What should you do if you are scammed in crypto?

The official guidance is consistent: stop sending money, keep the evidence, tell the company that handled the payment and report the fraud quickly. Crypto payments usually cannot be reversed, so recovery is uncertain.

What are the first steps?

1. Stop paying. Scammers often demand "taxes" or "fees" to release funds. These are part of the fraud, as described in what is a pig-butchering scam.
2. Save the evidence. The FBI asks for the scammer's or company's name, how and when contact was made, how payment was sent and where the funds went. Wallet addresses, transaction IDs, website addresses and screenshots of messages all help.
3. Contact the payment company. The Federal Trade Commission says to contact the crypto exchange or ATM operator at once, say the transaction was fraudulent and ask for it to be reversed. If a bank card or transfer funded the purchase, the bank can be told too.
4. Secure what is left. If a seed phrase was shared or a suspicious request was approved, the wallet is no longer safe. See phishing and wallet drainers.

Where is crypto fraud reported?

As of October 2026, US agencies name these channels:

• Federal Trade Commission: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): ic3.gov
• Commodity Futures Trading Commission: CFTC.gov/complaint
• Securities and Exchange Commission: sec.gov/tcr, for investment-related fraud

A state attorney general's office can also take a report. Outside the United States, each country has its own fraud reporting body, and the national police or financial regulator's website is the place to find it.

Can the money be recovered?

Often it cannot. The FTC says crypto payments lack the legal protections of credit and debit cards, and a payment usually comes back only if the recipient returns it.

There are exceptions. An exchange told quickly may be able to freeze an account that received the funds. Investigators can sometimes follow money across a public ledger, a process explained in can cryptocurrency be traced. The Justice Department said in April 2026 that its Scam Center Strike Force had restrained more than $700 million in crypto tied to investment fraud.

IC3 says it cannot respond to every complaint, but reports feed the investigations that lead to seizures.

What is a recovery scam?

People who have been defrauded are often targeted again. Someone posing as a lawyer, an investigator or a government official offers to get the money back in exchange for a fee paid first. The FTC says not to pay anyone who makes that offer.

IC3 states that it does not work with law firms or crypto services to recover funds, and that it will never contact a person directly to ask for money or information.

Being defrauded is not a personal failing. These schemes are run by organized groups, and the FBI says most victims it warns did not know they were being scammed.