If you've been scammed

Losing money to a scam is common and nothing to be ashamed of; scammers are professionals, often running large operations. A confirmed bitcoin payment can't be reversed, but reporting quickly can still matter, and the record of where the coins went never disappears.

First, stop the loss

• Don't send anything more, whatever you are told: taxes, fees, "unlock" deposits.
• If someone had your seed phrase or remote access to your computer, move anything left to a brand new wallet with new words, from a device you trust.
• Change passwords on your email and exchange accounts, and turn on two-step sign-in.

Write it all down

Transaction IDs, the addresses you sent to, amounts, dates and times, the website or app address, usernames and phone numbers, and screenshots of the messages. Police and exchanges can only act on details like these.

Report it

• The police where you live, and your national fraud line: for example the FBI's IC3 in the United States or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in Canada.
• The exchange or ATM operator you paid from. They may warn the exchange that received the coins.
• The platform where you met the scammer, such as the social network, dating app or app store.

What can and can't happen

Every bitcoin payment stays on the public record, so investigators can follow where the coins went. If they reach an exchange or another company, that company can sometimes be asked to freeze them, and police have recovered funds this way. Often, though, the coins are moved through many addresses and cashed out abroad, and most victims don't get their money back. Nobody can reverse the original payment.

Beware the second scam

Soon after a loss, victims are often contacted by "recovery experts", "blockchain investigators", law firms or even people posing as the FBI or a regulator, promising to get the money back for a fee. In 2025 the FBI received 10,516 complaints about these recovery scams, with $1.4 billion lost. Real police don't charge victims, and anyone who guarantees recovery is lying.