Crypto Safety Tips › Crypto Recovery Scams
The short answer: After a loss, scammers pose as recovery experts, hackers, lawyers or even police and promise to get your crypto back for an upfront fee. Blockchain transactions can't be reversed, and nobody can hack your funds back. Anyone who contacts you offering recovery is running a second scam. Report the original fraud to the authorities instead.
How do recovery scams work?
People who have just lost money are targeted through comments on social media, DMs, fake reviews and websites that rank for searches like "recover stolen crypto". The scammer promises results, asks for a fee, a "tax" or your seed phrase, and then either disappears or asks for more.
Warning signs
- They contacted you first, often right after you posted about your loss.
- They guarantee recovery, or claim special access to the blockchain.
- They want payment upfront, in crypto.
- They ask for your seed phrase or remote access to your device.
- They claim to be police, a regulator or a law firm, but only talk on social media.
What should I do after a loss?
- Move anything left into a brand-new wallet.
- Report it to Action Fraud in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or Police Scotland on 101.
- If an exchange was involved, contact it through its official website or app.
- Check any firm offering help on the FCA ScamSmart site.
- Ignore every unsolicited offer of recovery.
Quick questions
Can stolen crypto be recovered?
Very rarely, and only through law enforcement or an exchange freezing funds. Private "recovery services" contacting you cannot reverse blockchain transactions.
Where do I report crypto fraud in the UK?
Action Fraud for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland.
The Scam or Safe? quiz includes a "recovery expert". Would you spot him?
Keep learning
General safety information, not financial or legal advice. HooTang Clan has no token, and nothing on this page is a reason to buy anything. Report fraud to Action Fraud, or Police Scotland on 101.