Recovery Scam

A recovery scam targets people who have already lost crypto, offering to trace, freeze or return it in exchange for a payment or for access to a wallet. It is a second wave rather than a new audience: victims are found in the public replies under complaints, in lists resold between fraud operations, and by watching the addresses a known theft passed through. The pitch imitates authority — a blockchain forensics firm, a law office, an asset-recovery unit, a platform's compliance desk — and often comes with a document or a dashboard showing the funds as located and held pending a fee. The requests then repeat the pattern of the original fraud: an upfront charge described as a retainer, a tax or a network fee to release the funds; a request for the recovery phrase in order to restore the wallet; a signature to prove ownership that in fact authorises a transfer. What makes the offer implausible is structural rather than a matter of judging the person making it. A confirmed transaction cannot be reversed by anyone, and no private party can freeze coins on a public chain. The paths that do exist run through law enforcement and through the platforms holding the funds, and none of them begins with a stranger contacting you for a fee.