site. The FTC uses reports to support investigations and share information with law enforcement. Submitting a report doesn't reverse a card charge.

You can also report the ad or account that promoted the store to the relevant platform, the domain or hosting provider if it has a fraud-reporting channel, identity theft or threats to local law enforcement, and related unauthorized transactions to your bank or card issuer. Include your payment-provider case number. Don't post your full card number or personal identification publicly.

An FTC report can help law enforcement spot a pattern. Your card issuer, PayPal, or bank still handles the individual refund claim.

Treat anyone who offers to recover the money for an upfront fee as a possible second scam. Don't send more money or hand over account credentials. Verify any contact through the payment provider's official website or the phone number on your card.

Before you pay another unfamiliar store, check contact information, delivery terms, return policy, total cost, and independent reputation. A padlock or HTTPS connection only helps protect information in transit. It doesn't prove the seller is legitimate. Be cautious when someone pressures you toward a wire, gift card, cryptocurrency, or another hard-to-reverse method.

If you haven't opened a case yet, use the number on the back of the card, or PayPal's Resolution Center if that's how you paid, and get a case number today. Then send the written billing-error notice if you're relying on the federal credit-card process.