Q&A

Most stolen crypto is never recovered so beware anyone who tells you otherwise. Promises of guarenteed recoveries are likely scams or false advertising.

This does not mean there is no hope. Recoveries do happen — For example, Western Union victims have been repaid over $430 million in full, and seized funds are returned to victims through free petitions every year. The people who recover aren’t luckier. They reported early, wrote everything down, stayed easy to reach, and filed before the deadline. Many actions you can take are in your control and are free.

While many people will say not enough, the government is doing more than most people realize:

1. The FBI runs IC3.gov, the national complaint center. Its Financial Fraud Kill Chain froze $679 million of in-flight fraud transfers in 2025 when victims reported fast, and Operation Level Up proactively warns people who don’t yet know they’re being scammed.
2. The Department of Justice seizes and forfeits criminal assets, then returns them to victims through remission — over $12 billion paid to crime victims since 2000 — and runs the Victim Notification System.
3. The Secret Service and DOJ’s Scam Center Strike Force seized over $580 million from overseas scam compounds in its first three months, with funds to be returned to victims where possible.
4. The FTC runs ReportFraud and pays victims through refund programs.

Common ways include:

1. A letter arrives — sometimes with a victim ID number (VIN) naming you in a federal case. Register with the DOJ Victim Notification System using it.
2. You find a match on forfeiture.gov — searching the wallet addresses you reported or the platform’s name.
3. A news release names the scam that took your money — big cases are often announced before letters go out, with instructions for how victims file.

This is why complete IC3 reports matter: investigators match seized wallets against the addresses victims filed.

We recommend the following:

1. Verify it’s real. Cross-check the case on forfeiture.gov and make sure any website ends in .gov or is linked from a justice.gov page. Real notices never charge a fee and never ask for passwords or wallet keys — a “notice” that does is likely a scam.
2. Find the deadline printed on it — often 30 to 35 days from the mailing date — and write it where you’ll see it every day. Missing it can close the door permanently.
3. File free at ocp.forfeiture.gov, attaching your IC3 report, police report number, and one-page timeline. No lawyer is required but up to you to seek help.

First, know that silence is what a real case looks like from the outside — investigations and blockchain tracing run quietly for months, sometimes years, and nobody calls to tell you it’s happening.

What’s in your control: periodically checking forfeiture.gov and ftc.gov/refunds; tracing the wallet yourself so the trail stays documented; a free CFPB complaint if your bank stalled a fraud claim; and — in certain cases, with clear eyes — considering an attorney. The wait is also when fake “recovery” services hunt hardest. Anyone who contacts you first, guarantees recovery, or wants an upfront fee with unclear methodology is likely running a scam.

Can: Advise you on notices, deadlines, and petitions; pursue a civil case when the people or companies behind the scam are identified and have reachable assets; pursue a bank or exchange that mishandled a fraud dispute; and represent you in restitution proceedings.

Can’t: Guarantee recovery, speed up the FBI, or make seized money appear. And you never need one to file a petition for remission — that’s free.

Before hiring: Verify them through your state bar directory, ask about fees up front, and be honest about the math — if the loss is small, litigation can cost more than it returns. If you qualify by income, free legal aid exists.

Maybe — and checking now is critical as time matters. These scams follow a consistent script that once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Example of a common fraud lifecycle

It starts with contact — a wrong-number text, a new online friend or romance, an investment group. Weeks of trust-building follow; that patience is the job. Then comes a small “investment” on a slick platform, a balance that grows impressively (sometimes a small withdrawal even works — that’s bait), then pressure to put in more. The day you try to take money out, the trap shows itself: a “tax,” a “release fee,” a locked account. The balance on the screen was only ever a picture.

Five recommended actions to take immediately:

1. Stop paying and don’t announce anything. Every “fee” or “tax” to unlock a withdrawal is the same scam still running. Confronting them may make them vanish with whatever’s left and before you can take any actions.
2. Screenshot everything before it disappears — chats, wallet addresses, transaction IDs, the platform’s web address.
3. Call your bank’s fraud line today and ask for a recall or a hold for investigation on any wire or transfer.
4. Tell the exchange or Bitcoin ATM company you paid through — they may be able to freeze accounts on their side.
5. File with the FBI at IC3.gov before you sleep, — then the FTC and local police. Those reports are how recovered money gets matched to you later.

Neither. We are not lawyers, we are not law enforcement, and we are not affiliated with the FBI, the FTC, the DOJ, or any government agency. Nothing here is legal advice.

We are people who have experienced these challenges first hand. We have summarized the lessons we learned and the advice we have collected to support victims of crypto currency fraud. The actual reporting, claims, and petitions all happen on official government sites — we point you to them and explain what they’re asking for.