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My spouse was the victim of an extended warranty scam, and charged ~$2000 to my credit card. I called the scammer back and threatened to dispute the transaction, and he told me that he will void the transaction. He also told me that if I dispute the charge, he will win the case.

If I want to get the $2000 back, should I wait to see if he actually voids the transaction, which is still pending on my credit card? Or should I go ahead and dispute it?

Also, what should I do if my main goal is, instead of getting my money back, to damage the scammer's business instead? If I dispute the transaction, is the credit card company more likely to cut him off from their network?

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Yes, if a lot of people charge back to a merchant their processor will drop them.

No, he will not win the dispute for an over-the-phone transaction with no written contact.

Dispute ASAP and don't wait. You need to have the transaction posted though, you cannot dispute a "pending" transaction. So if it remains pending and eventually disappears without ever posting - the scammer has in fact voided, for the reason stated in the first sentence.

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If I want to get the $2000 back, should I wait to see if he actually voids the transaction, which is still pending on my credit card? Or should I go ahead and dispute it?

A person wanted you to trust them so you would purchase their scam product. Now they want you to trust them that they will void the transaction.

Don't fall victim again. Contact your card now. Don't wait.

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If you want to "charge back" the transaction, you need to wait for it to be posted, then call the credit card company.

If you think they might try to use the card number to make false charges, you can report the card lost; the card will be disabled and a new card issued. That doesn't have to wait, but doesn't automatically protect you from charges made before that has been done; you still have to review the statements and challenge any bogus charges made before that.

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...he told me that he will void the transaction. He also told me that if I dispute the charge, he will win the case.

How much of what he's told you so far has been true? I wouldn't be inclined to trust anything a known scammer tells you.

...he told me that he will void the transaction. He also told me that if I dispute the charge, he will win the case.

Again, he's a known scammer.

In addition to filing a credit card dispute, have you filed a police report? It may also be worthwhile to file a fraud notice with the credit bureaus just to be on the safe side.

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  • For what it's worth, in my case he voided the transaction while it was still "pending", so never made it to a "posted" charge that I could dispute. But I was quite aggressive with him on the phone, calling him a scammer, so presumably he wanted to avoid attention from the processor. I did report my card stolen, in order to get a new number.
    – Betterthan Kwora
    Aug 1 at 19:42
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If it is a credit card, you contact the credit card provider, and you tell them that you dispute the charge, that you never ordered anything, and that it is a scam. You do that right now. The scammer isn’t going to refund you anything, and any day you wait makes your position worse.

Of course the scammer tells you he will win in court. He is a scammer. Scammers lie. And of course he will never be in court, because he would have to show his identity. And he can’t because he would end up in jail. Never listen to anything a scammer says.

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