If you lose crypto to scammers, they might pretend to be law enforcement or another agency and tell you they can recover the funds. They’ll ask you to pay a fee and give them access to your accounts.
Any request for upfront payments should be a red flag. It’s also important to examine exchanges and wallets for relevant information, including TXID hashes.
Report the Scam
It can be tempting to try to get back the money you lost by buying into a crypto scam recovery, but it is important to work with your local law enforcement to report any fraudulent activity. This typically enables the government to track down criminals and get your money back.
This helps prevent future victims from falling prey to the same fraudsters. It also encourages people to report their own experiences with cryptocurrency scams, which may help others recognize common patterns and pitfalls in advance.
Another reason to work with local law enforcement is that most jurisdictions have restitution laws in place that allow consumers to file claims against fraudulent businesses and individuals. These laws can lead to the recovery of funds, though it is important to note that restitution orders do not guarantee that the criminals who stole your funds will be caught or held accountable.
Scammers often target new victims by claiming to represent the government or other organizations with good news about their previous fraud cases. They will then extort a fee or ask for access to your crypto or financial information in return for the recovery of lost funds. This is called “advance-fee fraud,” and it is illegal.
A red flag is any company that requests payment upfront or seeks payments in ways that cannot be tracked, such as through gift cards or wire transfers. Legitimate recovery services never ask for up-front payments and will not require you to pay any taxes or fees before recovering your funds.
Track Your Transactions
Depending on the type of scam, it may be possible for victims to get their funds back. But to do so, they will need to provide key details about the transaction, including the TXID (transaction identification number) and the cryptocurrency involved. TXID hashes are publicly accessible and can be retrieved on free blockchain explorers like BlockStorm.
Victims can also examine their exchange and wallet platforms to see what information they can find. Additionally, using blockchain analysis tools or enlisting help from professionals can aid in tracking the movement of stolen cryptos over time. The unique characteristics of different cryptocurrencies can influence the recovery process as well. Some prioritize traceability, while others focus on privacy and anonymity.
Any claims that a service can hack back crypto or reverse a transaction are red flags. Likewise, upfront payment requests should trigger alarms. Legitimate recovery services never ask for a retainer or fees before they complete their work.
For victims who believe they have been swindled by a crypto recovery scammer, filing a report with their local law enforcement agency can help them recover their stolen funds. The FBI and other agencies can track criminals, and sometimes even return assets to their victims.
Take Screenshots
When scammed, people are often desperate for help. They want their money back or their cryptocurrency. Sadly, recovery scams take advantage of that by charging for bogus services or asking for sensitive information that can be used to steal identities. In some cases, scammers even phish users by sending them a fake link to their wallet, which looks very convincing.
This can happen when users share their screenshots publicly on sites like Lightshot. Screenshots made public in this way can be viewed by anyone, including those without an account with the site. And since a URL is simply a series of characters, it only takes a few minutes to write a simple script that brute-forces the links and downloads whatever content they contain.
Another common type of Get Free Consultation for Your Crypto Recovery on Broker Complaint Alert (BCA) involves fraudulent investment schemes. Scammers reach out to crypto communities via social media or instant messaging, claiming to represent a cryptocurrency exchange or mining enterprise or a new coin project. They entice unsuspecting users to invest by promising unrealistic and ‘guaranteed’ returns. As a result, many victims lose their money to fraudsters and their personal details to hackers. Luckily, investing in an identity theft protection service can help to keep your financial data safe and prevent these scams from happening in the first place.
Gather Evidence
Crypto recovery scammers will often ask for sensitive information (such as bank account passwords or crypto wallet seed words) in order to claim that they have recovered lost funds. Be wary of any service that requires you to provide this type of information, as it can be used to steal your identity or gain access to your accounts for future fraudulent activity.
Scammers will usually contact victims via social media platforms like Instagram, Telegram or WhatsApp, or through email addresses that are fake or belong to friends of the scammer. They will then send out “success stories” to lull victims into a false sense of security that they have successfully recovered their funds. The fact that many of these “success stories” follow a similar pattern is an additional red flag that they are probably scams.
It is possible for scam victims to recover lost cryptocurrency, but this depends on the type of fraud committed and the unique characteristics of the specific cryptocurrency involved. For example, a cryptocurrency with low fungibility may have less chance of being recovered because it can be easily redirected into other wallets.
Additionally, some cryptocurrencies prioritize anonymity and privacy, making them harder to trace if stolen. In these cases, utilizing blockchain analysis tools and/or engaging a professional to assist with tracing and investigations is crucial to identifying the source of the stolen funds.
