Cryptocurrency scams: spot, avoid & report
Pig-butchering, fake exchanges, wallet drainers, romance-investment hybrids — the patterns that drained $4.4B+ from victims last year, and the only channels that can actually freeze stolen funds.
Red flags
- Guaranteed daily returns from a 'trading bot', 'arbitrage', or 'AI signals' platform.
- You can deposit but withdrawals are 'pending' — and 'tax' / 'unlock fee' is demanded to release.
- A romantic or friendly contact on WhatsApp, Telegram, or a dating app introduces an exchange.
- The 'exchange' is only an app or a web URL — no public listing on CoinGecko / CoinMarketCap.
- Support pushes you to send USDT-TRC20 (Tron) instead of bank rails or major fiat ramps.
- The wallet you're sending to has no on-chain history before the last 30 days.
- Influencer-promoted 'presale' with a hard deadline and a Telegram-only KYC.
- Browser pop-up asking you to 'connect wallet' and sign an unlimited approval.
Free crypto scam checker
Is this social profile a scam?
Paste a handle like @username or a full profile URL. Verdict in 5 seconds.
1 free scan, no account needed. Create a free account (Google, Apple, X or email) for unlimited scans, your dashboard, saved history + re-alerts when scanned profiles get new reports.
5 steps to protect yourself
- 1
Scan the URL before you fund anything
Paste the exchange / wallet / token URL into the website checker above. If the domain is younger than 90 days, hides WHOIS, or matches our blacklist, walk away.
- 2
Verify the exchange is real on CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap
Every legitimate centralized exchange has a public listing with trading volume across multiple pairs. No CoinGecko / CMC presence = not an exchange.
- 3
Withdraw a tiny test amount before topping up
Deposit the minimum, then immediately withdraw. If withdrawals are blocked, locked, or require an extra fee, the platform is a scam — do not send more to 'unlock'.
- 4
Never sign a wallet approval you don't understand
Use revoke.cash to check existing approvals weekly. A single 'unlimited' approval to a malicious contract drains the token in one transaction.
- 5
Cross-check the team and the address on chain
Real teams have LinkedIn, real exchanges file MSB / VASP registration. The receiving wallet should resolve to a known exchange on etherscan.io / tronscan.org — not a 30-day-old EOA.
If you've already been scammed — where to report
IC3, FTC, the receiving exchange, Tether/Circle freezes, chain analytics — every channel that can actually freeze funds.
If a romantic or 'wrong-number' contact introduced the platform, use this guide first.
Get the site delisted from Google + warned by Safe Browsing.
Every channel for every scam type — phone, email, text, crypto, website.
FAQ
What is the most common cryptocurrency scam in 2026?
Pig-butchering remains #1 by dollar loss: a long-game social engineering scam where a stranger befriends you, introduces a fake exchange, lets you 'profit' on paper, then blocks withdrawals demanding tax. The FBI IC3 reported $4.4B+ in pig-butchering losses in the most recent reporting year.
Can I recover crypto I sent to a scam?
Sometimes — if you act within 24–72 hours. Funds that land at a compliant centralized exchange (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, OKX) can be frozen on credible law-enforcement request. USDT/USDC can be frozen by the issuer regardless of wallet. After 72 hours funds are usually bridged or mixed and unrecoverable. See /how-to-report-crypto-scam.
How do I check if a crypto exchange is legitimate?
Three checks: (1) public CoinGecko / CoinMarketCap listing with volume on multiple pairs, (2) MSB / VASP / FCA / MAS registration filed in their jurisdiction, (3) a small test deposit + immediate test withdrawal. If any of these fail, do not fund the account.
Is USDT (Tether) safe?
USDT the asset is widely used and can actually be frozen by Tether at law-enforcement request — that's a feature when you've been scammed. The risk is not USDT itself but unregulated platforms that demand USDT-TRC20 specifically because it has no chargebacks. Use USDT only on exchanges with public listings and KYC.
Someone DM'd me offering to recover my stolen crypto. Are they legit?
No. 100% of unsolicited 'crypto recovery' DMs on Telegram, X, WhatsApp, and Reddit are scams. Legitimate recovery only happens through law enforcement (IC3) and exchange compliance — both are free. Report the recovery DM at /report.
How do wallet drainers work?
You're tricked into signing a smart-contract approval (often via a fake airdrop or 'connect wallet to claim'). The approval grants the attacker permission to move your tokens. They then drain the wallet in one transaction. Use revoke.cash to audit and revoke approvals weekly.
Where do I report a cryptocurrency scam?
In parallel: GACS (/report) for the public database, FBI IC3 (ic3.gov) for a complaint number, the receiving exchange's law-enforcement address, and Tether/Circle if stablecoins were involved. Full templates at /how-to-report-crypto-scam.
Add this scam to the public database.
30-second anonymous report — protects the next person who searches.
Report a scamCite this page / Press kit
Journalists, researchers and educators are welcome to cite this page. Use the permalink below or copy a ready-made citation.
https://gacs.app/cryptocurrency-scams- APA
GACS. (2026). Cryptocurrency Scams — 2026 Guide. GACS — Global Anti-Crime & Safety. Retrieved June 25, 2026, from https://gacs.app/cryptocurrency-scams
- MLA
"Cryptocurrency Scams — 2026 Guide." GACS — Global Anti-Crime & Safety, GACS, 2026, https://gacs.app/cryptocurrency-scams. Accessed June 25, 2026.
- Chicago
GACS. "Cryptocurrency Scams — 2026 Guide." GACS — Global Anti-Crime & Safety. Accessed June 25, 2026. https://gacs.app/cryptocurrency-scams.
- BibTeX
@misc{gacs_cryptocurrency_scams, author = {GACS}, title = {Cryptocurrency Scams — 2026 Guide}, howpublished = {GACS — Global Anti-Crime & Safety}, year = {2026}, note = {Accessed: June 25, 2026}, url = {https://gacs.app/cryptocurrency-scams} }
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