RESOURCES
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Real people and real tools. Start with the free ones. Tap a phone number to call.
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Free, real people. You don't need to be sure it was a scam to call.
Trained volunteers help you figure out if something is a scam and what to do next. You don't have to be an AARP member or over 50.
Mon–Fri, 8am–8pm ET
Languages: Interpreters available on the call
For older adults who lost money or were targeted. A case manager helps you report it and connects you with local help.
Mon–Fri, 10am–6pm ET
Languages: English, Spanish and others
Free one-on-one help if someone used your name, Social Security number or accounts. They walk you through a recovery plan. Live chat too.
Mon–Fri, 9am–8pm ET
For New Yorkers 60 and up who were hit by a scam, theft or other crime. They help with safety planning, counseling, filing reports with the FTC or FBI, and applying for crime victim money.
Investigates scams and financial abuse against older Manhattan residents. Has an office in Harlem.
Email: EAU@dany.nyc.gov
Free, anonymous help for immigrants, including fake "notario" and immigration-help scams. They connect you with free, real lawyers.
Mon–Fri, 8am–8pm · Sat–Sun, 9am–5pm ET
Languages: 200+
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Reporting helps stop the scammer and gives you a record for your bank, the police or taxes. Report to the FTC first, then any others that fit.
Report any scam, fake call, text or email. Takes about 10 minutes.
If someone used your personal information, report it here. You get a step-by-step recovery plan and letters to send to banks and credit bureaus.
Report online scams, crypto and investment scams, and hacked accounts to the FBI. Report fast if money was wired, since banks can sometimes stop it.
File a complaint about a business, online purchase, bank or credit problem, or a privacy or data issue.
TTY 1-800-788-9898
For problems with a New York City business, like a store, debt collector or tax preparer. Or call 311.
For problems with a bank, credit card, credit report or debt collector. The company has to answer you.
For problems with a New York bank, insurance company, mortgage or student loan.
Not the government, but useful: search to see if others got the same call or text, and post a warning.
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If a scam left you with debt, a lawsuit, a ruined credit report or a bank that won't help, a lawyer can. These are free for people with low incomes. Call wait times vary.
Free lawyers for identity theft, fraud, debt collection, credit card lawsuits and credit report problems. Citywide, for people with low incomes.
Thursdays, 10am–2pm (or apply online anytime)
Free help with identity theft, credit card debt, debt collection cases and bankruptcy, in all five boroughs.
Mon–Fri, 10am–3pm · Main line 212-577-3300
Free lawyers for debt, bankruptcy, benefits, housing and more.
Mon–Fri, 9:30am–4pm
Languages: English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Haitian Creole, French, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi/Urdu, Korean
Free legal help and financial counseling, including for victims of debt and loan scams.
Free legal advice for bank account problems, unfair fees, debt collectors and credit report errors. For low-income New Yorkers.
Languages: English, Spanish, and interpreters for many others
Search every free legal program in New York State by problem and zip code.
Don't qualify for free help? They match you with a screened lawyer. The first 30-minute meeting is $35 or free, depending on the case.
Mon–Thu, 8:30am–5:30pm · Fri, 8:30am–1pm
Spanish: 212-626-7374
A national directory of private lawyers who take consumer cases, like fraud, identity theft and credit report errors. Some take cases where the other side pays their fees. Ask before you sign anything.
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Getting scammed is not your fault. It happens to smart, careful people every day. Talking to someone helps.
The following hotlines also offer recovery support:
Trained volunteers help you figure out if something is a scam and what to do next. You don't have to be an AARP member or over 50.
Mon–Fri, 8am–8pm ET
Languages: Interpreters available on the call
Free one-on-one help if someone used your name, Social Security number or accounts. They walk you through a recovery plan. Live chat too.
Mon–Fri, 9am–8pm ET
For New Yorkers 60 and up who were hit by a scam, theft or other crime. They help with safety planning, counseling, filing reports with the FTC or FBI, and applying for crime victim money.
A free 10-week online group led by a counselor, for people hurt by romance scams and crypto investment scams. Includes help finding financial, legal and mental health support.
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Free classes and people who will sit with you and your phone.
Free tech classes for people 60 and up, in person in New York City and online, including how to spot scams. Plus a free tech help hotline.
Mon–Sat
Languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin
Free computer and phone classes at NYPL branches, plus free one-on-one tech help. Bring your phone.
Answer a few questions and get your own step-by-step plan to lock down your accounts and devices.
Deeper guides for people who need extra protection, like activists, journalists and people leaving abusive relationships.
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Start with the free ones. Then read the fine print before you pay for anything.
Answer a few questions and get your own step-by-step plan to lock down your accounts and devices.
Type in your email to see if it showed up in a data breach. Sign up for free alerts about new ones. If it did, change that password and turn on 2-step sign-in.
Find and ask Google to remove search results that show your phone number, home address or email. Get alerts when new ones show up.
Your phone company has a free app or setting that blocks or labels scam calls. Turn it on.
T-Mobile: Scam Shield · Verizon: Call Filter · AT&T: ActiveArmor
See "Use a password manager" in Get Ready for free picks (Apple Passwords, Google Password Manager, Proton Pass, Bitwarden).
These cost a monthly fee to watch your credit and personal info. The FTC says you can do much of this yourself for free: freeze your credit, check your free credit reports, and place a fraud alert. Paid monitoring won't catch someone emptying your bank account or stealing your tax refund, and the insurance usually won't pay back money a scammer took.
These ask "people search" websites to delete your address and phone number. A 2024 Consumer Reports test found even the best ones removed only about two-thirds of listings after four months, and removing them yourself worked better. The cheapest one tested (EasyOptOuts, about $20 a year) was also one of the best.
Some paid plans can check a suspicious text or link for you. But the most important protection is free: keep your phone and computer set to update automatically.
We don't take money or ads from anyone listed here, and a listing isn't an endorsement. Phone numbers and hours checked September 2026. Know a resource we're missing? Tell us.