What recovery really involves
Blockchain transfers cannot be reversed by a bank, so crypto scam recovery depends on following the funds to a point where someone can be asked or ordered to hold them. That point is usually a centralized exchange or a stablecoin issuer, which can sometimes freeze assets in response to law enforcement requests or court orders. Tracing firms can map how funds moved, but tracing shows where money went, not who controls it or whether it is still there. In some matters a civil lawsuit against unknown defendants lets a court issue orders to exchanges, though whether that is worth doing depends on the amount and on how quickly the funds were moved.
Collect this, and beware of recovery offers
Gather the wallet addresses you sent from and to, transaction hashes, exchange account records, screenshots of the fake platform and its web address, and every message with the people involved. Report to the FBI's internet crime center and the Federal Trade Commission, and notify any exchange you used to buy or send the crypto. Stop paying fees to withdraw, since those demands are part of the scheme. Be very careful about anyone who contacts you offering to recover the funds for an upfront payment, including people claiming to be lawyers, investigators, or government agents, because recovery scams target people who have already lost money.
A frank first assessment
Working from your transaction hashes, we check whether the funds reached an exchange that can be served with legal process, and consider how long ago that happened. We are direct about cost and about how uncertain recovery is, because in many cases the money has already moved through channels that put it out of reach. Where a viable path exists, we discuss whether tracing, a civil action, or coordination with law enforcement makes the most sense. We also suggest raising the tax treatment of the loss with your tax preparer, and we go over what to watch for in your accounts going forward.
