If you have lost crypto to a scam, start here.
Report what happened, and an investigator will look at it. Your report becomes a case: where the money went, who is behind it, and what can be done next, explained in plain language.
Reports are reviewed by BlockchainUnmasked, the investigations firm behind OCINT. Never share a private key or seed phrase with anyone, including us.
A person reviews every report. You are told what is possible before anything else is agreed.
You receive an account of what happened and what comes next, written for you, not for a specialist.
Nobody can guarantee a freeze or a recovery. What we can do is give the people who decide what they need to act.
If this just happened, do these first.
The first 48 hours matter most. Work through this before anything else.
Stop further loss and write down what you know
- Move any remaining funds to a new wallet created on a clean device, and revoke token approvals on the compromised wallet.
- Do not contact or negotiate with the attacker.
- Record every wallet address, transaction hash, time and amount, and the website, app or person involved.
Preserve the evidence and find the first hops
- Save screenshots, chat exports, emails and URLs. Do not wipe or reset devices; they may hold evidence.
- Trace where the funds went first, and note any exchange deposit addresses on the path.
Notify the exchanges and file a report
- Contact each exchange where funds landed through its compliance or law-enforcement channel, with the transaction hashes, addresses and amounts.
- Report to law enforcement (in the US, the FBI’s IC3 and local police) and keep the reference number. Exchanges often ask for it.
Follow the movement and bring in counsel
- Watch for funds crossing bridges or swaps, and update the exchanges as the trace develops.
- Set up monitoring so later movement reopens the case.
- If a recovery action is likely, engage counsel early so preservation requests and court options are ready.
General guidance, not legal advice. Updated 19 October 2026.
How reporting works.
Four steps from your report to a case someone can act on.
Report
Tell us what happened through the BlockchainUnmasked report form. Include the wallet addresses, transaction hashes, times and amounts, and keep any messages or screenshots for the investigator.
Review
An investigator reads your report and tells you what is realistic. Nothing is promised that cannot be delivered.
Investigate
The money is traced to where it went. The website, accounts and people behind the scam are connected to it, and your report is matched against others, because most scams have many victims.
What comes next
You receive a plain-language account of what happened and the next step, and the documented report that police, an exchange or a lawyer need in order to act.
A named investigator reviews every case.
Tell us what happened.
Send it through the report form below. An investigator reads every report.
Reports from individuals go through the BlockchainUnmasked scam report form, run by the investigations team behind OCINT. It asks for your wallet addresses, the addresses you sent funds to, transaction hashes and the sites involved. Keep your screenshots: an investigator will ask for them.
Wallet hacked or drained? Use the hack report form instead.
Your report is read by the investigations team reviewing it and used only to assess and investigate your case. Filing a report does not by itself guarantee an investigation, a freeze or a recovery.
What you receive.
Everything in one place, written to be used.
What happened, where the money went and what it means, in plain language.
The documented version for the police, an exchange or a lawyer, with every finding linked to its source.
Where funds reached an exchange, a request asking that exchange to preserve records or hold the funds, drafted for the right authority to send.
If your report connects to others, the case is treated as one scheme, which is what gets institutions to act.
Where funds are still moving, investigators can watch the addresses and update the next step.
An investigator who has read your case, not a chatbot.
What is realistic, and what is not.
The honest version.
The money is traced and documented
- The situation
- You know which wallets the funds went through and where they ended up.
- What OCINT does
- The trace is recorded with the evidence behind each step, and the report is prepared for whoever can act on it.
- The outcome
- A clear record you can give to the police, an exchange or a lawyer, instead of a folder of screenshots.
Funds are held at an exchange
- The situation
- The funds reached an exchange that keeps customer records.
- What OCINT does
- A preservation or freeze request is drafted with what that exchange needs, for the police or a lawyer to send.
- The outcome
- The exchange decides. Some act on a police or court request; some do not. Acting quickly improves the odds.
Funds are returned to you
- The situation
- Returning funds usually needs a court or a cooperative exchange, and the scammer may have moved them beyond reach.
- What OCINT does
- The investigation gives the decision-makers the best possible basis to act, and a lawyer can advise on recovery options.
- The outcome
- Nobody can promise a recovery. Be wary of anyone who does.
Questions victims ask us.
Short answers, written by the investigations team. The full FAQ covers incidents and victims in more depth.
Do I have to pay to report?
Reporting through BlockchainUnmasked is how a case starts. What happens next is scoped with you first, so you know what is and is not possible before anything else is agreed.
Will I get my money back?
No one can promise that, and you should be careful of anyone who does. Only the exchange or service holding the funds, or a court, can freeze or return them. The investigation gives those decision-makers what they need to act.
Do I need a police report?
It usually helps. Exchanges often ask for a law-enforcement reference before they act. In the US, report to the FBI’s IC3 and your local police, and keep the reference numbers.
Is it too late?
Not necessarily. Funds often sit in intermediate wallets or at an exchange for days or weeks. Tracing and monitoring can still find where they went and flag when they move again.
Someone has offered to recover my crypto for a fee. Is that real?
Almost certainly not. No legitimate service can guarantee recovery, and anyone asking for an upfront fee to “unlock” recovered crypto is very likely running a second scam. Never share a private key or seed phrase with anyone, including us.
What will you need from me?
The wallet addresses involved, the transaction hashes, the times and amounts, and anything that shows how it happened: messages, emails, websites or screenshots. If you are missing some of this, report anyway.
Representing an organization rather than yourself?
Each has its own page.
Ready when you are.
An investigator reviews every report and tells you what is realistic. Funds moving right now? Work through the first-48-hours steps first.