After losing cryptocurrency, people are often contacted by someone claiming to be able to recover it. Some offers arrive through social media, messaging apps, search ads, or unsolicited emails. A genuine review should begin with facts and clearly explain limitations; promises of guaranteed recovery are a serious warning sign.
Warning signs to take seriously
- Guaranteed results: The person promises to return all funds or claims success is certain before reviewing evidence.
- Advance release fees: You are told to pay a “tax,” “unlocking fee,” “liquidity fee,” or deposit before funds can be returned.
- Requests for secret credentials: They ask for your seed phrase, private key, password, or one-time code.
- Remote access: They ask you to install software that lets them control your device.
- Pressure and secrecy: They demand immediate payment or tell you not to contact your exchange, bank, or authorities.
- Fake authority: They impersonate an exchange, government office, law firm, or law-enforcement agency.
What to do instead
Stop communicating with suspicious contacts and do not send further funds. Preserve the messages, profiles, website addresses, payment requests, and transaction details. If your wallet or account may be compromised, use the provider’s official support channel and take appropriate steps to secure affected accounts. Do not follow security instructions sent by an unverified recovery contact.
What a responsible case review should explain
A responsible reviewer should explain what evidence they need, what work they propose to do, the fees and scope, what the findings may establish, and what remains uncertain. Blockchain tracing can show transaction movements on supported public networks, but it does not by itself prove the identity of a wallet controller or guarantee that assets can be recovered. Third parties make their own decisions about account access, freezes, and refunds.
Before you engage any provider, review the records you have and the limits of the proposed service. Our crypto scam response guide explains how to preserve evidence, and our service overview describes the type of investigation and documentation support Cipher Tracing offers.
If you want to share the facts of an incident, you can use the report form. Never send a seed phrase or private key as part of a report.
