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Sometimes, but there is no reliable way to reverse a completed crypto transfer or guarantee repayment. Recovery depends on whether an exchange, law enforcement, or a court can act on identifiable assets. Blockchain tracing may help an investigation; it does not freeze funds or return them by itself. Report the loss promptly to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), preserve transaction records, and do not pay anyone who promises recovery or demands a fee to release a displayed balance.
This guidance is U.S.-focused. Reporting channels and legal remedies differ elsewhere.
What “recovery” can—and cannot—mean
People use “recover” to describe several different steps, and they are not interchangeable:
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute- Tracing: Following transactions on a blockchain may help investigators identify where funds moved. A tracing report alone does not compel anyone to return assets.
- An exchange freeze: An exchange may freeze an account under its own procedures or in response to legal process. A victim’s report does not guarantee a freeze.
- Seizure by authorities: Law enforcement may seek seizure of assets when the facts and applicable legal process support it. The FBI says private recovery companies cannot issue seizure orders.
- Civil litigation: A victim may pursue a civil remedy, but a lawsuit is not the same as locating assets or collecting a judgment.
The FBI’s IC3 alert on cryptocurrency recovery scams states: “Private sector recovery companies cannot issue seizure orders to recover cryptocurrency.” A firm may claim to trace funds, but hiring it does not give it law-enforcement powers.
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A 2025 investigation illustrates what can happen in a specific case, not what a typical victim should expect. The FBI, Secret Service, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia described approximately $225 million in cryptocurrency seized in an investigation tied to crypto-confidence scams, using blockchain analysis alongside other investigative techniques. The case page described a process for potentially affected victims to check addresses; it does not establish that every victim will qualify for, or receive, a return of funds.
What to do now
- Stop sending money. Do not pay a supposed tax, verification charge, or release fee to withdraw funds shown on a suspicious platform. The FBI warns that victims may still be unable to recover funds after paying demanded fees or taxes. See its investment-scam alert.
- Preserve the evidence. Save transaction IDs or hashes, sending and receiving addresses, currency and amount, date and time, exchange receipts, bank or card records, the platform’s website or app address, usernames, phone numbers, emails, messages, and screenshots. IC3 requests transaction details including cryptocurrency addresses, amount and type, date and time, and transaction ID/hash. Its reporting guidance also emphasizes useful contact and platform information.
- File a detailed report with IC3. Use the IC3 complaint form. Include transaction details rather than only a narrative of what happened. You can also consider contacting your local FBI field office.
- Contact any exchange or payment provider involved. Use contact information found independently on its official website, not a link or phone number supplied by the suspicious platform or a recovery contact. Ask the provider to review the relevant transactions; whether it can freeze an account depends on its processes and any legal process.
- Secure accounts and personal information. If you shared a password, identity document, seed phrase, or banking details, change affected passwords, secure accounts you still control, and contact financial institutions through known official channels. Never share a seed phrase or credentials with a person claiming to recover funds.
- Verify unexpected follow-up claims. Be cautious if someone claiming to represent IC3, the FBI, a law firm, or another agency contacts you about the loss. Verify through official channels rather than using details in the message.
How to recognize a second recovery scam
Recovery scammers may find victims through social media, messaging apps, advertisements, or comments. The FBI warns that these contacts may demand payment up front, stop responding, provide an incomplete or inaccurate tracing report, and then ask for more money. Some falsely claim law-enforcement or legal connections.
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- An unsolicited person guarantees recovery or claims special access to seized funds.
- They demand an upfront fee, “tax,” or another payment before releasing assets.
- They ask for passwords, seed phrases, identity documents, or banking information.
- They claim to be a government agency or law firm but cannot be verified through independently located official contact details.
A June 2024 FBI alert warned about fictitious law firms that claimed access to government information, requested personal or banking details, or charged fees and back taxes. The FBI reported that victims further exploited by fictitious law firms lost more than $9.9 million between February 2023 and February 2024; that is a reported loss figure for that period, not a current total or a recovery rate. Read the FBI alert on fictitious law firms.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →The FBI’s August 24, 2023 IC3 guidance says: “Be wary of anyone claiming they can recover your funds as this may be another scam.” Its March 14, 2023 alert says: “Do not pay for services that claim to be able to recover lost funds.” Treat a paid tracing report as information at most—not proof that the provider can freeze or return assets.
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Which route may help, and what are its limits?
| Route | What it may do | Important limit |
|---|---|---|
| IC3 or law-enforcement report | Collect information and support an investigation; transaction details may help investigators follow funds. | A report is not a recovery guarantee. IC3 reporting guidance. |
| Exchange contact | An exchange may freeze an account under its own procedures or legal process. | You cannot assume it will identify, freeze, or return funds. FBI alert. |
| Civil litigation | A victim may choose to pursue a civil remedy. | A court action does not itself locate assets or ensure that a judgment can be collected. FBI alert. |
| Private recovery service | A provider may offer to trace transactions or provide investigative services. | It cannot issue seizure orders, and unsolicited paid recovery offers are a known risk. FBI alert; FBI investment-scam alert. |
When considering a next step, the practical questions are who has legal authority, whether the funds remain at an identifiable exchange, what evidence is available, which jurisdictions are involved, and what a proposed action will cost. No tracing tool or service should be treated as a substitute for authority to freeze or seize assets.
What the reported numbers do—and do not—show
The FBI’s 2025 Annual Report records 10,516 cryptocurrency investment-fraud complaints and $1.4 billion in reported losses for 2025. It also records 10,516 recovery-scam complaints. The report’s footnote says recovery-scam losses may include losses from the earlier scam that led a victim to contact a recovery company, so those losses should not be read as entirely new losses from the recovery scam. See the 2025 IC3 Annual Report.
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Earlier figures have different scopes and periods: the FBI’s 2023 alert reported more than $2.5 billion in cryptocurrency investment-fraud losses reported to IC3 in 2022, while its 2024 alert reported more than $9.9 million lost to fictitious law firms from February 2023 through February 2024. None of these complaint or loss totals tells an individual victim’s odds of recovery. The cited official materials do not establish a general recovery rate.
Does buying a wallet or recovery tool help?
No product can reverse a completed transfer merely because you buy it. A hardware wallet may help secure cryptocurrency you still control, but it cannot retrieve assets already sent to a scammer. The appropriate immediate steps are preserving evidence, reporting the loss, contacting any involved provider through official channels, and protecting any accounts or information that remain at risk.
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