I was scammed. Then someone offered to "recover" my money.

I had already lost money to a romance scam when a "recovery firm" messaged me on social media. They said they could trace the wire and get it back for a retainer and court fees—and I paid them because I needed the first mistake to be reversible.

Their site showed gavels, flags, and legal letterhead. Every week brought a new bill—wire transfer, crypto, gift cards for urgent filing—each framed as the last step before my original funds returned. I was chasing the first loss with second and third payments.

Recovery scams target people who already posted or reported fraud. They promise what even law enforcement cannot guarantee. I was funding another layer of lies while real recovery options sat on government websites I never opened.

I needed to fix the first error so badly that I ignored how real lawyers do not ask for Apple gift cards. Hope was louder than doubt, and shame made me hide the second stream of payments from family.

When I said I would call the state bar to confirm their attorney, the "lawyer" ghosted and the portal went offline. That silence was when I saw the second scam as its own trap, not a sequel to the first.

Double shame kept me awake—I could not tell my sister I had been hit twice. Sleep vanished until I filed police reports for both schemes and named the feelings out loud in therapy.

I now refuse upfront recovery fees to strangers and only work with professionals I choose and verify. I wish I had blocked the first recovery DM.

• Legitimate asset recovery is rare and never starts with DMs or gift cards.
• FTC: watch for double-dip fraud after any loss.

For more help, see our Report a scam page and Spot and avoid scams guide.