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

Tennessee's main consumer protection law, the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977, lets a person who lost money or property because of one of the specific deceptive practices the Act lists sue for actual damages, and a court may award up to three times those damages if the violation was willful or knowing. The limits are tight: the general catch-all ban on deception can be enforced only by the Attorney General, class actions are barred, and the suit must be filed within one year of discovering the practice.

Tennessee has also taken an unusual step: since July 1, 2026, it has been a crime to operate a cryptocurrency ATM (a virtual currency kiosk) anywhere in the state. For older Tennesseans, financially exploiting an elderly or vulnerable adult is a crime punished one class higher than ordinary theft, anyone who suspects exploitation must report it, and banks may pause a suspicious transaction. The Attorney General takes complaints and mediates them, but says it "cannot force a business to rectify your complaint."

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

Jurisdiction scope: This guide covers Tennessee state law: the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977 (Tennessee Code Annotated title 47, chapter 18, part 1), Tennessee complaint offices, Tennessee protections for older and vulnerable adults, the 2026 crypto kiosk ban, and the Tennessee court for smaller civil claims. 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). The Tennessee Consumer Protection Act is a different law from the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which covers robocalls and texts.

First steps if you were scammed in Tennessee

Contact the bank, card issuer, payment app, wire company or crypto exchange that moved your money right away; that company is usually the one that can stop or reverse a payment. 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 and online crime to the FBI's IC3; our where to report a scam guide lists every federal channel. The Tennessee offices below are in addition to those, not instead of them. If you believe you are the victim of a crime, the Attorney General's office says to "contact your local law enforcement immediately."

Where to report a scam in Tennessee

What an Attorney General complaint can and cannot do

You can file with the Division of Consumer Affairs if you live in Tennessee, the business is in Tennessee, or the transaction took place in Tennessee. The division gives the business 21 days to respond and, if it stays silent, another 14 days. The office says the "average mediation time" is 90 days. Language interpretation is available on request, and complaints are public records, so leave out account numbers and other sensitive details you do not need to include.

The office is direct about its limits. Its complaint page says:

"The Division cannot force a business to rectify your complaint."

"We cannot file a lawsuit whose only purpose is to recover money or property for you."

It adds that consumers who want to pursue their own claims in court "should seek a private attorney as the Attorney General's Office is not able to represent individual consumers." A complaint is worth filing because the division asks the business to respond and mediates, but it is not a refund request.

The Securities Division is just as plain: it "does not legally represent individual interests and cannot compel anyone to return your money." It also notes that "Annuities are not securities under Tennessee law," so an annuity complaint belongs with the state's Insurance Division instead.

Tennessee's consumer protection law: can you sue?

Sometimes. The Tennessee Consumer Protection Act gives a private right to sue, but only for certain practices and only to a person who actually lost something. Section 47-18-109(a)(1) says:

"Any person who suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property, real, personal, or mixed, or any other article, commodity, or thing of value wherever situated, as a result of the use or employment by another person of an unfair or deceptive act or practice described in § 47-18-104(b) and declared to be unlawful by this part, may bring an action individually to recover actual damages."

Which practices count

Section 47-18-104(b) is a numbered list of unfair or deceptive practices. One item, (b)(27), is a broad catch-all against "any other act or practice which is deceptive to the consumer or to any other person," but the statute adds that "enforcement of this subdivision (b)(27) is vested exclusively in the office of the attorney general and reporter." In practice, that means your lawsuit has to fit one of the more specific numbered practices. Section 47-18-104(a) also ties the Act to unfair or deceptive acts "affecting the conduct of any trade or commerce."

Whether a particular scam fits one of the listed practices depends on the facts. A dishonest seller, contractor or service business is the classic case. Someone who simply sent money to an impostor, with no purchase or business transaction involved, may have a harder time fitting the Act. A Tennessee lawyer can tell you whether your situation fits.

The Act also has exclusions. Under section 47-18-111(a), it does not apply to acts or transactions "required or specifically authorized" by state or federal regulators or to the "credit terms of a transaction," and section 47-18-109(h) bars a private suit over the marketing or sale of a security as defined in the Tennessee Securities Act. For an investment fraud, the Securities Division in the table above is the state route.

What you can recover

The base remedy is actual damages. The Act adds more only in a narrower case. Section 47-18-109(a)(3) says:

"If the court finds that the use or employment of the unfair or deceptive act or practice was a willful or knowing violation of this part, the court may award three (3) times the actual damages sustained"

Two points matter. The tripling depends on a finding that the violation was willful or knowing, and it is something the court "may" award, not an automatic multiplier. In deciding, the court weighs factors including the competence of the consumer, the nature of the deception or coercion, the damage, and good faith. The same subsection says the court may not award exemplary or punitive damages for the same practice. The section sets no minimum statutory damages.

Attorney's fees are also discretionary. Under section 47-18-109(e)(1), when the court finds a violation it "may award to the person bringing such action reasonable attorney's fees and costs." The risk can run the other way: under the same subsection, a plaintiff who brings a frivolous action can be ordered to pay the defendant's fees. Section 47-18-109(c) also has rules on written settlement offers that can affect what a plaintiff recovers, which is one more reason to talk to a lawyer before turning down an offer.

No class actions, no notice letter in the statute

Section 47-18-109(g) says: "No class action lawsuit may be brought to recover damages for an unfair or deceptive act or practice declared to be unlawful by this part." Each person sues individually. Section 47-18-109 does not require a pre-suit demand letter, and once a case is filed, the court clerk mails a copy of the complaint to the Attorney General.

The deadline

The clock is short. Section 47-18-110 says:

"Any action commenced pursuant to § 47-18-109 shall be brought within one (1) year from a person's discovery of the unlawful act or practice, but in no event shall an action under § 47-18-109 be brought more than five (5) years after the date of the consumer transaction giving rise to the claim for relief."

One year from discovery goes quickly, especially while you are waiting on a bank dispute or an Attorney General mediation. Do not wait for either to finish before checking your deadline with a lawyer.

The honest limit

A lawsuit needs a defendant you can identify, serve and collect from. That often works against a Tennessee business or a contractor with a real address. It usually does not work against an anonymous scammer who called from a spoofed number, sent you to a crypto wallet, or is overseas, and a judgment does not help if nobody can be found to pay it.

Protections for older adults in Tennessee

It is a crime, and the penalty is stepped up. Section 39-15-502(a) says: "It is an offense for any person to knowingly financially exploit an elderly or vulnerable adult." The offense applies to any person, not only caregivers or relatives. It is "punished as theft pursuant to § 39-14-105," except that it is punished "one (1) classification higher" than ordinary theft of the same amount, so the grade depends on how much was taken.

For this crime, an "elderly adult" is a person 70 or older, and a "vulnerable adult" is a person 18 or older who, because of an intellectual disability or physical dysfunction, cannot fully manage their own resources, carry out daily activities, or protect themselves against neglect, exploitation or abuse without help. Financial exploitation includes "the use of deception, intimidation, undue influence, force, or threat of force to obtain or exert unauthorized control over" the person's property with intent to deprive them of it, as well as breaches of duty by a guardian, conservator, agent under a power of attorney, or caregiver.

Freezing the scammer's assets. When the loss is "more than five thousand dollars ($5,000)," the prosecutor may ask a court to freeze the defendant's assets to preserve them for restitution (section 39-15-502(c)). That is a tool for the prosecutor in a criminal case, not a claim a victim files.

A civil right to recover. Section 39-15-502(f) gives an elderly or vulnerable adult, in their own right or through a conservator or next friend, "a right of recovery in a civil action for financial exploitation or for theft of the person's money or property whether by fraud, deceit, coercion, or otherwise." The subsection does not add multiplied damages or attorney's fees.

Everyone must report. Tennessee's adult protection law, section 71-6-103(b)(1), requires "any person" who has "reasonable cause to suspect that an adult has suffered abuse, neglect, or exploitation" to report it. Call Adult Protective Services at 1-888-APS-TENN (1-888-277-8366), available 24/7, or report online through the One DHS Customer Portal, which requires no login. Call 911 in an emergency.

Banks may pause a transaction, but do not have to. Tennessee's Elderly and Vulnerable Adult Financial Exploitation Prevention Act lets a financial service provider (the list includes banks, credit unions and money transmitters) refuse or delay a transaction in cases of suspected financial exploitation. Under this Act, an elderly adult is a person 65 or older. The key words in section 45-2-1203(a) are that the provider "may, but is not required to, refuse a financial transaction or delay a financial transaction." Even when Adult Protective Services or law enforcement alleges exploitation, the provider is not required to act, except as a court orders.

If a provider does hold a transaction, it must make a reasonable effort to notify the people authorized on the account and report suspected financial exploitation to Adult Protective Services. The hold generally ends five business days after the provider first refused or delayed the transaction (10 business days in a case involving the sale of a security by a seller who is not required to register under Tennessee securities law). It can end sooner, and the provider may extend it if it reasonably believes more time is needed; a court can also extend it. Brokers and investment advisers have a separate rule allowing a delay of 15 business days, extendable to 25 at the securities commissioner's request (section 48-1-127).

The same law says financial service providers "do not have a duty to contravene the valid instructions of their customers, nor to prevent criminal activity directed at their customers, and nothing in this part creates such a duty" (section 45-2-1206). If you are worried about a parent's account, tell the bank directly that you suspect a scam; it cannot use these powers if it does not know.

Reports to the TBI. A 2024 law, section 38-6-132, required the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to create, by October 1, 2024, an elder financial exploitation reporting mechanism that accepts reports from financial institutions, and section 45-2-1204(b) lets a provider send its suspicions there. A 2026 law, Public Chapter 908, effective May 1, 2026, rewrote the TBI's role so that "the bureau may investigate the matter when appropriate, and may coordinate with the district attorney general," in place of earlier wording that it "shall coordinate."

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.

Tennessee scam laws on the books

Crypto ATMs are banned

Tennessee did not cap crypto ATM transactions or add a refund rule. It banned the machines. Public Chapter 766 of 2026 created Tennessee Code Annotated section 45-16-202:

"(a) It is an offense for a virtual currency kiosk operator or other person to knowingly install or allow installation of, permit, place, or otherwise operate a virtual currency kiosk in this state. (b) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor."

The act took effect July 1, 2026 and "applies to acts occurring on or after that date." Kiosk operators sued in federal court to overturn the law; the court refused to block it before it took effect, and the lawsuit was still pending as of October 2, 2026. Before it took effect, the Department of Financial Institutions issued a bulletin dated June 4, 2026 asking licensees that operated kiosks to tell the department by June 18, 2026 of their plans to disengage, and warning that they "may also be subject to appropriate enforcement actions."

What the act does not do matters for victims. It contains no refund right, no private right to sue, no transaction limits and no warning-sign rules. If you lost money at a crypto ATM, before or after the ban, getting it back runs through the same routes as other crypto losses; see the payment-method breakdown in how to get money back after a scam.

Door-to-door sales

The Attorney General's office describes the Tennessee Home Solicitation Sales Act of 1974 (section 47-18-701 and following) this way: "If the sale is more than $25, a consumer can cancel within three days and still get a full refund." Act quickly if a door-to-door seller pressured you into a contract.

Suing a scammer or a business in Tennessee

General sessions court. Tennessee has no separate small claims court; the general sessions court handles smaller civil cases. Under section 16-15-501(d)(1), its jurisdiction extends "to the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in all civil cases, both law and equity." That is the usual place for a modest claim against a business or a person you can identify and serve. Check with your county's general sessions clerk about forms and fees.

Deadlines. A Tennessee Consumer Protection Act claim has the one-year-from-discovery limit above. We have not verified the deadline that applies to a separate common-law fraud claim or how a discovery rule affects it, so do not rely on a general figure; ask a Tennessee lawyer about your dates, and see our Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 information, our Tennessee identity theft guide covers the next steps.

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
• When a lawyer helps after a scam
• Tennessee identity theft laws
• Tennessee debt collection laws
• Tennessee 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 Tennessee office named above, or a lawyer licensed in Tennessee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue a scammer in Tennessee?

Possibly, if you can identify and serve them and you lost money or property because of one of the specific deceptive practices listed in Tenn. Code Ann. section 47-18-104(b). The catch-all in (b)(27) is enforceable only by the Attorney General, and an anonymous or overseas scammer is usually not reachable through a Tennessee court.

Does the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act award triple damages?

Only if the court finds a willful or knowing violation. It may then award up to three times actual damages under section 47-18-109(a)(3); it is not automatic, and punitive damages cannot be added for the same practice.

How long do I have to sue under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act?

One year from when you discovered the unlawful practice, and never more than five years after the transaction, under section 47-18-110.

Does the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act pay my attorney's fees?

It may. Under section 47-18-109(e)(1), the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs when it finds a violation, but that is up to the court, and a plaintiff who brings a frivolous action can be ordered to pay the defendant's fees.

Can I join a class action under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act?

No. Section 47-18-109(g) bars class actions to recover damages under the Act, so each person who qualifies sues individually.

Will the Tennessee Attorney General get my money back?

Do not count on it. The Division of Consumer Affairs mediates complaints informally, but says it cannot force a business to fix a complaint or file a lawsuit only to recover money for you. Contact your payment company for a reversal.

Are crypto ATMs legal in Tennessee?

No, not since July 1, 2026. Public Chapter 766 of 2026 made it a Class A misdemeanor to install, permit or operate a virtual currency kiosk in Tennessee. The law does not give victims a refund right.

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

Adult Protective Services at 1-888-APS-TENN (1-888-277-8366), available 24/7, or 911 in an emergency. Tennessee law requires anyone with reasonable cause to suspect exploitation of an adult to report it.

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

Yes, but it is not required to. Under section 45-2-1203, a financial service provider may refuse or delay a transaction in a suspected financial exploitation case involving a person 65 or older, generally for up to five business days unless extended.

What is the small claims limit in Tennessee?

Tennessee has no separate small claims court. General sessions courts hear civil cases up to $25,000 under section 16-15-501(d)(1).