What to do if scammers called you

You've hung up and your heart is pounding? What matters now is acting fast and in the right order. The worst option is doing nothing and hoping it blows over. Here is an action plan for the first hour after a scam call; where you start depends on whether you gave anything away.

If you gave nothing away

If you just listened and hung up, you're fine. Still, do three things:

• Don't call back. Never return calls to unfamiliar foreign or premium-rate numbers — sometimes the callback itself is the scam, and you're charged the moment the call connects.
• Look the number up in our search and leave a comment describing what happened — your report warns the next person.
• Block the number on your phone.

If the caller knew your name or other details, note down the time of the call and the number — it will come in handy if you later file a police report.

If you gave out codes, card details or approved a Smart-ID request

Now minutes count. Work through this list in order:

1. Call your bank — immediately. Whether you bank with Swedbank, SEB, Citadele or Luminor, the 24-hour number is printed on the back of your card. Ask them to block the card and stop any suspicious payments. If you transferred money yourself, say so: the bank can try to recall the payment through the receiving bank. The sooner you call, the better the chance a transfer can still be intercepted.
2. Reset your Smart-ID.If you approved a request you didn't initiate or read out your PINs, delete your Smart-ID account in the app and register again with new PINs. If you also use eParaksts or a code calculator, make sure those haven't been compromised either. We explain how this scheme works in our article on Smart-ID scams.
3. Change your passwords— internet banking and email first, then the rest. Email is the master key: whoever controls your inbox can reset your password anywhere. Turn on two-factor authentication wherever it's available.
4. Check your account statementfor payments you didn't make.

Report it — even if your money is untouched

• State Police (Valsts policija): call 112 — the operators speak English — or file a report online. If money was stolen, your bank will want the police report too.
• CERT.lv:report the number and the scheme at cert.lv or by email to cert@cert.lv. Latvia's cybersecurity team tracks active campaigns and takes reports in English.
• Your operator (LMT, Tele2 or Bite) also accepts reports about fraudulent calls on its network.

Even if it feels like nothing happened, your report helps reveal the scale of a campaign and gets the numbers shut down faster.

Watch out for the second wave

Victim lists are a commodity among scammers. A day or a week later you may get a call from an "investigator" or the "bank's security department" promising to recover your lost money — you just need to confirm your identity with Smart-ID or share your account details. That's the same scammer, or a colleague. Real police and real banks never ask for codes and never suggest "protective transfers". Hang up and call the institution yourself on its official number.

Don't beat yourself up

Phone scammers work from a polished script: they know how to manufacture panic, time pressure and a feeling of trust. Bank employees and IT professionals have fallen for it too. Shame is the main reason so many cases go unreported — and that silence is exactly what lets the scammers keep going. Filing a report isn't an admission of stupidity; it's the only way the scheme gets stopped.

Warn the others

Once the urgent part is done, spend a minute on everyone else: rate the number and leave a comment on our site, check the list of current scam numbers, and tell your parents or grandparents what these schemes look like in real life. Elderly people are the most frequent victims — and one timely conversation protects better than any filter.