Crypto scams cost victims billions every year. Understanding how they work - and what the warning signs look like - is the first line of defence. If you have already been targeted, our forensic team can help you understand what happened and what options you have.
The single most costly crypto scam worldwide - designed to build trust over weeks or months before stealing everything.
The scammer typically contacts you out of the blue - via WhatsApp, text, dating apps, or social media. Over days or weeks they build a relationship, eventually mentioning impressive returns they have made from cryptocurrency.
They introduce you to a trading platform - often with a professional-looking website and app. You invest small amounts first, see apparent profits, and are encouraged to invest more. When you try to withdraw, there are fees, taxes, or verification requirements. Once you pay these, the platform disappears.
Scammers build fake romantic relationships over weeks or months, then use emotional leverage to request cryptocurrency.
Operating on dating apps, Facebook, and Instagram, romance scammers use stolen profile photos and carefully constructed personas. Once emotional investment is established, they fabricate an emergency or opportunity that requires your financial help - in cryptocurrency.
Fraudsters mimic legitimate crypto services to steal your wallet credentials or seed phrase.
Phishing in crypto comes in many forms: fake exchange websites that look identical to the real one, malicious browser extensions, fraudulent apps in app stores, and emails pretending to be from Coinbase, Binance, or MetaMask asking you to "verify" your account. The goal is always your private key or seed phrase - once they have that, your wallet is theirs.
Project founders generate hype around a new token, attract investor funds, then suddenly withdraw all liquidity - leaving investors with worthless tokens.
Rug pulls are particularly common in the DeFi (Decentralised Finance) space. A new token launches with impressive marketing, celebrity endorsements (often fake or paid), and promises of revolutionary technology. When the price peaks, the team withdraws all the liquidity pool funds, the token price collapses to zero, and the team disappears.
Scammers impersonate celebrities, Elon Musk, government agencies, or support staff to steal funds or credentials.
Common forms: fake "giveaway" posts from accounts mimicking Elon Musk or other celebrities ("send 1 BTC, get 2 back"), fake HMRC or IRS agents demanding crypto payment of tax debts, and fake exchange support staff offering to "fix" your account in exchange for your login details.
Platforms that look like legitimate exchanges but are designed to steal deposits - often through cloned websites or newly registered companies.
Fake exchanges take many forms: clones of real exchange websites, entirely fabricated platforms marketed via social media, and unlicensed operations that accept deposits but never process withdrawals. Once your crypto is deposited, it cannot be retrieved.
Coordinated groups artificially inflate a token's price with hype, then sell their holdings - crashing the price and leaving latecomers with losses.
Typically organised in Telegram or Discord groups, pump and dump schemes target low-liquidity tokens that can be moved easily with coordinated buying. Members are told about a "pump" and encouraged to buy immediately - once the price spikes, the organisers sell their pre-purchased holdings, the price collapses, and followers lose money.
Fraudsters specifically target people who have already lost money to a scam - offering fake recovery services and stealing from them a second time.
Recovery scams are particularly cruel because they target people who have already been victimised. Scammers pose as crypto recovery specialists, law firms, or even law enforcement - often finding victims through social media posts about their losses. They charge upfront fees for "recovery" they know they cannot perform, then disappear.
This is why it is critical to verify the credentials of any recovery service before engaging. Legitimate services charge on results or offer a free initial consultation to assess your case honestly - they do not demand large upfront fees with guarantees of recovery.
This is the cardinal rule of cryptocurrency. Your seed phrase gives complete control over your wallet. No legitimate exchange, wallet provider, or support person will ever ask for it - ever.
Do not click links in emails, texts, or social media messages. Navigate directly to exchanges and wallets by typing the address yourself. Check domain names character by character.
Any investment promising guaranteed high returns is a scam. All legitimate investments carry risk, and no honest platform can guarantee profits. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Before using any exchange or investment platform, verify it is registered with your country's financial regulator. In the UK this is the FCA; in the US it is FinCEN or the SEC depending on the activity.
Scammers create urgency ("offer expires tonight", "limited slots", "act now"). Legitimate investments and services are not going to disappear if you take 24 hours to research and verify.
The sooner action is taken after a crypto scam, the better the chances of tracing funds and taking meaningful action. Stop sending money immediately, preserve all evidence, and seek professional assessment.
The moments after realising you have been scammed are critical. Acting quickly and correctly significantly improves your chances of getting answers and potentially recovering your funds.
Do not pay any further "fees", "taxes", or "verification costs". This money will not unlock your funds - it will simply be stolen too.
Screenshot every conversation, save all emails, note all wallet addresses and transaction IDs you were given. This is the evidence base for any investigation.
Any further contact gives them the opportunity to extract more money or more personal information from you.
In the UK, report to Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk). In the US, use the FBI's IC3 (ic3.gov). This creates an official record and contributes to investigations.
A blockchain forensic assessment can tell you exactly where your funds went, whether they reached an exchange, and whether any recovery action is realistic. This is the starting point for any serious recovery effort.
After being scammed, many victims are targeted by recovery scammers who pretend to offer recovery services. These services do not exist - they will take more of your money.
A legitimate assessment service will never:
We tell you what happened to your funds, whether recovery is realistic, and what you can do next - in plain language.
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