Evidence Before Opinion
Start with payments, wallets, messages and platform records.
Crypto Scam & Fraud Support
Lost money to a crypto scam? Start with the evidence — not another promise of recovery.
Fake trading platforms, wallet transfers, blocked withdrawals and recovery scams can leave payments, messages and account records spread across several services. Quaerens helps organise the evidence, map what happened and clarify which complaint or reporting routes may need consideration.
✓Preserve the evidenceKeep wallet addresses, transaction records, messages, screenshots and payments.
✓Map the moneyRecord how funds moved between your bank, exchange, wallets and recipients.
✓Avoid further promisesBe cautious about anyone asking for more money to release or recover funds.
Before you send any more money
Another payment request can itself be part of the scam.
If someone says a withdrawal fee, tax, AML charge, verification fee, liquidity payment, wallet activation, insurance, legal fee or recovery fee must be paid before funds can be released, do not treat that request as proof that the money exists or will be returned. Verify unexpected requests independently.
Second-scam risk
Already lost money? Watch for a second scam.
Victims may later be contacted by people claiming to be recovery specialists, solicitors, regulators, police, government bodies, blockchain investigators, liquidators, banks or exchanges. They may say funds have been located and demand tax, cryptocurrency, a release fee or remote access. Unexpected approaches should be independently checked before money or sensitive information is provided.
No Recovery Promises
Quaerens does not guarantee cryptocurrency or money can be recovered.
Clear About Our Role
We organise evidence; we do not hack wallets or reverse transactions.
Security First
Be cautious about further payments, remote access and recovery offers.
Understand the reported pattern
What type of crypto scam or fraud may have occurred?
These categories organise reported events; they do not automatically diagnose a criminal offence.
Fake investment platform
A professional-looking dashboard shows apparent trading activity or profits.
Blocked withdrawal
A withdrawal is stopped and another fee, tax or deposit is demanded.
Wallet-transfer scam
Crypto is sent to an address supplied by another person or platform.
Impersonation or clone firm
A real organisation's name, logo or registration details may have been copied.
Relationship-led scam
Trust develops through social or dating contact before investment is introduced.
Remote-access scam
Someone asks to control a device while banking, exchange or wallet services are open.
Recovery scam
A second organisation promises recovery after an earlier loss and requests payment.
Social-media impersonation
An advert or profile uses a celebrity, platform or public figure's imagery.
Fake platforms and withdrawals
A displayed balance is not independent proof that assets or profits exist.
Fake trading platform pattern
Contact may begin online before a convincing dashboard is shown. Several deposits may follow; a small withdrawal can sometimes be allowed, then a larger withdrawal is blocked. Preserve the exact domain, account details, dashboard screenshots, deposits, withdrawal requests, support chats and company claims.
Withdrawal blocked — another payment requested
Record the exact reason given, such as tax, verification, AML, liquidity, upgrade, insurance or release fee. A genuine identifiable platform dispute must be distinguished from a suspected fraudulent platform.
Wallet and blockchain records
Record the transaction without claiming it identifies the person.
Wallet address
An identifier used to send or receive cryptocurrency. It may show where a transaction was sent but does not automatically establish the real-world owner.
Transaction hash
A unique blockchain transaction identifier that may show the network, addresses, amount, time and status. It is not proof of the recipient's identity.
Blockchain explorer
Some networks expose public transaction data. Quaerens does not reverse transactions, seize assets, control wallets or perform forensic attribution.
Never send Quaerens your seed phrase, recovery phrase, private key, wallet password, banking password, PIN or one-time security code.
Transaction trail
Map where the money actually went.
A common path may be bank or card → exchange → crypto purchase → external wallet → possible further wallet or platform. Not every case follows that route.
Bank or card
Payment date, amount, warning, beneficiary and complaint history.
Exchange
Account holder, fiat deposit, crypto purchase and withdrawal record.
Wallet
Token, network, addresses, transaction hash and who supplied the address.
Platform
Dashboard, displayed balance, terms, messages and withdrawal demand.
Response
Bank, exchange, platform and official fraud-reporting responses.
Do not double count one transfer. If £10,000 leaves a bank, buys crypto and is then sent to a wallet, those stages do not automatically create a £20,000 loss. Base loss records on documented outflows; keep apparent platform profits separate.
Banks, cards and exchanges
Each participant may have a different role.
What did your bank do?
Keep statements, transfer records, warnings, calls, recall attempts, fraud correspondence, the complaint and final response. Do not assume the bank is liable merely because it processed a payment.
Card payment
Keep the statement, merchant descriptor, correspondence and issuer response. Credit card does not mean automatic Section 75 liability; debit card does not mean automatic chargeback entitlement.
Genuine exchange involved?
An exchange may have been used to buy and send crypto without being the alleged scammer. Distinguish an exchange used in the payment path from one that is itself the subject of an account or service dispute.
Current APP reimbursement requirements apply to defined payment routes and circumstances. A bank → consumer's own exchange → external wallet path must not be treated as identical to a direct bank transfer to a fraudster's bank account.
Security and impersonation
Preserve evidence without creating more risk.
Remote access
Record the software, date, who requested it, phone or email, session timing and payments made. Do not reinstall software or conduct unsafe technical investigation. If access may remain, use a trusted device and official bank/exchange routes to secure accounts.
Relationship-led contact
Keep the original profile, username, messages, phone number, platform URL, payment instructions and wallet addresses. Use sensitive, non-blaming language: trust may have been deliberately built before investment was introduced.
Impersonation and clone firms
Verify telephone numbers, emails and websites through independent official sources. A genuine firm's name and registration can be copied.
Social media and documents
Keep adverts, profiles, URLs, dates, certificates and regulatory claims. Describe a document as requiring verification unless authoritative evidence establishes it is false.
Official verification and reporting
Check the business — not just the name.
Authorisation, registration and permission for a specific service are different questions. Absence from a warning list does not prove a business is genuine or safe.
FCA Firm Checker
Check whether a firm is authorised and has the permission for the service it offers. Independently compare its official contact details.
Check with the FCAFCA Warning List
Search current warnings, remembering that no list can contain every potentially fraudulent business.
Check FCA warningsReport suspected fraud
Report Fraud is the current national reporting service for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland uses Police Scotland via 101.
Open Report FraudOfficial reporting is separate from asking Quaerens for support. A report reference can be useful, but reporting does not guarantee investigation or recovery.
Preserve before it disappears
What evidence should you keep?
Platform or website
Exact domain, URLs, screenshots, dashboard, withdrawal screen, support chat, terms and date captured.
Communications
Messages, emails, usernames, phone numbers, voice messages and call logs. Do not continue contact solely to gather evidence.
Payments and crypto
Bank/card records, exchange history, token, network, wallet addresses, hashes, recalls and complaints.
Identity and remote access
Names, company claims, email domains, beneficiary details, software and session evidence. Do not send secret credentials.
Safe screenshots: redact unnecessary passwords, security codes, full card details, unrelated balances and other people's personal information. Do not scan unknown QR codes or log back into a suspicious site solely to gather evidence.
Chronology and facts
Build one timeline and distinguish claims from evidence.
Date + event + party + payment + evidence
Record first contact, adverts, account opening, each payment, crypto purchase, wallet transfer, apparent profit, withdrawal, fee demand, reports, complaints and any later recovery approach.
Scammer statement versus fact
Write “the platform displayed an apparent balance of £250,000”, not “the account contained £250,000”. Write “the consumer was told £15,000 described as tax was required”, not “£15,000 tax was due”.
Choose the principal route
Related support routes
Investment Platform Dispute
For genuine platform administration, restriction, execution, withdrawal or service issues.
Open routeDigital Platform Failure
For a genuine digital platform or system failure rather than suspected fraud.
Open routeBank Complaint
Where the principal unresolved issue is bank handling, reimbursement or the final response.
Open routeSection 75
Where a relevant credit-card transaction structure may support separate review.
Open routeChargeback
Where a card-payment dispute and current scheme rules may be relevant.
Open routeCross-Border Support
Where overseas entities, jurisdictions or international structure become the main complexity.
Open routeWhat Quaerens can help with
- Organise bank, exchange, wallet and platform records
- Separate actual payments from apparent profits
- Build the transaction trail and chronology
- Compare bank, exchange and platform responses
- Identify missing evidence and relevant routes
What Quaerens does not do
- Guarantee recovery, reimbursement or compensation
- Hack, seize, freeze or reverse wallets or transactions
- Recover seed phrases or private keys
- Identify real-world wallet owners from an address
- Provide trading, investment, legal or forensic advice
- Determine criminal guilt
Support process
How Crypto Scam & Fraud Support works
Protect
Independently verify further fee, tax, release or recovery requests.
Preserve
Keep payments, wallets, hashes, screenshots, messages and company claims.
Map
Show how funds moved through banks, exchanges, wallets and platforms.
Build
Record contact, payments, promises, withdrawal problems and reports.
Route
Identify bank, exchange, reporting, platform or specialist next steps.
You do not need technical or legal terminology. Start with the records you have.
Crypto Scam & Fraud Document & Evidence Guide
Your transaction records can help tell the story.
Bank payments, exchange records, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, platform screenshots and communications can show how money moved, what was said and what happened when a withdrawal or report was made.
Submit Your Information
Example situations
Keep each transaction and representation separate.
Apparent profits, withdrawal blocked
A dashboard displays increasing profits, then demands a tax or release payment. The records document what was shown and requested; they do not prove the profits exist.
Genuine exchange to external wallet
A consumer buys crypto through their own exchange account and transfers it to an address supplied by someone presenting an opportunity. Bank, exchange, hash and message records reconstruct the path.
Remote access during payments
Someone guides banking and exchange activity using remote-access software. Record the request, sessions, payments and communications without accusing the software provider.
Second organisation promises recovery
A later organisation says funds have been located and demands an upfront payment. Treat the new contact and payment as a separate evidence trail.
Illustrative only. Whether conduct amounts to fraud and which routes are available depend on the facts, evidence, payment path and parties.
Withdrawal blocked?
Read the detailed evidence guide covering screenshots, wallet information, fee demands and communications.
Read the Evidence GuideWhat should I do now?
- Do not send more money solely because release or recovery is promised.
- Preserve existing evidence.
- Contact bank, payment provider and exchange through official channels where relevant.
- Report suspected fraud using the current official service.
- Verify firms and contact details independently.
Common questions
Crypto Scam & Fraud FAQ
No. We organise transaction, wallet, communication and complaint evidence; we do not promise asset recovery.
No. An address or transaction can document where crypto was sent but does not itself identify the real-world controller.
No. Never send a seed phrase, recovery phrase, private key, wallet or bank password, PIN or authentication code.
Not necessarily. A dashboard figure is not independent evidence that assets or profits exist.
Be cautious and verify independently. Further tax, verification, liquidity or release requests can form part of fraudulent arrangements.
Treat unexpected approaches cautiously, particularly guarantees or demands for payment, crypto or remote access. Verify official details independently.
Absence does not prove it is genuine, authorised or safe. Check the legal entity, permissions and official contact details.
No. The position depends on the payment route, rules, evidence and bank response.
Quaerens cannot promise to recover cryptocurrency or money. We can help organise what happened, map payments and transaction evidence, understand what your bank or platform has said and identify legitimate complaint, reporting or specialist routes.
Prefer to speak first?
Request a callback about Crypto Scam & Fraud Support
If you are unsure whether the issue concerns a suspected scam, your bank, an exchange, a genuine platform or a recovery company, request a callback before submitting information.
Never provide seed phrases, private keys, passwords, PINs or one-time codes.