Vermont Scam and Fraud Laws: Where to Report, Your Right to Sue (2026)

Vermont's Consumer Protection Act lets a "consumer" who was deceived sue for their damages or the money they paid, reasonable attorney's fees, and exemplary damages of up to three times the value of what they paid. The condition is in the definition: a consumer is someone who purchases, leases, contracts for, or agrees to pay for goods or services, whether for personal, household or business use. Whether a scam victim who sent money to an impostor without buying anything fits that definition is not settled, and an anonymous scammer is rarely someone you can sue.

Vermont also changed two things in 2026. Crypto ATMs (virtual currency kiosks) have been banned in the state since July 1, 2026, and a law signed in May 2026 lets banks and credit unions delay a customer's transaction when they reasonably believe the customer is being financially exploited. Scam reports go to the Attorney General's Consumer Assistance Program, which runs a complaint mediation service with the University of Vermont and an online scam report form.

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

Jurisdiction scope: This guide covers Vermont state law: the Vermont Consumer Protection Act (9 V.S.A. chapter 63), Vermont complaint offices, Vermont protections for vulnerable adults, the 2026 bank-hold and crypto kiosk laws, and Vermont court limits and deadlines. Federal refund and reporting rights are summarized briefly and covered 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 Vermont

Contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, wire company or crypto exchange that moved your money right away, because that company is usually the one that can stop or reverse a payment. The Vermont Attorney General's own recovery checklist says the first step is to call the financial institution or transfer company "to alert of the fraud, inquire as to the status of the funds and request a hold or freeze of the funds and refund if funds have not been transmitted." 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 the scam. Most scams go to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and online crime to the FBI's IC3, which the Attorney General's checklist also tells victims to complete "as soon as possible." Our where to report a scam guide lists every federal channel. The Vermont offices below are in addition to those, not instead of them. If the scammer got your personal information, see Vermont identity theft laws and what to do when a scammer has your information.

Where to report a scam in Vermont

CAP has run for four decades as a partnership between the Attorney General and the University of Vermont. It offers "consumer and consumer business education, a complaint mediation service," and referrals to other resources.

Be realistic about what a complaint does. The program explains: "This is not a formal legal process, and we cannot guarantee a response or resolution." Mediation works by sending your complaint to a named business, so it is most useful against a real company. A scammer with no business name or address gives it little to work with, which is why the separate scam report form exists. Neither route is a refund request; the payment company and, against a business you can identify, a lawsuit are the routes that can produce money.

Vermont's consumer protection law: can you sue?

Sometimes. Section 2453(a) of the Vermont Consumer Protection Act declares unlawful "unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce," and section 2453(b) tells Vermont courts to be guided by how similar words in the Federal Trade Commission Act have been read. The private right to sue is in section 2461(b):

"Any consumer who contracts for goods or services in reliance upon false or fraudulent representations or practices prohibited by section 2453 of this title, or who sustains damages or injury as a result of any false or fraudulent representations or practices prohibited by section 2453 of this title, or prohibited by any rule or regulation made pursuant to section 2453 of this title, may sue for appropriate equitable relief and may sue and recover from the seller, solicitor, or other violator the amount of his or her damages, or the consideration or the value of the consideration given by the consumer, reasonable attorney's fees, and exemplary damages not exceeding three times the value of the consideration given by the consumer."

Who counts as a consumer

The right belongs to a "consumer," and section 2451a(1) defines that word. In short, a consumer is any person who "purchases, leases, contracts for, or otherwise agrees to pay consideration for goods or services," either for personal or household use or for the use of their business. Two things follow.

• Business buyers are covered too. Vermont's definition is not limited to personal or household purchases. A small business that paid for a fake service can be a consumer, as long as it was not buying to resell.
• There has to be a deal for goods or services. "Goods" and "services" are defined broadly in section 2451a(2) and include "securities," "intangibles" and "property or services of any kind." That plainly reaches a victim who paid a fake contractor, a fraudulent online store or a bogus tech support company. It is not settled whether it reaches someone who wired money to an impostor without buying or agreeing to pay for anything. We did not find a Vermont court decision answering that, so treat a no-purchase scam as an open question for a lawyer, not a claim you can count on.

What you can recover

Section 2461(b) lists the remedies a consumer may sue for:

• Equitable relief, such as an order to stop or undo something.
• Your damages, or what you paid. The text says "the amount of his or her damages, or the consideration or the value of the consideration given by the consumer."
• Reasonable attorney's fees. The section lists fees among what a consumer may recover. Any written or oral language from a seller or solicitor that attempts to exclude or modify recovery of the penalty or reasonable attorney's fees is unenforceable.
• Exemplary damages of up to three times the consideration. Note what the multiplier is tied to: "three times the value of the consideration given by the consumer," not three times your total losses. It is a ceiling ("not exceeding"), not automatic tripling.

A defendant accused under section 2461(b) is entitled to a jury trial unless that right is waived (section 2461(c)). The text of section 2461 itself does not set a pre-suit notice requirement or its own filing deadline. How courts handle the fee award and the exemplary damages in practice is a question for a Vermont lawyer.

Who you cannot sue under the act

Section 2452(a) protects newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, and providers of "an interactive computer service" that carried a scam ad or offer, when they had "no knowledge of the fraudulent intent" of the advertiser and were not responsible for creating the ad. So a website or platform that unknowingly carried a scam ad is generally outside the act, and the claim is against the advertiser or seller.

The deadline

Section 2461 has no limitation period of its own. Vermont's general rule for civil actions is that they "shall be commenced within six years after the cause of action accrues" (12 V.S.A. section 511). We could not confirm from the statute text which period Vermont courts apply to a Consumer Protection Act claim, so do not wait.

What the Attorney General can do

The Attorney General can bring its own case. Under section 2458(b), a court may impose a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 for each unfair or deceptive act, which is paid to the state, not to you. The same section allows the court to order "restitution of cash or goods on behalf of a consumer or a class of consumers similarly situated," so an Attorney General case against a business can sometimes return money to victims.

The honest limit

A lawsuit needs a defendant you can identify, serve and collect from. That often works against a Vermont business, a contractor or a seller with a real address. It usually does not work against an anonymous scammer who called from a spoofed number or vanished with crypto, and a judgment nobody pays does not help.

Protections for older and vulnerable adults in Vermont

Vermont's elder-exploitation laws are built around the legal term "vulnerable adult," not an age. Under 33 V.S.A. section 6902(34), a vulnerable adult is someone 18 or older who lives in a facility that must be licensed, has been receiving personal care services for more than one month in circumstances the statute specifies, or has a disability, brain damage, a mental condition or "infirmities of aging" that impair their ability to independently carry out activities of daily living or to protect themselves from abuse, neglect or exploitation. An older adult without that kind of impairment is not a vulnerable adult under these laws.

It is a crime, whoever does it. Under 13 V.S.A. section 1380, "No person shall willfully acquire possession or control of or an interest in funds or property of a vulnerable adult through the use of undue influence, harassment, duress, or fraud." The statute applies to any person, not only caregivers or people in a position of trust. When the money or property is worth $500 or less, the penalty is up to 18 months in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both; above $500 it is up to 10 years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both. A conviction also leads to placement on the Adult Abuse Registry (13 V.S.A. section 1383).

A civil lawsuit with enhanced damages. Under 33 V.S.A. section 6952, a vulnerable adult, or their agent or guardian, may sue in Superior Court a natural person who, "with reckless disregard or with knowledge," financially exploited them. The court may award "money damages, injunctive relief, reasonable costs, attorney's fees, and equitable relief," and:

"If the financial exploitation was intentional, the court may grant exemplary damages not to exceed three times the value of economic damages."

The action is dismissed if the vulnerable adult is capable of expressing their wishes and does not want to pursue it, and the six-year limit in 12 V.S.A. section 511 applies. The defendant must be a natural person, and as with any lawsuit it helps only if that person can be found.

Banks and credit unions may now delay a payment. Act 106 of 2026 (H.385), signed on May 20, 2026 and effective on passage, added rules on suspicious banking transactions (8 V.S.A. sections 10801 to 10806 in the Act's text; the online statutes have not yet been updated). They apply to a bank, trust company, savings institution or credit union.

• If it "reasonably believes that a customer is or has been the victim of financial exploitation or attempted financial exploitation," based on what it observed or on information from a state, local or law enforcement agency, it may delay or refuse transactions, delay withdrawals, or block a transfer to an account owned by someone else.
• This protects any customer. The law has no age or vulnerable-adult requirement.
• It is permissive. The institution "is not required to take protective action," and the law says it does not create a duty to override a customer's valid instructions.
• The delay ends at the earliest of 15 business days, the institution being satisfied the transaction is not likely exploitation, or a court order. Unless a court directs otherwise, the institution may extend it "for up to an additional 15 days" if it reasonably believes the exploitation may continue.

If you are worried that a parent is about to send money to a scammer, tell the bank or credit union directly what you suspect. The law gives it room to act, but it decides whether to.

Reporting to Adult Protective Services. Under 33 V.S.A. section 6903(a), people who directly provide health care, law enforcement, caregiving, counseling, education or social services to adults must report suspected exploitation of a vulnerable adult within two business days, and any other concerned person may report. Call (800) 564-1612 or use the online APS reporting system. For fraud against anyone 60 or older, the federal DOJ National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) can also help; see our elder fraud guide.

Vermont scam laws on the books

Crypto ATMs (virtual currency kiosks): banned since July 1, 2026

Act 142 of 2026 (H.648), signed by the Governor on June 16, 2026, took effect on July 1, 2026. The Legislature's official summary says it "prohibits virtual currency kiosks from operating in Vermont beginning on July 1, 2026." The Act's text provides:

"No person shall locate, operate, or otherwise make available for use, or allow a third party to locate, operate, or otherwise make available for use, a virtual currency kiosk in Vermont."

Every kiosk registration expired and terminated on July 1, 2026. For any kiosk transaction occurring after that date in violation of the ban, the Act says the operator "shall provide a full refund to the customer upon request of the customer or the Commissioner," including any fees charged.

Older articles still describe Vermont's earlier rules, which capped how much cash a kiosk could take from a customer in a day. Those limits no longer describe the law for transactions after July 1, 2026, because the machines may not operate at all. If anyone tells you to feed cash into a crypto machine, in Vermont or across a state line, treat that as a serious warning sign.

If you used a Vermont kiosk before the ban. The pre-ban law gave refund rights to some fraudulently induced customers, including a full refund for a new customer who contacted the kiosk operator and a law enforcement or government agency within 90 days after their last transaction. Act 142 kept those refund rights for any kiosk in operation in Vermont before July 1, 2026 (8 V.S.A. section 2577(b)(2) and (3) in the Act's text): the operator must give a full refund, including fees, to a customer fraudulently induced to make a transaction while a new customer, and a refund of fees to a fraudulently induced existing customer, if the customer told both the operator and a law enforcement or government agency about the fraud within 90 days after the last transaction. Ninety days after June 30, 2026 was September 28, 2026, so for a pre-ban transaction that window has likely closed. If you gave notice in time, ask the operator for the refund in writing; if not, ask a Vermont lawyer before assuming one, and keep every receipt. For more, see crypto and investment scams.

Door-to-door and telephone sales: a three-day right to cancel

Under 9 V.S.A. section 2454(a)(1), a consumer may cancel a home solicitation sale "until midnight of the third business day after the day on which the consumer has signed an agreement or offer to purchase." Vermont's definition in section 2451a(4) is broad: it includes a sale of $5.00 or more solicited or completed "wholly or in part by telephone with a consumer at the residence or place of business or employment of the consumer," with listed exclusions, such as sellers with a full-refund policy and depository institutions. If someone pressured you into a deal at your door or over the phone, check whether this right applies, and act within the three business days.

Telemarketing and robocalls

Telemarketers must register with the Vermont Secretary of State (9 V.S.A. section 2464b). Section 2464c gives a person who receives a call that violates section 2464a(b) a private action for actual damages or $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for each later one, whichever is greater, plus punitive damages for a willful violation and reasonable costs and attorney's fees. Section 2464e makes an automatically dialed or prerecorded call to a Vermont consumer that violates the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act a violation of the Consumer Protection Act, with a private action for the greater of your damages or $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for each later one.

Online dating services

Vermont regulates internet dating services in 9 V.S.A. sections 2482a to 2482d, and section 2482d(a) treats a violation as an unfair and deceptive act under section 2453. For how romance scams work and what to do, see our romance scams guide.

Coming in 2028: coerced debt

Act 106 also adds protections for "coerced debt": debt run up through fraud, deception, coercion or misuse of personal information, but only when it resulted from domestic abuse, human trafficking, or the abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult. That part takes effect on July 1, 2028, so it is not yet law you can use. If a collector is pursuing you now over a debt a scammer created, see Vermont debt collection laws.

Suing a scammer or a business in Vermont

Small claims. Vermont small claims court hears cases in which the plaintiff claims no more than $10,000 (12 V.S.A. section 5531(a)), and only money damages can be requested. Where the claim exceeds $3,500, the defendant may ask for a special assignment of a judicial officer. That makes small claims the usual place for a modest claim against a business or person you can identify and serve.

Deadlines. The general limit for civil actions is six years after the cause of action accrues (12 V.S.A. section 511). If the person you are suing fraudulently concealed the claim from you, the time before you discovered it is not counted (12 V.S.A. section 555). How the start date applies to your facts is a question to raise with a Vermont lawyer early. Our Vermont 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 number or an overseas account is usually not reachable through a Vermont court. In those cases the payment company, a fast report to law enforcement, and protecting your identity are where your effort pays off. Our guide on when a lawyer helps after a scam explains when legal help is worth it.

Related guides

• Scams and fraud: your rights and where to start
• How to get money back after a scam
• Where to report a scam
• Zelle and payment app scams
• Phishing, smishing and vishing
• Tech support and fake invoice scams
• Elder fraud
• Vermont identity theft laws
• Vermont debt collection laws
• Vermont 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 Vermont office named above, or a lawyer licensed in Vermont.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue a scammer in Vermont?

Possibly, if you can identify and serve them and you are a consumer under 9 V.S.A. section 2451a(1), meaning you purchased, leased, contracted for or agreed to pay for goods or services. Whether a victim who paid a scammer without buying anything qualifies is unsettled, and an anonymous or overseas scammer is usually not reachable through a Vermont court.

Does the Vermont Consumer Protection Act award triple damages?

Section 2461(b) allows exemplary damages not exceeding three times the value of the consideration the consumer gave, on top of damages or the consideration and reasonable attorney's fees. It is a ceiling tied to what you paid, not automatic tripling, and it is available only to a consumer as the act defines that word.

Can a business sue under the Vermont Consumer Protection Act?

Yes, if it fits the definition. Section 2451a(1) counts a person who buys, leases, contracts for or agrees to pay for goods or services for use in their business, as long as the purchase is not for resale.

Will the Vermont Attorney General get my money back?

Do not count on it. The Consumer Assistance Program forwards complaints to the business named and says its mediation is not a formal legal process and it cannot guarantee a response or resolution. Contact your payment company right away as well.

How do I report a scam in Vermont?

Use the Attorney General's Consumer Assistance Program online scam form, call 800-649-2424, or email AGO.CAP@vermont.gov. Also report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and, for online crime, to the FBI's IC3.

Are crypto ATMs legal in Vermont?

No. Act 142 of 2026 prohibits operating a virtual currency kiosk in Vermont from July 1, 2026, and all kiosk registrations ended that day. For a kiosk transaction after that date in violation of the ban, the operator must give a full refund, including fees, on request of the customer or the Commissioner.

Can a Vermont bank hold a transaction if it suspects a scam?

Yes. Under Act 106 of 2026, signed May 20, 2026 and effective on passage, a bank, trust company, savings institution or credit union may, but is not required to, delay a transaction when it reasonably believes a customer of any age is being financially exploited. The delay generally lasts up to 15 business days and may be extended up to 15 more days.

Who do I call if an elderly person in Vermont is being scammed?

If the person is a vulnerable adult under Vermont law, report to Adult Protective Services at (800) 564-1612 or online. The DOJ Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) helps with fraud against anyone 60 or older, and the person's bank or credit union should be told right away.

Is scamming an elderly person a crime in Vermont?

Taking a vulnerable adult's money or property through undue influence, harassment, duress or fraud is a crime under 13 V.S.A. section 1380, punishable by up to 10 years when more than $500 is involved. Vulnerable adult is defined by impairment, living in a licensed care facility or receiving personal care, not by age, so the statute does not cover every older victim.

What is the small claims limit in Vermont?

$10,000. Under 12 V.S.A. section 5531(a), small claims court hears cases where the plaintiff claims no more than $10,000, and only money damages can be requested.

How long do I have to sue for fraud in Vermont?

Vermont's general deadline for civil actions is six years after the cause of action accrues (12 V.S.A. section 511), and time is not counted while the defendant fraudulently concealed the claim (section 555). Ask a Vermont lawyer early about how this applies to your dates.