What to Do If You Have Been Scammed

Finding out you have been scammed is a horrible feeling. It is easy to panic, freeze, or blame yourself. Please don't — scams are built by professionals to fool careful people, and being caught out does not make you foolish. What matters now is what you do next.

This guide walks you through the practical steps in plain English: how to protect any money you still have, who to report the scam to, and whether getting your funds back is realistic. We will be honest with you throughout — crypto transfers are usually one-way, so recovery is often not possible. But quick action can still limit the damage and help stop the scammer targeting others.

If you are not sure whether it was even a scam, it helps to know the patterns first. See our guide to common crypto scams to compare what happened to you.

Two things are true at once: you should stay calm, and you should move fast. Panic leads to mistakes — like sending "just one more payment" to unlock your money, which is exactly what the scammer wants. A clear head protects you.

At the same time, the first few hours genuinely matter. If a scammer has your login or your wallet keys, they may still be draining accounts right now. If a card or bank payment is involved, your bank may be able to stop or reverse it — but only if you reach them quickly. So take one deep breath, then work through the steps below in order.

Work through these in order. Not every step will apply to your situation — do the ones that fit.

1. Stop all contact and payments. Do not send another coin, no matter what the scammer promises. Stop replying, and do not follow any "unlock fee" or "tax to release funds" demand — those are part of the same scam.
2. Move your remaining funds to safety. If you shared a login, password, or seed phrase — or connected your wallet to a suspicious site — assume those accounts are compromised. Create a brand-new wallet with a fresh seed phrase and move any remaining crypto there. If you lost access entirely, our guide on what happens if you lose your wallet keys explains your options.
3. Change your passwords. Update the password on the affected exchange or wallet, your email, and anywhere you reused the same password. Start with your email, because it can reset everything else.
4. Revoke wallet approvals. Scam sites often trick you into signing a "token approval" that lets them move your funds later. Use your wallet's token-approval or connected-apps settings, or a reputable revoke tool, to cancel permissions you don't recognise.
5. Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA). Add 2FA to every account that allows it, so a stolen password alone is not enough to get in. Our walkthrough on how to set up 2FA shows you how.
6. Screenshot and record everything. Save the scammer's messages, wallet addresses, transaction IDs, website links, phone numbers, and any names used. You will need this evidence to report the scam, and it may help investigators.

A quick warning sign for next time: many of these attacks start with a fake message or login page. Learn to spot them in our guide to how to spot crypto phishing.

Reporting will not guarantee your money back, but it matters. Reports help platforms freeze stolen funds, help police link cases together, and warn other people before they are caught. Report to all of the following that apply.

• The exchange or platform. If the scam involved an exchange or wallet service, contact its support or fraud team straight away. If the stolen funds landed in an account on that exchange, it may be able to freeze them while it investigates — but only if you report fast.
• Your bank or card provider. If you paid by debit card, credit card, or bank transfer, call your bank immediately. Card payments in particular may be reversible through a chargeback, and banks can sometimes halt a transfer that has not settled.
• Local police and your national fraud body. Report to your local police and to your country's fraud-reporting service — for example Action Fraud in the UK, the FBI's IC3 in the US, or Scamwatch in Australia. Search "report fraud" plus your country to find the official body.

When you report, include the evidence you gathered: dates, amounts, wallet addresses, transaction IDs, and screenshots. The more complete your report, the more useful it is. More reports also build a bigger picture that can support wider investigations.

Here is the honest answer: often, no — especially with crypto. When you send crypto from your own wallet, the transaction is recorded on the blockchain and cannot be reversed or cancelled by anyone. There is no central "undo" button and no bank to call the payment back. This is one of the hardest truths for scam victims to hear.

That said, recovery is not always impossible. There are a few situations where you have a real chance:

• You paid by card or bank transfer. Card payments may be reversed through a chargeback, and banks can sometimes stop a transfer that has not yet cleared. Act fast and ask your bank directly.
• The funds are still on an exchange. If the scammer moved your crypto to an account on a regulated exchange, that exchange may be able to freeze it if you and the police report quickly enough.
• Law enforcement gets involved early. In some cases, investigators trace and seize funds — but this is slow, not guaranteed, and usually applies to larger, well-documented cases.

This part is important, because it catches many victims a second time. After a scam, people often search online for help getting their money back. Scammers know this, and they set up fake "crypto recovery" services to target people who have already lost money and are desperate.

These fake recovery agents promise they can trace and return your funds — for a fee. Sometimes they even pose as police, a law firm, or a government agency. Once you pay, they vanish, and you have lost money twice.

Keep these rules in mind:

• No legitimate service guarantees recovery. Tracing stolen crypto is hard and rarely successful. Anyone promising a sure thing is lying.
• Real help never asks for an upfront crypto fee. Being asked to pay in crypto to "release" or "recover" your funds is a scam, every time.
• Go through official channels only. Report to your bank, the platform, and the police. Ignore people who message you out of the blue offering to help.
• Never share your seed phrase or remote access. A genuine investigator will never need your recovery phrase or control of your device.

Helpful tips

• Write down a timeline of what happened while it is fresh — it makes every report clearer.
• Secure your email first. It is the master key to your other accounts, so lock it down before anything else.
• Warn your contacts if the scammer used your account or details, so they are not targeted next.
• Watch your credit and accounts for a while afterwards, in case shared details are reused.
• Be kind to yourself. Scams are professional operations. Reporting and learning the signs is the strong response.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Paying a "release fee." No genuine process asks you to send more money to unlock funds. That is the scam continuing.
• Trusting a "recovery expert" who contacts you after the loss or asks for an upfront crypto payment.
• Delaying the bank call. If a card or transfer was involved, waiting can be the difference between a reversal and a loss.
• Leaving compromised accounts open. If you shared a login or seed phrase, moving funds and changing passwords cannot wait.
• Staying silent out of embarrassment. Not reporting only helps the scammer keep going.

Can I get scammed crypto back?

Often, no. Crypto sent from your own wallet is usually irreversible, so there is no way to force it back. You have a better chance if you paid by card or bank transfer, or if the funds are still sitting on an exchange that can freeze them. Report quickly to give yourself the best odds.

Who do I report a crypto scam to?

Report to the exchange or platform involved, to your bank or card provider if you used one, and to your local police and national fraud-reporting body. Examples include Action Fraud in the UK, IC3 in the US, and Scamwatch in Australia.

Are crypto recovery services legit?

Most are not. Legitimate recovery is never guaranteed, and any service that asks for an upfront crypto fee or your seed phrase is a scam. Genuine help comes through your bank, the platform, and law enforcement — not from someone who messages you after your loss.

What should I do first?

Stop all contact and payments with the scammer, then secure anything they might still reach. If your logins or keys were exposed, move remaining funds to a new wallet and change your passwords, starting with your email. Then gather evidence and report.

Can an exchange freeze scammed funds?

Sometimes. If the stolen crypto is moved into an account on a regulated exchange, that exchange may freeze it while it investigates — but usually only if you and the police report fast, before the funds are moved on again.

If you have been scammed, stay calm but act quickly. Stop all contact, secure any remaining funds and accounts, and report the scam to the platform, your bank, and the authorities. Be realistic: crypto payments are usually irreversible, so recovery is often not possible — and anyone promising a guaranteed refund for an upfront fee is scamming you again. Quick, careful action is the best thing you can do.

Next step: to recognise the traps before they catch you again, read our guide to common crypto scams. It also helps to understand long-cons like pig butchering scams.

• US Federal Trade Commission — What to Know About Cryptocurrency and Scams
• Action Fraud (UK) — Report Fraud and Cyber Crime