Can I Report The Recipient of an ACH Transfer?

Question

I made an ACH transfer through a business account. I willingly transferred the money. Later on, I discovered that they were a scam. I had to hold liability for the money I transferred.

But, the recipient provided me with their credentials: Account number, Routing number and Bank name; in order to transfer them the money.

Can I -by any mean- report them using this credentials and possibly get them caught by law? Also, Can I contact their bank and tell them the story so they can get their account shut down?

Answer 1

DO report scams to authorities. Both your bank and the police... let them contact the other bank.

DO NOT try to take vigilante action such as starting a new transaction to take money from the other account (cancelling or reversing the transfer is ok, if your bank gives you the opportunity)

Be aware that there is a high probability that the account information you have is for another victim of the scam. Still, it will help the investigators build their case. The more involved parties they can find, the harder they can hit the perpetrators if they can find them.

A grey area would be to post details of the scam online (including partial, not full, account number), in the hopes that you save some future sucker from becoming a victim. This is ethically and legally ok (as long as you stick to facts), but making criminals mad risks having them find and hurt you, I can't recommend it.