They're already planning to scam you a second time.
Up to 1 in 3 fraud victims gets hit again — usually within 90 days — by a "recovery" scam. Same crew, different mask. Here's how to spot it before you pay.
9 red flags of a recovery scam
Real lawyers and investigators bill by the hour or take a percentage on recovery. Anyone asking for a wire, crypto, or gift-card payment up-front is the scam.
Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and other public chains are irreversible. No hacker, AI, or 'crypto tracer' can 'pull funds back' from a wallet they don't control.
Real law enforcement and regulators do not message scam victims directly. They send official letters from a government domain.
Police, FBI, FTC, IC3, CFTC, AMF, FCA — all use official .gov / .gouv domains. A free-email address is an instant disqualifier.
Anyone can make a screenshot. Verify by going to the agency's official site directly — never click links sent to you.
Manufactured urgency is the #1 fraud signal. Real recovery takes weeks to months.
Scam rings flood review sites with success stories. Never hire a recovery service you found through a comment or testimonial.
Sharing your seed phrase or screen is handing them every dollar you have left.
No legitimate professional guarantees recovery. They give probabilities, not promises.
What actually works
- Report to your country's official fraud line (IC3 in the US, Action Fraud in the UK, your bank's fraud team for card/wire).
- File a chargeback within 60–120 days if you paid by card. Banks have a duty to investigate.
- For crypto: report the wallet address to GACS, Chainabuse, and the exchange where the funds landed. Exchanges can freeze if reported fast.
- Talk to a licensed attorney — bar-association verified — before paying anyone a dollar to "recover" funds.
- Lock down email, change passwords, enable 2FA on every financial account.
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