Connecticut Scam and Fraud Laws: Where to Report and CUTPA (2026)

Connecticut's consumer protection law, the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), lets any person who suffered an "ascertainable loss of money or property" because of an unfair or deceptive practice in trade or commerce sue for actual damages. A court may add punitive damages and attorney's fees, but neither is automatic, there is no tripling of damages, and the suit must be filed within three years of the violation.

Connecticut also treats stealing from someone 60 or older by false pretenses or a false promise as a felony whatever the amount, limits how much a newer customer can put into a crypto ATM in a day, and, from October 1, 2026, makes scheming to get a gift card or its numbers by fraud a crime of its own. Scam complaints can go to the Attorney General, the Department of Consumer Protection, or, for crypto kiosks and investments, the Department of Banking.

Information last verified on October 2, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This guide covers Connecticut state law: CUTPA (General Statutes chapter 735a), Connecticut complaint offices, Connecticut protections for older adults, the state's crypto kiosk law and other scam-related statutes, and Connecticut court deadlines for suing. Federal refund and reporting rights are summarized briefly and covered in depth on our national guides. Out of scope: criminal defense, and the law of other states (if the scammer or business is elsewhere, that state's law may also matter).

First steps if you were scammed in Connecticut

Call the bank, card issuer, payment app, wire company or crypto exchange that moved your money right away. That company is usually the only one that can stop or reverse a payment, and your federal rights depend on how you paid. Our guide on how to get money back after a scam walks through each payment method, and the Zelle and payment app guide covers app transfers.

Then report it. Most scams go to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (in Spanish at reportefraude.ftc.gov) and online crime to the FBI's IC3. Our where to report a scam guide lists every federal channel. The Connecticut offices below are in addition to those, not instead of them.

Where to report a scam in Connecticut

The Attorney General's Consumer Advocacy Section describes itself as "the clearinghouse for Connecticut constituent complaints involving unfair or deceptive marketplace activities and elder justice concerns," and it mediates complaints from consumers and small businesses. Be realistic about what that means: mediation can help with a business that wants to keep its reputation, but none of these offices acts as your lawyer.

For crypto kiosk scams, a joint alert from the State Police, the Department of Banking, the Attorney General and the Department of Consumer Protection tells victims they can complain to any of those four agencies. The same alert notes that kiosk operators in Connecticut are typically money transmitters that must be licensed by the Department of Banking, which also regulates securities.

Connecticut's consumer protection law: can you sue?

Sometimes. CUTPA's private lawsuit is in section 42-110g(a):

"Any person who suffers any ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment of a method, act or practice prohibited by section 42-110b, may bring an action ... to recover actual damages."

Three conditions sit in that sentence. You must have lost money or property you can point to (an "ascertainable loss"), the loss must result from the practice, and the practice must be one section 42-110b prohibits: "unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce." The statute uses "person," not "consumer," so the text does not require that you bought something from the defendant. You also do not have to prove harm to the public: "Proof of public interest or public injury shall not be required."

"Trade and commerce" means advertising, selling, renting, leasing, offering or distributing services, property or any other article, commodity or thing of value in this state (section 42-110a(4)). That clearly covers a contractor, a seller or a company that deceived you. Whether it covers a scammer who sold nothing, such as a romance or impersonation scammer who simply asked for money, is not answered by the statute's text, and we have not reviewed a court decision on it. A Connecticut lawyer can tell you whether your facts fit.

Section 42-110c(a)(1) exempts "transactions or actions otherwise permitted under law as administered by any regulatory board or officer acting under statutory authority of the state or of the United States," and the party claiming an exemption has the burden of proving it. How that exemption plays out against a regulated company such as a bank is a question for a lawyer.

What you can recover

Actual damages are the base remedy. CUTPA does not multiply them and sets no minimum award. Beyond that, the court has discretion:

"The court may, in its discretion, award punitive damages and may provide such equitable relief as it deems necessary or proper."

On fees, section 42-110g(d) says "the court may award, to the plaintiff, in addition to the relief provided in this section, costs and reasonable attorneys fees based on the work reasonably performed by an attorney and not on the amount of recovery." Fees are possible, not guaranteed, and the subsection speaks only of fees to the plaintiff. You can ask for a jury, but the judge, not the jury, decides punitive damages, attorney's fees and equitable relief (section 42-110g(g)). CUTPA claims can also be brought as a class action (section 42-110g(b)).

Mail the complaint to the state

CUTPA does not require a demand letter before you sue. It does require this, in section 42-110g(c):

"Upon commencement of any action brought under subsection (a) of this section, the plaintiff shall mail a copy of the complaint to the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Consumer Protection and, upon entry of any judgment or decree in the action, shall mail a copy of such judgment or decree to the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Consumer Protection."

The deadline

Section 42-110g(f): "An action under this section may not be brought more than three years after the occurrence of a violation of this chapter." The words count from when the violation occurred, so do not assume the clock waits until you discover you were scammed. If you are near three years, talk to a lawyer now.

The honest limit

A CUTPA case needs a defendant you can identify, serve and collect from. That often works against a Connecticut business, a contractor or a seller with a real address. It usually does not work against an anonymous scammer behind a spoofed number, a fake profile or a crypto wallet, and a judgment does not help if nobody can be found to pay it. Our guide on when a lawyer helps after a scam covers when a case is worth bringing.

Protections for older adults in Connecticut

Defrauding someone 60 or older is a felony at any amount. Connecticut grades most larceny by value: over $1,000 is fourth degree (a class A misdemeanor), over $2,000 third degree (a class D felony), over $10,000 second degree, and over $20,000 first degree (a class B felony). But section 53a-123(a)(4) makes it larceny in the second degree, a class C felony, when "the property, regardless of its nature or value, is obtained by embezzlement, false pretenses or false promise and the victim of such larceny is sixty years of age or older." The same clause covers victims who are conserved persons, blind or physically disabled. It applies to anyone who commits the theft, not only a caregiver or someone in a position of trust. Prosecution is up to the state; it is not a lawsuit the victim brings.

Anyone can report, and some people must. Connecticut's protective services law lists mandatory reporters, such as physicians, nurses, social workers, clergy, police and paid caregivers, who must report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation of a person 60 or older within 24 hours (section 17b-451(a)). Anyone else with reasonable cause to suspect it may report (section 17b-451(c)). The law defines exploitation as taking advantage of an elderly person "by another person or caregiver," so it is not limited to family or caregivers. The Department of Social Services puts it simply: "Anyone can (and should) report elder maltreatment." Call Protective Services for the Elderly at 1-888-385-4225, or use the form and contact options on its reporting page.

Banks may pause a suspicious transaction. Since July 1, 2024, section 36a-253(d)(1) has said that if a bank or credit union "has reasonable cause to believe that a transaction or disbursement involving an eligible adult's account may involve, facilitate, result in or contribute to financial exploitation of such eligible adult," it "may suspend the transaction or disbursement for not more than seven business days." An eligible adult is a Connecticut resident 60 or older. The institution may extend the pause by an additional 45 business days for reasonable cause, and if it does, it must notify the older adult, the other account holders and any trusted contacts in writing within three business days, including a statement that the older adult may ask the Probate Court to release the hold.

Keep three limits in mind. The hold is permissive: a bank may use it but is not required to. It covers Connecticut banks and credit unions, out-of-state chartered ones and their affiliates, and federally chartered institutions only if they choose to adopt it. And it applies to accounts used mainly for personal, family or household purposes. If you are worried about a parent's account, tell the bank directly that you suspect a scam, since its power to pause starts with reasonable cause to believe exploitation is happening.

Investment fraud. If the scam sold you a security, section 36b-29(a)(2) of Connecticut's securities law lets a buyer recover "the consideration paid for the security, together with interest at eight per cent per year from the date of payment, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, less the amount of any income received on the security, upon the tender of the security" (or damages if the buyer no longer owns it) from the seller and anyone who materially assisted, unless they prove they did not know, and with reasonable care could not have known, of the untrue statement or omission. For fraud, the deadline is two years from when the fraud was discovered or reasonably should have been, but never more than five years after the fraud. Whether a particular crypto "investment" counts as a security depends on the facts. See our guide to crypto and investment scams.

For fraud against anyone 60 or older, the federal DOJ National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) can also help you report. Our elder fraud guide covers the federal side.

Connecticut scam laws on the books

Crypto ATMs (virtual currency kiosks)

Section 36a-613, as amended by Public Act 24-146 (effective October 1, 2024) and Public Act 25-66 (effective October 1, 2025), puts these rules on kiosk operators:

• Fee cap: total fees and commissions "shall not exceed fifteen per cent of the amount of the virtual currency transaction."
• Daily limits: $2,000 for each new customer and $5,000 for each existing customer.
• A phone call for older new customers: the operator must "identify and speak by telephone with any new customer over sixty years of age" before that customer's first transaction, record the call, and base approval on its assessment of the call. The same applies to a new customer above a large-transaction amount the operator sets.
• Warnings and receipts: the operator must show a warning that losses from fraudulent or accidental transactions "may not be recoverable" and that crypto transactions "are irreversible," must disclose common scam scripts (such as someone impersonating a loved one, threatening jail, or insisting you withdraw bank money to buy crypto), and must print the Department of Banking's name and phone number on the receipt.

The refund rule is narrow. Under section 36a-613(i), the operator must let a new customer "cancel and receive a full refund for any fraudulent virtual currency transactions that occurred not later than seventy-two hours after the new customer registered," but only if, within 30 days after the last transaction in that 72-hour window, the customer does both of these:

1. Contacts the operator and a government or law enforcement agency to report the fraud.
2. Files a report with a government or law enforcement agency memorializing that the transactions were fraudulent.

A "new customer" is defined in section 36a-596 as someone who has made fewer than three transactions with that operator and has been registered for less than 72 hours; both must be true. An existing customer does not get this refund. The section itself does not spell out a lawsuit by a customer; enforcement runs through the Department of Banking. In March 2026 the Banking Commissioner issued a summary suspension and cease-and-desist and restitution orders against kiosk operator Bitcoin Depot Operating LLC, alleging violations of the fee cap, the daily limits and the 72-hour refund rule. Those are allegations in an administrative order, not findings after a hearing, and we have not confirmed the case's outcome.

For how crypto scams work and what to do next, see crypto and investment scams.

Gift card crime (took effect October 1, 2026)

Public Act 26-130, approved June 4, 2026, added "gift card crime" to Connecticut's larceny statute, section 53a-119, effective October 1, 2026. Among other things, a person commits it when, with intent to defraud, the person "devises a scheme to obtain a gift card or gift card information from a cardholder, card issuer or gift card seller by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises." It applies to conduct from that date forward. For how these scams work, see our gift card scams guide.

Notarios and immigration help

Under section 3-95a, a notary public may not give legal advice in immigration matters or represent anyone in immigration proceedings unless the notary is a licensed Connecticut attorney or is authorized under federal regulation (8 CFR 292.2). A notary may not use the title "notario" or "notario publico" without being an attorney or giving written notice of not being licensed. A violation counts as the unauthorized practice of law under section 51-88. See our guide to notario fraud.

Telemarketing and door-to-door sales

Connecticut's telemarketing law makes a violation of sections 42-284 to 42-287 an unfair or deceptive practice under CUTPA (section 42-288(b)), and treats a violation of the federal rules against calling a number on the National Do Not Call Registry, or a consumer who asked not to be called by that company, as a violation of the state law (section 42-288a(b)). Under section 42-286, a telemarketer may not take payment from a consumer without a contract the consumer has signed, and must immediately refund or credit in full a payment taken without one. Telemarketing calls are allowed only from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, and Connecticut's no-sales-solicitation list is the National Do Not Call Registry. How those definitions apply to a scam caller is a question for a lawyer.

For sales made at your home, section 42-135a gives the buyer until "midnight of the third business day" after the transaction to cancel, and the seller must give you a notice of cancellation form. The rule does not cover sales of $25 or less (other than magazines) or emergency work you requested and waived in your own handwriting.

Suing a scammer or a business in Connecticut

Small claims. The Judicial Branch says small claims court is where "a person can sue for money damages only up to $5,000.00 or in the case of a home improvement contract, money damages are limited up to $15,000." It is the usual place for a modest claim against a business or an individual you can identify and serve.

Deadlines. A CUTPA claim has the three-year limit above. Connecticut's general deadline for a tort claim is three years "from the date of the act or omission complained of" (section 52-577), and a contract claim generally has six years (section 52-576). If the person you are suing fraudulently concealed that you had a claim, section 52-595 treats the claim as accruing when you first discover it. Which deadline governs a particular fraud claim, and how discovery affects it, is a question for a Connecticut lawyer, and an early one. Our Connecticut statute of limitations guide covers other civil deadlines.

Who you can actually reach. Lawsuits work against people and businesses with a name, an address and assets. A scammer who hid behind a fake identity, a spoofed caller ID or an overseas account is usually not reachable through a Connecticut court. In those cases the payment company, a fast report to law enforcement, and protecting your identity are where your effort pays off. If the scammer has your personal details, see a scammer has my information.

Related guides

• Scams and fraud: your rights and where to start
• How to get money back after a scam
• Where to report a scam
• Elder fraud
• Crypto and investment scams
• Connecticut identity theft laws
• Connecticut debt collection laws
• Connecticut statute of limitations

Last updated: October 2, 2026.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, contact your payment company, the Connecticut office named above, or a lawyer licensed in Connecticut.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue a scammer in Connecticut?

Possibly, if you can identify and serve them. CUTPA (Conn. Gen. Stat. section 42-110g) lets a person who suffered an ascertainable loss of money or property from an unfair or deceptive practice in trade or commerce sue for actual damages. Whether a scammer who sold nothing was in trade or commerce depends on the facts, and an anonymous or overseas scammer is usually not reachable through a Connecticut court.

Does CUTPA award triple damages?

No. Section 42-110g provides actual damages, and the court may, in its discretion, add punitive damages and award the plaintiff costs and reasonable attorney's fees. There is no automatic multiplier or minimum award.

How long do I have to file a CUTPA claim?

Section 42-110g(f) says a CUTPA action may not be brought more than three years after the occurrence of the violation. The text counts from the violation, so do not wait to see a lawyer.

Do I need to send a demand letter before suing under CUTPA?

The statute does not require a pre-suit demand. It does require you to mail a copy of the complaint to the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Consumer Protection when you file, and a copy of any judgment when it is entered (section 42-110g(c)).

Will the Connecticut Attorney General get my money back?

Do not count on it. The Attorney General represents the public interest, not individuals, but may offer informal mediation or refer your complaint to another agency. Call the Consumer Assistance Unit at 860-808-5420 or use the online e-complaint form.

Is scamming an elderly person a felony in Connecticut?

Yes. Under section 53a-123(a)(4), obtaining property by false pretenses, false promise or embezzlement from a victim 60 or older is larceny in the second degree, a class C felony, regardless of the amount.

Can a Connecticut bank freeze a transaction if it suspects elder fraud?

It may, but it is not required to. Under section 36a-253, a covered bank or credit union with reasonable cause to suspect financial exploitation of a resident 60 or older may suspend a transaction for up to seven business days and extend it by up to 45 more business days for reasonable cause.

Who do I call if an older adult in Connecticut is being scammed?

Call the Department of Social Services Protective Services for the Elderly at 1-888-385-4225 (weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; after hours, 2-1-1). The DOJ Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) also helps with fraud against anyone 60 or older.

Can I get a refund from a Connecticut crypto ATM after a scam?

Only in a narrow case. Under section 36a-613(i), a new customer can get a full refund of fraudulent transactions made within 72 hours of registering if, within 30 days of the last one, they contact the operator and a government or law enforcement agency and file a report. Existing customers are not covered.

What are Connecticut's crypto ATM limits?

Under section 36a-613, kiosk fees and commissions may not exceed 15 percent of the transaction, and daily transactions are capped at $2,000 for a new customer and $5,000 for an existing customer. Complaints go to the Department of Banking.

Is gift card fraud a crime in Connecticut?

Yes. Since October 1, 2026, Public Act 26-130 makes gift card crime a form of larceny, including devising a scheme to obtain a gift card or its information by false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises.

What is the small claims limit in Connecticut?

$5,000, or $15,000 for a home improvement contract, according to the Connecticut Judicial Branch.