I think I have been scammed

File a report with your local police, and call your bank or card issuer straight away. Those two steps are what decide whether any money comes back. Then send the police report number, the other person's Jinu handle and the conversation to safety@jinu.app so we can act on the account.

Be clear about one thing before you read on: Jinu never holds your money. There is no escrow, no payment protection and no buyer guarantee, and we cannot reverse a payment or reimburse you. What we can do is remove the listing, restrict or terminate the account, and preserve the records so they are there for law enforcement on a valid legal request.

Do these in this order

1. Stop, and send nothing else. Whatever they say next, that they can get your money back, that they are with law enforcement, that there is one more fee to release it, stop. Every additional payment is lost too.
2. Call your bank or payment provider now. Card or PayPal, ask for a chargeback. A wire, call the fraud line: some wires can be recalled inside the first 24 hours. This is the most time-sensitive step there is.
3. Document everything before anything disappears. Screenshot the whole conversation, the listing, any payment confirmations, and the email addresses and phone numbers you were given. Delete nothing, and do not delete the thread. Blocking someone on Jinu does not remove your conversation, so you can block them and still keep the evidence.
4. File with your local police. This is the step people skip and the one everything else leans on. A bank fraud team, a payment provider and a platform will all ask for a report number. Report it where you live, and where you met if that was somewhere else.
5. Report it on Jinu. On the listing, open the more menu, choose Report, and pick the reason that fits. On the person, open their profile and choose Report. You can report a listing without an account, though reporting while signed in lets us come back to you.
6. Email safety@jinu.app. Include the full jinu.app address of the listing and of the profile, the police report number, what happened, and what you paid and how.
7. File the national reports. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. These build the case files investigators work from even when your own money cannot be traced.

The reporting links, in one place

Every one of these is free, and none of them charges to recover anything. Anybody who does is the follow-up scam described further down.

• reportfraud.ftc.gov. The Federal Trade Commission takes reports of scams, fraud and identity theft.
• ic3.gov. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, for online fraud and cybercrime.
• identitytheft.gov. A step-by-step recovery plan if your Social Security number, bank details or other personal information were exposed.
• BBB Scam Tracker. Check what other people near you have run into, and add what happened to you so the next person can read it.
• consumer.ftc.gov. The FTC's consumer alerts, where new tactics are written up as they start appearing.
• AARP Fraud Watch. A free helpline on 1-877-908-3360, where you can talk it through with a person. You do not have to be a member to call it.

What happens after you write to us

Every report is recorded and raises an alert in the moderation queue, and a person reviews it. Reports describing a threat to physical safety, content involving a minor, or a credible threat of violence are prioritized above everything else. We aim to acknowledge an email to safety@jinu.app within three business days. That is an operating target, not a contractual commitment, and we cannot promise an outcome.

Because reports are confidential and are usually about somebody other than the person reporting, we often cannot tell you what action we took on a specific account. That is not us ignoring you. The full process is written out in Moderation and enforcement.

The scam that comes next

Expect a second approach from a "recovery agent" who says they can get your money back for a fee. They cannot. That is the same scam wearing a different hat, and people who have already lost money are the list it is worked from.

The Scams and how to avoid them section walks through the patterns individually, overpayment and fake payment screenshots, rental and deposit scams and job scams and upfront fees among them, so you can see which one this was and recognize the next one.