If you have been scammed online, act in this order: notify your bank immediately, keep all the evidence and report it. Fraud (estafa) is punished under articles 248 and 249 of the Spanish Criminal Code (Código Penal, CP) with six months to three years in prison; if the amount defrauded does not exceed 400 euros, it is a minor offence (delito leve) punishable by a fine. If you did not authorise the payment yourself, the bank must refund it unless it proves fraud or gross negligence on your part (Royal Decree-Law 19/2018, Real Decreto-ley 19/2018).
Discovering that you have been scammed online leaves you angry and embarrassed, and neither should stop you from acting. What you do in the first few hours has a major bearing on the chances of recovering the money and identifying those responsible. We explain what steps to take, what the law says and when it is worth having a fraud lawyer in Alicante to handle the claim.
What to do in the first few hours
- Call your bank and block everything. Ask for your cards, online banking and Bizum to be blocked if the scammer may have had access to them. Notify the bank in writing of the transactions you do not recognise. The law requires you to notify “without undue delay” and sets a maximum of thirteen months from the debit (article 43 of Royal Decree-Law 19/2018), but the sooner you notify, the more chance there is of stopping the transfer.
- Keep all the evidence. Take full screenshots, showing the date and time, of chats, adverts, profiles, emails and websites. Note down the web addresses, the destination account numbers (IBAN), aliases and the telephone numbers you were contacted from. Download the transfer receipts and statements. Do not delete anything.
- Cut off access. Change your email and online banking passwords, log out of all open sessions and uninstall any remote access app you were asked to install.
- Report it. You can do so at a police station, to the Guardia Civil or at the duty court. Take the evidence in order and ask for a copy of the complaint: the bank will ask you for it.
Is it fraud? Articles 248 and 249 of the Criminal Code
Article 248 defines classic fraud: fraud is committed by anyone who, for profit, uses sufficient deception to mislead another person and induces them to dispose of assets to their own or another’s detriment. This is what happens when you pay for a product that never arrives or when you pay money into a fake investment platform.
Article 249 covers what is known as computer fraud, with the same penalty. It punishes anyone who, for profit, obtains a non-consensual transfer by manipulating a computer system or data, and anyone who fraudulently uses cards or other non-cash payment instruments, or the data of those instruments. Here there is no need to deceive a person: manipulating the system is enough. If your accounts or devices have also been accessed without permission, other cybercrimes may be involved, which we handle through our cybercrime lawyer service.
| Common situation | Likely legal classification |
|---|---|
| Buying something on a website or social media that never arrives | Fraud (art. 248 CP) |
| Bizum or bank transfer to a fake seller or to someone pretending to be a relative | Fraud (art. 248 CP) |
| Fake investment in cryptocurrencies or shares | Fraud (art. 248 CP), aggravated if it exceeds 50,000 euros or affects many people (art. 250) |
| Phishing or a fake text message that gives access to your online banking and empties the account | Computer fraud (art. 249.1.a CP) |
| Use of your card details for purchases you did not make | Computer fraud (art. 249.1.b CP) |
The final classification depends on the facts and is decided by the court.
Penalties for fraud and the 400-euro threshold
| Situation | Penalty | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Basic fraud | Six months to three years in prison | Arts. 248 and 249 CP |
| Fraud of 400 euros or less (minor offence) | Fine of one to three months | Art. 248 CP |
| Aggravated fraud (over 50,000 euros, many victims, particular seriousness, abuse of trust…) | One to six years in prison and a fine of six to twelve months | Art. 250.1 CP |
| Over 250,000 euros or certain combinations of aggravating factors | Four to eight years in prison and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months | Art. 250.2 CP |
To set the penalty for basic fraud, the judge takes into account the amount defrauded, the financial loss caused to the victim, the relationship between the two and the means used.
The 400-euro threshold is set out in article 248. Since Organic Act 1/2026 of 8 April (Ley Orgánica 1/2026), in force since 10 April 2026, that threshold has an exception: if the offender already has convictions for at least three offences of the same nature, one of them minor, the prison sentence applies even if the amount is small.
Bear the time limits in mind too: minor offences become time-barred after one year and basic fraud after five years (article 131 of the Criminal Code). We explain this in when criminal offences become time-barred.
How to get your money back
From the bank: transactions you did not authorise
Royal Decree-Law 19/2018 on payment services protects customers when an unauthorised transaction is executed, such as a debit made by the scammer using your details:
- The bank must refund the amount immediately and, at the latest, by the end of the business day after it becomes aware of the transaction, unless it has reasonable grounds to suspect fraud by the customer and notifies the Bank of Spain (Banco de España) in writing (article 45).
- If you deny having authorised the transaction, it is for the bank to prove that it was correctly authenticated and recorded, and the record alone is not enough to show that you authorised it or that you acted with gross negligence (article 44).
- As a general rule, you can be made to bear a loss of no more than 50 euros. You are liable for everything if you acted fraudulently or with gross negligence, and for nothing if the bank did not require strong authentication, unless there was fraud on your part (article 46).
- The bank’s customer service department must respond to your complaint within a maximum of fifteen business days (article 69).
Important: if you made the transfer or the Bizum payment yourself, even though you were deceived, the bank regards it as an authorised transaction and these refund rules do not apply in the same way. In that case, the main route to recover the money is the criminal proceedings and the claim against whoever received it.
In the criminal proceedings: civil liability
Anyone who is criminally liable for an offence is also liable in civil law if the act causes damage (article 116 of the Criminal Code). In the same proceedings you can ask for the money taken to be returned and for compensation. It is important for the investigation to identify the destination accounts quickly: the court can request information from the banks and take measures to secure any money that is left.
Joining the case as a private prosecutor
As a victim, you can simply report the offence or you can join the case as a private prosecutor (acusación particular). The law allows you to do so before the stage at which the charges are formally set out (article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Act, Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal, LECrim). If you do not join, you do not lose your right to compensation unless you expressly waive it.
Joining the case allows you to request investigative steps (tracing accounts, requests to platforms and operators), to appeal a premature dismissal and to argue for your own compensation claim. In frauds involving several intermediary accounts or in fake investments, that initiative often makes all the difference. We explain how to do it in how to join a case as a private prosecutor and handle it through our private prosecution service in Alicante.
Reporting an online scam in Alicante
In Alicante you can report at any National Police (Policía Nacional) station or Guardia Civil post, or directly at the court. According to the Generalitat Valenciana directory, the Alicante Duty Court is at Avenida de Aguilera, 53. Following Organic Act 1/2025 (Ley Orgánica 1/2025), the former investigating courts are now the Investigating Section of the Court of First Instance (Sección de Instrucción del Tribunal de Instancia), and that is where the case will be investigated if proceedings are opened.
Online scams are often committed by people in other provinces or abroad, and the case frequently ends up in a court other than the one where you live. That is why the initial complaint should be well documented from the outset. At our firm we review your evidence, prepare the complaint or the formal criminal complaint (querella), claim against the bank where appropriate and follow the case wherever it is being handled. Many victims on the Costa Blanca are foreign residents: our team will assist you in your language.
Need help with a similar case? Celeste Pérez Bleda is a criminal lawyer in Alicante and will review your situation with no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Will the bank refund a Bizum payment I sent to a scammer?
Not necessarily. If you sent the Bizum payment yourself, even though you were deceived, the transaction is regarded as authorised and the bank is not obliged to refund it as it would a debit you did not make. Notify the bank immediately in case it can hold the payment, report the scam and give the bank a copy of the complaint. Recovery will depend mainly on identifying the holder of the receiving account in the criminal proceedings.
Is a scam of less than 400 euros a crime?
Yes. It is a minor offence punishable by a fine of one to three months (article 248 of the Criminal Code), unless an aggravating factor under article 250 applies. Since April 2026, if the offender has at least three convictions for offences of the same nature, the prison sentence applies. Watch the time limit: minor offences become time-barred after one year.
How long do I have to claim from the bank for a debit I do not recognise?
You must report it without undue delay as soon as you notice it and, at the latest, within thirteen months of the debit date, under article 43 of Royal Decree-Law 19/2018. The bank must answer your complaint within fifteen business days. In practice, the sooner you notify it, the easier it is to stop the money and the harder it is for negligence to be attributed to you.
Do I need a lawyer to report an online scam?
You do not need a lawyer to file the complaint. It is, however, highly advisable if you want to join the case as a private prosecutor, request steps to trace the money, appeal if the case is dismissed and claim against the bank when it refuses a refund on grounds of gross negligence.
I have been called and offered help to recover the money in exchange for a payment. Can I trust it?
Be wary. After a scam, a second scam is common: so-called agencies, lawyers or fake police officers get in touch promising to recover the money if you pay a fee or taxes up front. No legitimate recovery works like that. Before paying anything, consult a trusted lawyer registered with a Bar Association and check who you are talking to.
If you have just been scammed, do not wait until everything is clear before asking for help: the first few hours count. We review your case, tell you what to claim from the bank and prepare the complaint with the evidence properly organised. You will find all the information on our lawyer for fraud victims page, and you can message us on WhatsApp at 607 449 491, 24 hours a day: we will reply straight away. Our team will assist you in English.
Legal basis and sources
- Criminal Code (arts. 116, 131, 248, 249 and 250)
- Organic Act 1/2026 of 8 April (amendment of art. 248 CP)
- Royal Decree-Law 19/2018 on payment services (arts. 43, 44, 45, 46 and 69)
- Criminal Procedure Act (art. 110)
- Organic Act 1/2025 on the efficiency of the Public Justice Service
- Generalitat Valenciana: Alicante Duty Court
