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If someone promises to recover a stolen NFT or cryptocurrency, pause before replying or paying. Unsolicited offers, guaranteed results, claims of law-enforcement affiliation, requests for sensitive account information, and upfront or escalating fees are serious warning signs. Verify the person and business independently; a tracing report is not proof that anyone can freeze or return an asset.
Warning signs in an NFT recovery pitch
- They contacted you unexpectedly. Recovery fraud can follow an earlier loss. The FBI warns that scammers pose as law enforcement, private companies, or law firms and reach people through social media, messaging, search ads, and other online channels. Unsolicited contact is a reason to verify, not by itself proof that a particular business is fraudulent. FBI IC3 recovery-fraud warning.
- They guarantee recovery or claim special authority. Ask what specific action they can take and what authority permits it. A claim of an FBI connection does not establish that the person represents the agency.
- They want money before doing anything, or keep adding fees. The FTC warns consumers not to pay unsolicited recovery offers or share financial information with them. FBI reports describe schemes in which a supposed recovery firm takes an initial deposit, disappears, or supplies a questionable tracing report before demanding more money. FTC guidance on refund and recovery scams and FBI IC3 warning.
- They ask for credentials or sensitive information. Do not give a recovery solicitor your wallet seed phrase, passwords, exchange login, banking details, identity documents, or other sensitive account information. The FTC specifically warns against sharing financial information in response to unsolicited recovery pitches. FTC guidance.
- They present tracing as recovery. A report identifying wallet activity does not itself return an NFT or cryptocurrency, authorize a seizure, or prove that funds can be frozen.
How to check a service before engaging
- Stop the conversation and do not pay yet. Do not use links, phone numbers, or contact details supplied by the person pitching the service. Avoid sending further funds while you verify who they are and what they can actually do.
- Search the exact names independently. Look up the business and representative, adding terms such as “complaint,” “scam,” or “review”—a step the FTC recommends. Treat testimonials and success stories on the solicitor’s own materials as claims to verify, not independent proof. FTC guidance.
- Verify claimed agency connections through official channels. If someone says they work with the FBI, find a local FBI field office using the FBI’s official directory and contact it yourself; do not call a number the solicitor gives you. The FBI says law enforcement does not charge victims a fee to investigate crimes. FBI field office directory and FBI IC3 warning.
- Get a precise description of the work and fees. Ask what the service will deliver, who performs each step, what authority would enable a freeze or return, what additional fees could arise, and what happens if tracing finds an address but no assets can be frozen. Do not rely on impressive-looking reports or documents in place of independently verified authority.
- Keep records and report suspected fraud. Save messages, emails, contracts, reports, payment receipts, transaction hashes, wallet addresses, dates, amounts, and the recovery pitch itself. These details can help when reporting the original loss or a follow-on recovery scam.
What a private recovery service can—and cannot—do
Tracing activity and obtaining control over assets are different things. The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) states: “Private sector recovery companies cannot issue seizure orders to recover cryptocurrency.” An exchange may freeze an account under its own internal processes or in response to legal process, but that does not mean a private tracing firm can order a freeze. FBI IC3, August 11, 2023.
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This is U.S. agency guidance about cryptocurrency recovery fraud. It does not settle every NFT-specific question involving custody, a blockchain, a smart contract, an exchange, or another jurisdiction. A stolen NFT and cryptocurrency paid to a scammer are also different losses; do not assume a tracing service can return either one. The FBI identifies civil litigation as an option a victim may choose, not a guaranteed route to recovering an NFT or funds. For legal advice, consult a lawyer qualified in the relevant jurisdiction.
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Where to report the loss or recovery scam
Reporting preserves a record and alerts the relevant agency; it is not a promise that an NFT or cryptocurrency will be returned. Choose the route that fits the incident:
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- Suspected cryptocurrency investment fraud: The FBI directs victims to report to IC3 or a local FBI field office. Include transaction information and preserve the supporting records. FBI IC3 guidance and IC3.
- Consumer fraud or a recovery scam: Submit a report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC also advises consumers on recovery scams. FTC guidance.
- Considering civil action: Speak separately with a lawyer qualified where the relevant parties and events are located. Check the lawyer’s jurisdiction, experience relevant to the matter, proposed scope of work, and fees; distinguish legal advice from a tracing service’s report.
Keep the type of loss clear in any report: an NFT transferred without permission, cryptocurrency lost in an investment scam, and money paid to a purported recovery firm are not necessarily the same incident. The FBI reported more than $2.5 billion in cryptocurrency investment fraud losses for 2022 in an IC3 public service announcement published August 11, 2023; that figure concerns reported cryptocurrency investment fraud, not NFT recovery-fraud losses specifically. FBI IC3 announcement.
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