Record-Keeping That Helps You Recover From Payment Fraud
When fraud happens, good records decide whether your provider, bank or the police can help. What to keep, how to organise it, and how long to keep it.
When money goes missing, the first questions from your provider, bank or the police are: when, how much, to whom, and what is the transaction ID? Businesses with simple, consistent records get further, faster.
What to record for every transaction
- Transaction ID.
- Date and time.
- Amount.
- Name and number or account of the other party.
- What it was for: item, order or invoice number.
Where to keep it
- Your wallet or merchant app history, downloaded monthly where possible.
- A simple logbook or spreadsheet.
- Receipts and delivery notes, photographed or filed.
- Chat history for orders, exported or screenshotted.
When something goes wrong
- Collect the records for the disputed transaction immediately. See evidence after fraud.
- Contact your provider with the transaction ID. See stopping a transfer.
- Report to the police with a written timeline. See reporting financial fraud.
Separate business and personal wallets make records much clearer. See business wallets.
For more, see mobile money and banking scams.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important thing to record?
Transaction IDs, with the date, time, amount, sender or recipient name and number.
Are screenshots enough?
They help, but official statements and transaction IDs are stronger. Keep both.
How long should I keep records?
Follow your local tax and business rules. For fraud purposes, keep at least several months, longer for large transactions.
Sources
- What To Do if You Were Scammed, US Federal Trade Commission
- Cybersecurity for Small Business, US Federal Trade Commission
- Mobile Money Fraud Typologies and Mitigation Strategies, GSMA
