If you've sent crypto to a scammer, here is the honest answer first: most of it is never recovered. Blockchain transactions can't be reversed, and scammers move funds quickly. But some victims do get money back, usually because the funds reached an exchange or a stablecoin issuer that froze them at the request of law enforcement. Your best chance depends on what you do in the next few days, and on not losing more to the people who prey on scam victims.
This guide covers what to do right away, where to report, how stolen crypto actually gets frozen and returned, when paying for help makes sense, and how to spot a recovery scam.
Crypto Asset Recovery doesn't trace or recover stolen crypto. We help people get back into wallets they own, so this guide sticks to steps you can take yourself and the agencies that can act.
Can you get crypto back after a scam?
Sometimes, but the odds are low and recovery is slow. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 181,565 complaints involving cryptocurrency in 2025, with $11.37 billion in reported losses. Investment scams, including "pig butchering" schemes that start as a friendship or romance, made up $7.23 billion of that.
When money does come back, it usually happens like this:
- Investigators trace the funds on the blockchain to an exchange or a stablecoin such as USDT or USDC.
- Law enforcement or a court asks that business to freeze the funds. Exchanges generally won't freeze another customer's assets on a victim's word alone. Binance, for example, says it can't freeze a user's assets without an official order from law enforcement or a court.
- The government seizes the funds and goes through forfeiture.
- Victims are compensated through a restitution or remission process, often months or years later, and often for less than they lost.
That process does work at scale. Tether says it has helped freeze over $4.4 billion in assets, working with more than 340 law-enforcement agencies, and the US Department of Justice has seized hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto from scam networks. But a freeze isn't a refund, and most individual losses never reach the stage where funds are found and frozen.
What to do in the first 24 hours
- Stop sending money. If a platform says you must pay a tax, a withdrawal fee, or an "unlock" fee before you can withdraw, that's part of the scam. The balance on the screen isn't real.
- Secure everything that's left. Move remaining crypto to a new wallet with a new recovery phrase. Change passwords and turn on two-factor authentication for your exchange and email accounts. If you installed remote-access software at the scammer's request, uninstall it and have the computer checked.
- Save the evidence. Write down transaction IDs (hashes), the wallet addresses you sent to, the amounts and dates, website addresses, usernames, phone numbers, and the names the scammers used. Screenshot every conversation before the accounts disappear.
- Contact the exchange you sent the money from. Coinbase users can report through the Scam Hub in their account or email [email protected]. Kraken and Binance have scam-report forms in their help centers; Crypto.com asks victims to report to the police and says it works with agencies that contact it. Exchanges can lock your own account and pass information on, but they can't reverse a transaction that has already gone through.
- If any money left your bank or card, call your bank now. If you paid the scammer, or a platform they pointed you to, by card, wire or bank transfer, ask your bank or card issuer for a fraud claim or a recall. Speed matters, and this is one of the few routes that sometimes gets money back quickly. It only covers that payment, not crypto you sent from a wallet.
- Report it to the authorities. A report doesn't get your money back by itself, but freezes and seizures depend on law enforcement knowing about the case.
If you sent Ethereum or a token on Ethereum, our free scam checker shows whether the receiving address has been reported for scams and lists its recent transfers, which is useful to save with your evidence.
Where to report a crypto scam
In the United States:
- FBI IC3 at ic3.gov: the main place to report online fraud involving crypto. Include every transaction ID and wallet address you have.
- FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov: tracks scam patterns for law enforcement. It doesn't take on individual cases.
- CFTC (cftc.gov) for fake trading platforms, and the SEC (sec.gov/tcr) for fraudulent investment offerings.
- Your state securities regulator (find it through NASAA's directory) and local police, who can give you a report number.
Check that you're on the real site before you file. The FBI has warned about fake IC3 websites with slightly different domains, sponsored search results that point to imitations, and people posing as IC3 staff on social media. IC3 has no social media accounts, never charges a fee, and never refers victims to paid recovery companies.
Outside the US: in the UK, report to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk, which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025. In Canada, report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and your local police. In Australia, use ReportCyber at cyber.gov.au; a Scamwatch report helps track scams but isn't a police report.
How stolen crypto gets frozen and returned
Every transaction is public, so the money trail can usually be followed. The hard part is getting someone with authority to act at the end of it. Crypto that ends up at a regulated exchange or in a stablecoin can be frozen. Crypto that sits in a private wallet, or is swapped and moved across chains, usually can't be touched without the scammer being identified and charged.
If the government recovers funds connected to your case, you should hear about it from the investigating agency or a claims administrator it names, and the process is free. In 2026 the Justice Department opened compensation processes for victims of the OneCoin and AirBit Club frauds, with official case websites and no fee to file. Treat any "you've been approved for a refund" message with suspicion until you've confirmed it through the Justice Department's own website or an agency phone number you looked up yourself.
Should you pay a crypto recovery company?
Maybe, if two things are true: the money can still be traced to an exchange or a stablecoin, and the fee is a small fraction of what you lost. A paid trace rarely makes sense for a small loss, but a small loss is still worth reporting, because investigators link reports from many victims into one case. A legitimate investigator follows the funds, documents where they went, and produces a report that police, lawyers and exchanges can act on. Some work with lawyers to pursue freezes or civil claims. That's real work, and legitimate firms charge for it.
What no private firm can do is guarantee recovery, freeze funds on its own authority, or "hack back" stolen crypto. The FBI says private recovery companies can't issue seizure orders. A trace is evidence, not custody.
Do legitimate recovery firms charge upfront fees?
Some do, and that alone isn't a red flag. Paying a verifiable firm for a defined piece of work, like a tracing report with a written scope and price, is different from paying a "fee" so that money someone claims to have already recovered can be released to you. The first can be legitimate. The second is always a scam, because nobody who really had your money would need you to pay before handing it over.
Before you hire anyone, ask:
- Who exactly are you, and how can I verify that independently?
- What will you deliver, and what happens with it afterwards?
- What does it cost, and what's the payment method? (Never pay in crypto, gift cards, or by wire to an individual.)
- What are the realistic odds in a case like mine, and why?
How to spot a crypto recovery scam
Recovery scams target people who have already lost money. The FBI received over 10,000 complaints about them in 2025. Don't trust anyone who guarantees they can get stolen crypto back. No company, lawyer, hacker or official can promise that. Walk away from anyone who:
- contacts you first, especially if they already know how much you lost;
- claims to work with the FBI, a court, or a government agency. The FBI says no law firm is an officially authorized US government partner for recovering funds;
- guarantees recovery or says your money has already been found;
- asks for taxes, release fees or a retainer before you can get the money back;
- wants payment in crypto, gift cards or a wire transfer;
- only talks over WhatsApp or Telegram, won't appear on video, or can't show credentials you can verify;
- asks for your recovery phrase, your private keys, or remote access to your computer.
For more on telling legitimate firms from scams, see our guide to whether crypto recovery companies are legit.
Is there free help?
Yes, within limits. Reporting to IC3, the FTC, the CFTC, the SEC and your police is free, and so is any government compensation process.
If you sent funds on Ethereum, our free scam checker can look up the receiving address or the transaction hash in public scam reports and show its recent transfers. It isn't a full trace and won't recover anything, but its results are worth saving with your evidence. Free tracing programs are rare: the pro bono program this post used to mention, CipherTrace's Defenders League, no longer appears to take cases.
If someone offers free recovery and then asks for money partway through, treat it as a recovery scam.
Protect yourself after a scam
Scammers often collect more than money. If you shared your ID, Social Security number or bank details, place a fraud alert with one of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion). It's free, lasts a year, and that bureau tells the other two. For stronger protection, place a credit freeze with each of the three bureaus. It's also free and lasts until you lift it. If your identity was misused, IdentityTheft.gov walks you through a recovery plan.
Expect follow-up contact. People who lose money to one scam are often targeted again, sometimes by the same group posing as investigators, lawyers or government agents.
For a one-page checklist, see what to do after a crypto scam or hack.
Locked out of your own wallet?
If your crypto wasn't stolen but you can't get to it, because you forgot a password, lost part of your recovery phrase, or have an old wallet file you can't open, that's what we do. The password cracking runs on offline machines, and you only pay if we succeed. Tell us about your wallet.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get my Bitcoin back after being scammed? Sometimes, but most scammed Bitcoin isn't recovered. Your chances are best when the funds can be traced to an exchange that can freeze them at law enforcement's request, and when you report quickly with transaction IDs and wallet addresses.
How long does crypto scam recovery take? When it happens at all, usually months to years. Freezes can happen quickly, but forfeiture and victim compensation go through legal processes that take time and often return less than was lost.
Do legitimate crypto recovery companies charge upfront fees? Legitimate investigators and lawyers may charge for real work, such as a tracing report with a written scope and price. No legitimate firm charges a fee to release money it claims to have already recovered, and none can guarantee recovery.
Will the FBI get my money back? The FBI can't promise individual recoveries, but your IC3 report helps investigators connect cases, and seized funds are sometimes returned to victims through restitution or remission. The FBI never charges a fee and never asks for one through a third party.
Can an exchange reverse a crypto transaction? No. Once a transaction is confirmed on the blockchain, it can't be reversed. An exchange can only act on funds still held in an account it controls, usually after a law-enforcement or court request.
Is there free help for crypto scam victims? Reporting to law enforcement and government agencies is free, and so is any government compensation process. Our free scam checker can also show whether an Ethereum address has been reported for scams. Be wary of anyone who offers free recovery and then asks for payment, and don't trust anyone who guarantees recovery.
