How to Spot Crypto Scams: Checks to Run Before You Send Money

To spot crypto scams, run a short check before you send money or deposit on a platform someone recommended. Ask who suggested it and how you found the site before you pay, because crypto payments typically cannot be reversed (opens in a new tab). If you have already paid, where to report a crypto scam lists the services by country.

Crypto scam warning signs

The FTC names these (opens in a new tab) as warning signs of cryptocurrency scams:

• Someone demands payment in cryptocurrency. Only scammers do, and no legitimate business will demand that you send crypto in advance, whether to buy something or to protect your money.
• Someone guarantees profits or big returns. Only scammers do.
• An online contact wants to show you how to invest in crypto, or asks you to send them crypto. This covers a dating match and a so-called "investment manager" who contacts you out of the blue.
• You are pushed to act now or told to keep it secret, even from your closest loved ones. The FTC's Bitcoin ATM alert (opens in a new tab) describes callers who scare people into secrecy.

Common cryptocurrency scams and how they work

Crypto investment scam

In a June 2026 alert (opens in a new tab), the FBI said scammers pose as people seeking business or romantic relationships on social media, send unsolicited texts, or present themselves as crypto investment experts. They then tell you to download a trading app and open an account. You are shown a website with fictitious returns, which encourages you to invest more.

When you try to withdraw, the scammers demand fraudulent taxes and penalties, and the loop starts over. This pattern is often called a pig butchering scam. The FBI's Investment Fraud page (opens in a new tab) describes the same turn: your account is frozen and you are usually told to pay "taxes" or "fees" to unlock your funds.

Impersonation and the crypto ATM scam

Scammers impersonate government agencies, law enforcement or utility companies. They may say there is a legal problem, that you owe money or that your accounts are frozen. Some stay on the phone while they direct you to a crypto ATM (a kiosk that turns cash into crypto) and give step-by-step instructions. See how Bitcoin ATM scams work for the full pattern.

In a crypto ATM scam, they then send a QR code. It holds the scammer's wallet address, so scanning it at the kiosk sends your payment straight to them. The FTC says (opens in a new tab) nobody from the government will send you to a Bitcoin ATM, and that there is no such thing as a government Bitcoin account or digital wallet.

Fake platforms and look-alike sites

Fraudulent investment platforms often use a website name that closely mimics, or "spoofs," a legitimate site. A platform you were sent to may not be the one you think it is.

Related scams with their own guides

• Fake crypto support scams, including agents who ask for your recovery phrase (seed phrase): scams that target your seed phrase. Never type, photograph or tell your recovery phrase to anyone. No real support agent will ask for it.
• Copied or poisoned addresses: address poisoning scams.
• Tokens with a familiar name: how to verify a token contract before buying.
• Where to keep coins once you own them: how to store crypto safely.

How to check before you send money

Run these five checks before the first deposit, in this order.

1. Name who suggested it

   Write down who told you about the platform and how you met. If it was someone you met through a text, a dating app or social media, and that person pitched an investment, the FBI says (opens in a new tab) it is likely an investment fraud scheme. Be suspicious of unsolicited contact from strangers, and verify the person's identity through third parties. If someone else suggested the platform and you cannot name a person you know in real life, stop here.

2. Open the platform from an address you typed

   Type the platform's web address yourself, or open its official app from a source you already trust, never from a link in a text, a chat or an ad. Then compare the name letter by letter with the company you meant to use, because spoofed sites closely mimic real ones. Search the exact web address and app name together with the word "scam", and read what comes up. A search with no warnings proves nothing.

3. Look the company up by its legal name

   Find the legal name of the company in the footer or terms on its website. Then check that name with the financial regulator where you live, and compare the full legal name, not a similar one. For the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia, how to check a platform's registration shows which register to search, and how to check that an exchange serves your country covers availability. Some firms copy a registered firm's name: in the UK, the FCA says (opens in a new tab) to always use the contact details on its Firm Checker, not the ones a firm gave you. If you have not picked a place to buy yet, read how to choose a crypto exchange first.

   If you cannot confirm any registration or license, do not deposit.

4. Refuse any order to pay by kiosk or QR code

   Hang up, then contact the real organization using a number you looked up yourself.

5. Treat a small successful withdrawal as proof of nothing

   The FBI warns (opens in a new tab) that the scammer may let you withdraw a small amount, even your earnings, to make the investment look legitimate. Never pay a fee or tax to release your own money.

Example with made-up numbers

The amounts are invented and no real platform is named. The pattern follows what the FBI describes (opens in a new tab): a text that pretends to be a misdial, then an investment pitch.

• A text arrives from an unknown number: "Sorry, wrong number." The sender keeps chatting for weeks, then suggests a trading app. Check 1 stops it: a stranger is pitching an investment.
• You ignore that and open the link in the chat. Check 2 stops it: the app did not come from an address you typed.
• You deposit $500, and the app shows a balance of $1,200. Check 3 would have stopped it before the deposit: no registration can be confirmed for the company's legal name.
• You request a withdrawal. The account is frozen and a message demands a 20% "tax" of $240 (20% of $1,200). Check 5 applies: paying a fee to release your own money is the pattern, and the scammers then begin the loop over (opens in a new tab).

You are out the $500 you deposited. The $1,200 on the screen never existed.

If you already sent money

As of October 2026: move fast, and promise yourself nothing, because getting money back may not be possible.

1. The FTC says (opens in a new tab) to contact the crypto exchange or ATM operator immediately, tell them it was a fraudulent transaction and ask them to reverse it and refund you. This is a request; they may say no.
2. If the money came from a bank or a fund, tell them right away too.
3. Save the date and amount of each payment, then the name of the person or company that contacted you and the websites, apps, emails, phone numbers and profile names they used. Also save the bank account numbers and crypto wallet addresses you were told to send funds to, with the recipient's name, and take screenshots. An FBI alert (opens in a new tab) lists the contact details and the accounts and wallets as what to include in a report.
4. Report it where you live: see where to report a crypto scam.

Someone who offers to recover your money for a fee is a second scam (see how crypto recovery scams work). The FTC says (opens in a new tab) not to trust any call, letter, email, text or social media message from someone who says they can recover money you lost for a fee, and never to pay upfront for help with a refund. If you also gave out a recovery phrase, read scams that target your seed phrase.

Where to report a crypto scam

As of October 2026: report it in the country where you live, and have the details from step 3 above ready.

United States

Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov (opens in a new tab) and file a complaint with the FBI's IC3 (opens in a new tab).

United Kingdom

Report it to Report Fraud (which replaced Action Fraud (opens in a new tab)) at reportfraud.police.uk (opens in a new tab) or on 0300 123 2040. If you live in Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101.

To report a scam firm, use the FCA's report-a-scam page (opens in a new tab) or call the FCA on 0800 111 6768. The FCA says it cannot help you get your money back.

European Union and EEA

Report it in the country where you live. ESMA tells scam victims (opens in a new tab) to report the case to local law enforcement, such as the police, and to inform your National Competent Authority, which is your country's financial regulator.

Canada

Use the national Report Cybercrime and Fraud (opens in a new tab) system. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says (opens in a new tab) victims and witnesses can report there, and victims should also contact their local police as soon as possible. Its toll-free number is 1-888-495-8501.

Australia

The Victorian Government's guide (opens in a new tab) says to report to ReportCyber (opens in a new tab), run by the Australian Cyber Security Centre, if you lost funds or information. If you were targeted but lost neither money nor personal information, report to Scamwatch (opens in a new tab).

Other countries

Report it to your local police and to your country's financial regulator.

Common misconceptions

• "A polished app proves it is real." Fake apps and sites show gains that do not exist, and spoofed names copy real ones.
• "I can dispute a crypto payment like a card charge." Once you pay with cryptocurrency, you can usually only get your money back if the person you paid sends it back. In the US, the FTC's June 2026 guidance says (opens in a new tab) crypto payments do not have the same legal protections as credit and debit cards, and notes that some states have laws that might help.

Risks to understand

You could lose all the money you send to a scammer. A report to the police or a regulator may not bring it back.

Before your first purchase, read how to buy crypto step by step.