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

Nevada's main lawsuit for scam victims is not in its Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It is a short separate statute, NRS 41.600, which lets "any person who is a victim of consumer fraud" sue, where "consumer fraud" means one of the deceptive trade practices and other unlawful acts that section lists. A claimant who wins recovers the damages they sustained, and the court must also award costs and reasonable attorney's fees. There is no automatic tripling, and most of the listed practices cover only conduct "in the course of his or her business or occupation," which a stranger running a one-off scam may not fit.

For older victims, Nevada lets a person 60 or older recover two times their actual damages for exploitation, but only from someone who had their "trust and confidence" or used a power of attorney or guardianship. Nevada banks must name a person to report suspected exploitation of older and vulnerable customers, and that person may delay a suspicious disbursement for 15 business days, extendable to 25. Scam complaints go to the Nevada Attorney General, which reviews and forwards them but does not represent individuals.

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

Jurisdiction scope: This guide covers Nevada state law: the private action for consumer fraud (NRS 41.600) and the deceptive trade practice definitions it borrows from NRS chapter 598, Nevada complaint offices, Nevada protections for older and vulnerable adults, a few Nevada laws aimed at specific scam channels, and Nevada small claims and fraud deadlines. 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). Nevada statute text on this page was read from a July 2026 copy of the Nevada Revised Statutes, because the Legislature's website was not reachable when we checked.

First steps if you were scammed in Nevada

Contact 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 the scam. Most scams go to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and online crime to the FBI's IC3; our where to report a scam guide lists every federal channel. The Nevada offices below are in addition to those, not instead of them.

Where to report a scam in Nevada

The Attorney General lists consumer fraud, financial fraud, mortgage fraud and cybercrimes among its areas of work. Two points from its complaint page are worth knowing before you file. First, "Only formally filed and signed complaints will be processed." Second, the office is not your lawyer: "The Nevada Attorney General's Office cannot provide you with legal advice or represent you in personal legal actions."

So treat an Attorney General complaint as a report that can help the state act against a scammer, not as a refund request. If you want your money back, the payment company and, against a defendant you can find, a lawsuit (below) are the routes that can produce it.

Nevada's consumer protection law: can you sue?

Possibly, if what happened to you fits the statute's definitions. Nevada's private right of action sits in NRS 41.600:

"1. An action may be brought by any person who is a victim of consumer fraud. 2. As used in this section, "consumer fraud" means: (a) An unlawful act as defined in NRS 119.330; (b) An unlawful act as defined in NRS 205.2747; (c) An act prohibited by NRS 482.36655 to 482.36667, inclusive; (d) An act prohibited by NRS 482.351; (e) A deceptive trade practice as defined in NRS 598.0915 to 598.0925, inclusive; or (f) A violation of NRS 417.133 or 417.135."

The text does not require that you bought something from the person you sue. What it does require is that you are a victim of "consumer fraud" as that list defines it. For most scams, the relevant item is (e), the deceptive trade practices in NRS 598.0915 to 598.0925.

The business or occupation requirement

Most of those deceptive trade practices are defined as things a person does while running a business. NRS 598.0915 begins: "A person engages in a "deceptive trade practice" if, in the course of his or her business or occupation, he or she:" and then lists practices including when a person "Knowingly makes any other false representation in a transaction." NRS 598.0923 uses the same phrase and covers a person who knowingly fails "to disclose a material fact in connection with the sale or lease of goods or services," uses "coercion, duress or intimidation in a transaction," or uses "an unconscionable practice in a transaction."

That fits a dishonest seller, contractor or company well. Whether it fits an impostor who has no real business, such as someone posing as your bank or a government agency, is less clear, and we did not review Nevada court decisions on the question.

One set of practices is written differently. NRS 598.0918 applies to a person who, "during a solicitation by telephone or text message or during a sales presentation," among other things:

"Defrauds a person of any valuable thing, wrongfully obtains from a person any valuable thing or otherwise causes harm to a person by knowingly causing, directly or indirectly, any service used in connection with a voice service or text messaging service to identify the caller or sender of the text message to display inaccurate or misleading information."

That section, which also covers blocking caller identification on an unsolicited call, does not use the "business or occupation" phrase, and it falls inside the range NRS 41.600 incorporates. Whether a particular scam call counts as a "solicitation" depends on the facts.

What you can recover

NRS 41.600(3) sets the remedies:

"If the claimant is the prevailing party, the court shall award the claimant: (a) Any damages that the claimant has sustained; (b) Any equitable relief that the court deems appropriate; and (c) The claimant's costs in the action and reasonable attorney's fees."

Two things stand out. Attorney's fees and costs are mandatory ("shall") for a claimant who wins, which makes a modest case more practical to bring. And the section provides no minimum damages, no tripling and no punitive damages; you recover what you lost. The text of section 41.600 also contains no requirement to send a demand letter before suing.

What the state can do that you cannot

The Attorney General and prosecutors have stronger tools, but the money goes elsewhere. Under NRS 598.0999(2), a court may impose a civil penalty "not to exceed $15,000 for each violation" on a person who "has willfully engaged in a deceptive trade practice." That penalty is paid to the state, not to the victim.

Knowingly and willfully engaging in a deceptive trade practice is also a crime under NRS 598.0999(3), a felony once the loss reaches $1,200. In that criminal case the court may require payment to the aggrieved party of "damages on all profits" and "treble damages on all damages suffered." That is something a criminal court orders after a conviction, not a right you can sue for on your own.

The honest limit

An NRS 41.600 case needs a defendant you can identify, serve and collect from. That often works against a Nevada business or a seller with a real address. It usually does not work against an anonymous scammer who called from a spoofed number or disappeared with a crypto payment, 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 how to tell the difference.

Protections for older adults in Nevada

Double damages for exploitation, with a limit

NRS 41.1395(1) says that if "an older person or a vulnerable person" suffers "a loss of money or property caused by exploitation, the person who caused the injury, death or loss is liable to the older person or vulnerable person for two times the actual damages incurred." An older person is someone 60 or older. "Two times" is the total recovery, not double on top of the loss. If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the person acted with "recklessness, oppression, fraud or malice," it must also order them to pay "the attorney's fees and costs of the person who initiated the lawsuit."

The limit is in the definition. Under NRS 41.1395(4)(b), "exploitation" means "any act taken by a person who has the trust and confidence of an older person or a vulnerable person or any use of the power of attorney or guardianship" to obtain control "through deception, intimidation or undue influence" over the person's money or property, or to convert it, in either case with the intention of permanently depriving the person of it. That fits a relative, caregiver, agent or trusted adviser. A stranger who never held the victim's trust may not be covered, and we did not review court decisions on whether a scammer who builds a relationship over time, as in a romance scam, counts. For a vulnerable person (as opposed to someone 60 or older), the doubling does not apply if the defendant did not know or have reason to know the person was vulnerable.

A deceptive-practice lawsuit for older and disabled people

NRS 598.0977 adds a separate route: if an elderly person (60 or older) or a person with a disability "suffers damage or injury as a result of a deceptive trade practice," they or their legal representative may sue "any person who engaged in the practice to recover the actual damages suffered by the elderly person or person with a disability, punitive damages, if appropriate, and reasonable attorney's fees." Punitive damages are available here, unlike under NRS 41.600. Because the claim still requires a "deceptive trade practice," the business or occupation requirement described above still applies to most practices. NRS 599B.300 gives a similar action for damage from an unlawful telephone solicitation.

Criminal penalties

Exploiting an older or vulnerable person is a crime under NRS 200.5099. For a first offense, it is a category B felony when the value is $650 or more, punishable by up to 10 years in prison when the value is under $5,000 and up to 20 years when it is $5,000 or more; a second offense is a category B felony regardless of value. The criminal definition of exploitation (NRS 200.5092) carries the same "trust and confidence" or power of attorney requirement as the civil one.

Nevada also adds time when certain crimes target older people. NRS 193.167 adds a consecutive prison term, when the crime is a felony, of not less than 1 year and not more than 20 years for crimes committed against a person 60 or older or a vulnerable person, including obtaining money or property of $650 or more by false pretenses. False pretenses itself is a crime under NRS 205.380.

Reporting and bank holds

Anyone may report. Adult Protective Services says: "Any person may report an incident of abuse if they have reasonable cause to believe" it happened. Certain professionals, including medical professionals, social workers and law enforcement, are required to report.

Banks must have a reporter. Under NRS 657.290, each financial institution "shall designate a person or persons to whom an officer or employee of the financial institution must report known or suspected exploitation of an older person or vulnerable person." If that designated reporter knows or has reasonable cause to believe an older or vulnerable person has been exploited, they must report it, as soon as reasonably practicable, to the Aging and Disability Services Division, a police department or sheriff's office, the county's office for protective services, or a toll-free number the Division designates. Broker-dealers and investment advisers have a similar reporting duty under NRS 90.6145.

Banks may delay a disbursement. The designated reporter "may temporarily delay a requested disbursement from, or a requested transaction involving, an account of an older person or vulnerable person," if within 2 business days it notifies in writing everyone authorized on the account (except anyone suspected of the exploitation) and notifies the Aging and Disability Services Division and local law enforcement. The delay expires after 15 business days. If the Division or law enforcement asks in writing, it can run up to 25 business days, and a court can extend it on petition (NRS 657.290(6) and (8)). The bank may also end the delay early if it reasonably believes the transaction will not result in exploitation.

The hold is optional, not required, and it is tied to the same definition of exploitation discussed above, so it may not clearly cover a payment to a stranger. If you are worried about a parent's account, tell the bank directly that you suspect a scam; that gives its reporter something to act on.

For fraud against anyone 60 or older, the federal DOJ National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) can also help you report; see where to report a scam and our guide to elder fraud.

Nevada scam laws on the books

Notarios and document preparers

A common scam in immigrant communities uses the Spanish title "notario" to suggest legal authority. NRS 240.085(2) says a Nevada notary public who is not a Nevada-licensed attorney "shall not use the term "notario," "notario publico," "licenciado" or any other equivalent non-English term in any form of communication that advertises his or her services as a notary public." On a finding of a violation, the Secretary of State must suspend the notary's appointment for at least 1 year.

Registered document preparation services face similar rules under NRS 240A.240. They may not use terms such as "legal aid," "legal services," "notario," "licenciado," "attorney" or "lawyer" in a way that implies they are lawyers, may not give advice about legal rights, remedies or options, and may not promise a result without some basis in fact. Violations can bring suspension or revocation of registration and a penalty of up to $1,000 per violation. See our guide to notario fraud.

Caller ID spoofing and telemarketers

Besides the spoofing practices in NRS 598.0918 described above, Nevada requires sellers and salespeople who solicit sales or donations by phone to register with the state. NRS 599B.080 makes it unlawful to do business as a seller or salesperson in Nevada without registering, and that includes someone who "solicits persons in this State from a location outside this State." For how phone and text scams work, see our phishing, smishing and vishing guide.

Door-to-door sales

Under NRS 598.230, a buyer who signs a door-to-door sale contract for $25 or more "may rescind such contract by giving written notice to the seller" no later than midnight of the third business day after signing. A door-to-door sale is one made away from the seller's place of business, and the seller must give you a receipt or contract with a notice of this right.

Crypto ATMs (virtual currency kiosks)

We could not confirm whether Nevada has enacted a law setting kiosk-specific transaction limits, warnings or refund rights. The Legislature's website, where bills and session laws are published, was not accessible to us, so this page does not state either way. What we could confirm: Nevada's money transmission law (NRS 671.040) requires a license to transmit money "regardless of the location or method of money transmission, including, without limitation, at a kiosk." Complaints about licensed money transmitters go to the Financial Institutions Division in the table above. If you paid a scammer through a crypto ATM, our crypto and investment scams guide covers what to do.

Investment fraud restitution fund

The Nevada Secretary of State says "Senate Bill 76 creates a statewide securities restitution fund to provide financial assistance to victims of investment fraud." We could not confirm the bill's effective date, who is eligible or how much it pays, so ask the Securities Division before relying on it.

Suing a scammer or a business in Nevada

Small claims. Nevada justice courts hear small claims for "the recovery of money only, where the amount claimed does not exceed $10,000" (NRS 73.010). The Nevada courts' self-help page describes small claims court as "designed for people to resolve disputes involving $10,000 or less without needing a lawyer." You generally file in the township where the defendant lives, does business or works, or where the injury happened.

Deadlines. A lawsuit for fraud must be filed within 3 years, and under NRS 11.190(3)(d) the claim "shall be deemed to accrue upon the discovery by the aggrieved party of the facts constituting the fraud." NRS 41.600 does not contain its own deadline. For an action against a person alleged to have committed a deceptive trade practice, NRS 11.190(2)(d) sets 4 years, and the claim is treated as arising "when the aggrieved party discovers, or by the exercise of due diligence should have discovered, the facts constituting the deceptive trade practice." A claim built on another kind of consumer fraud, or a separate fraud claim, may have a different period, so act well within 3 years where you can, and see our Nevada statute of limitations guide for 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 Nevada 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 what to do when a scammer has your 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
• Nevada identity theft laws
• Nevada debt collection laws
• Nevada 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 Nevada office named above, or a lawyer licensed in Nevada.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue a scammer in Nevada?

Possibly, if you are a victim of consumer fraud as NRS 41.600 defines it and you can identify and serve the scammer. Most of the deceptive trade practices that section borrows require conduct in the course of a business or occupation, and an anonymous or overseas scammer is usually not reachable through a Nevada court.

Does Nevada give triple damages for consumer fraud?

Not in a victim's own NRS 41.600 lawsuit, which awards the damages you sustained plus costs and attorney's fees. A criminal court that convicts someone of a knowing and willful deceptive trade practice may order treble damages paid to the victim (NRS 598.0999(3)), and NRS 41.1395 doubles damages for exploitation of an older or vulnerable person by someone in a position of trust.

Will I get attorney's fees if I win a consumer fraud case in Nevada?

Yes. NRS 41.600(3) says the court shall award a prevailing claimant costs and reasonable attorney's fees, along with damages and any appropriate equitable relief.

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

A fraud claim must be filed within 3 years, counted from when you discovered the facts constituting the fraud (NRS 11.190(3)(d)). NRS 41.600 has no deadline of its own, but a lawsuit over a deceptive trade practice has 4 years from when you discovered or should have discovered the facts (NRS 11.190(2)(d)). Filing within 3 years protects both kinds of claim.

Will the Nevada Attorney General get my money back?

Do not expect it. The office says it cannot give legal advice or represent you in personal legal actions, and it may forward your complaint to another agency. Contact your payment company first.

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

Call Adult Protective Services at (702) 486-6930 in Las Vegas and Clark County or (888) 729-0571 elsewhere in Nevada, or the police if the person is in immediate danger. The DOJ Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) also takes reports of fraud against anyone 60 or older.

Can a Nevada bank hold a transaction if it suspects elder fraud?

Yes, it may. Under NRS 657.290, a bank's designated reporter may delay a disbursement from an older or vulnerable person's account for 15 business days, extendable to 25 at the written request of the Aging and Disability Services Division or law enforcement. The hold is optional and is tied to the statute's definition of exploitation.

Does Nevada regulate crypto ATMs?

We could not confirm whether Nevada has a kiosk-specific law on limits, warnings or refunds. Nevada does require a money transmitter license for money transmission at a kiosk (NRS 671.040), and the Financial Institutions Division takes complaints about licensed money transmitters.

What is the small claims limit in Nevada?

$10,000. Nevada justice courts hear small claims for money only where the amount claimed does not exceed $10,000 (NRS 73.010).

Can a notary call themselves a notario in Nevada?

No, unless they are a Nevada-licensed attorney. NRS 240.085 bars a non-attorney notary from advertising as a notario, notario publico or licenciado, and the Secretary of State must suspend a violator's appointment for at least 1 year.