Types of Cryptocurrency Fraud

Fake Investment Platforms

The most common crypto scam: fraudsters build convincing fake trading platforms that show fabricated profits. Victims deposit real funds, watch "gains" accumulate, then find they cannot withdraw. When they try, they're asked to pay "taxes," "fees," or "verification charges" — all designed to extract more money.

Pig Butchering Scams

A long-con romance-investment hybrid where scammers build trust over weeks before introducing a fake crypto platform. See our dedicated pig butchering scam page for full details.

Rug Pulls

Fraudsters launch a new cryptocurrency or NFT project, attract investors, then suddenly abandon it and drain the liquidity pool — taking all investor funds with them overnight.

Pump and Dump

Fraudsters artificially inflate the price of a low-value token through coordinated buying and false marketing, then sell their holdings at the peak — crashing the price and leaving other investors with worthless tokens.

Fake Exchanges & Wallets

Fraudulent exchanges mimic legitimate platforms. Fake wallet apps steal seed phrases or private keys when installed. Always verify you're using the official URL or app of any crypto platform.

Recovery Scams

After a crypto scam, victims are often targeted again by "crypto recovery" services promising to retrieve lost funds for an upfront fee. These are almost always secondary scams.

Can Stolen Crypto Be Traced?

Yes — contrary to popular belief, blockchain transactions are permanently recorded and publicly visible. Every Bitcoin, Ethereum, and most other cryptocurrency transactions leave a traceable on-chain record.

Blockchain forensic tools (Chainalysis, CipherTrace, Elliptic) can follow funds across wallets, identify exchange deposit addresses, and in many cases, connect transactions to real-world identities through KYC data held by regulated exchanges.

This is why acting quickly matters — funds that have already been cashed out at an exchange are much harder to recover than funds still sitting in a wallet.

How to Report Crypto Fraud

United States

  • FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
  • FBI IC3: ic3.gov (specifically handles crypto crime)
  • CFTC: cftc.gov/complaint (for commodity fraud including crypto)
  • SEC: sec.gov/tcr (for fraudulent crypto investment schemes)

United Kingdom

  • Action Fraud: actionfraud.police.uk
  • FCA: fca.org.uk/consumers/report-scam

Also Report To

  • The exchange you used to send funds — they may be able to flag the receiving address
  • The fake platform's hosting provider and domain registrar
  • Any social media platforms where the scammer contacted you

⚠️ Beware of Crypto Recovery Scams

After losing money to crypto fraud, many victims are contacted by "recovery specialists" who claim they can retrieve stolen cryptocurrency. The vast majority of these are scams. A legitimate blockchain forensics investigator will never guarantee recovery or charge large upfront fees without a formal contract.

What a Crypto Fraud Investigator Can Do

  • Trace funds across blockchain networks using forensic tools
  • Identify exchange deposit addresses where funds were cashed out
  • Issue legal preservation requests to exchanges before records are deleted
  • Compile a legally admissible evidence package for law enforcement
  • Coordinate with international law enforcement and Interpol
  • Support civil litigation against identifiable fraudsters