Guide

I have been cheated
out of money

A scheme that promised a return, a committee that stopped paying out, a plot sold to three people, money sent for a business that never existed. Fraud is both a crime and a debt, and the two routes run at the same time. This page shows both.

Where this applies This page covers money lost to someone in Pakistan. Where the scheme was run from the country you live in, the police there are the first stop.

The word scam spelled out in letter tiles on a wooden table
Photograph: Markus Winkler

What this is about

The criminal route is a complaint to the police, and for online fraud to the cyber crime agency. It can lead to an arrest and sometimes to money being frozen. It does not, by itself, give you your money back.

The civil route is a case to recover what you paid, which needs the papers described on the recovery page. Most people need both, and an advocate decides the order.

What has to be in place

What has to be clear.

  1. What you paid, to whom, and how.

  2. What you were promised, and what you have in writing.

  3. Whether the person can still be found, and what they own.

Note Your advocate confirms which of these apply to your case.

The documents you will be asked for

What an advocate asks for.

  • Every payment record.
  • Every message, advertisement or paper about the scheme.
  • The identity of the people involved, as far as you know it.
  • Your power of attorney.

How an advocate helps from where you are

What an advocate does.

  • Files the complaint with the right agency and follows it, so it is not filed and forgotten.
  • Asks for accounts or property to be frozen where the law allows.
  • Runs the recovery case alongside, so that a conviction is not the only outcome.

What to ask before you agree

  • Which agency takes this complaint, and will you follow it after filing?
  • Can accounts or property be frozen, and how soon?
  • Will you run the recovery case alongside the complaint?
  • What do you need from me, and by when?
  • What is your fee, and what is not included in it?

More in Money

Next in this group A cheque bounced, or my bank account is stuck A cheque that was not honoured, an account you cannot reach from abroad, and a bank that asks for papers you do not have. Read this next

Also relevant

All of Money on one page

Words you will meet

fraud
Being deceived out of money.
committee
An informal savings scheme. When it fails, the money is often gone.
complaint
The report that starts the criminal route.

Sources

Official pages read on 11 September 2026. The page says only what these say, and what an advocate does; nothing specific to your case.

Checked

11 September 2026

Pakistan. Sources listed at the end of the page.

Find an advocate who handles this

The register shows who acts on a power of attorney, who has filed from abroad, and in which city.