Wire recall
A bank-to-bank request to reverse a wire transfer before the receiving bank releases the funds. It works only within a short window.
A wire is not a card payment; there is no chargeback. What exists is a recall request, and it depends entirely on the money still sitting in the receiving account.
In the United States, the FBI’s Recovery Asset Team operates a Financial Fraud Kill Chain that can freeze qualifying domestic wires, but it needs the report fast. The FBI’s advice is to contact your bank immediately, and FinCEN says its Rapid Response Program for international wires has had greater success when wires are reported to law enforcement within 72 hours. That is an observation about success rates, not a deadline. Every jurisdiction’s version of this is the same in one respect: the first hours are worth more than everything you do afterwards.
Where it shows up
- Business email compromise · Someone reads a real payment conversation from inside a real mailbox, then joins it with different bank details.
- Bank impersonation and the safe account · A call from your bank's real number, telling you your money is at risk and must be moved somewhere safe.
- Rental and real estate scams · A deposit for a home nobody owns, or a completion payment redirected from inside the conveyancer's own email thread.
Sources
- Fact Sheet on the Rapid Response Program (FIN-2022-FCT1). Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Accessed 2026-10-10. Supports: That FinCEN does not ensure recovery, and that the program has had greater success when wires are reported to law enforcement within 72 hours.