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Security · Explainer

Pay a Fee to Unlock Your Crypto? It Is a Scam

Asked to pay a tax or fee to withdraw crypto? On a fake crypto exchange that demand is the scam. See how to check the platform and what to do next.

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How2BuyCrypto Editorial
Last updated
Updated
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7 min read

Written with AISources checked How our guides are made

At a glance

  • On a fake platform, paying a tax or fee to withdraw releases nothing and often brings the next demand.
  • A demand to pay taxes or fees before your funds are released is a red flag, even inside the site's own screens.
  • Search your regulator's warning lists, but a name missing from a list is not proof that the platform is real.
  • If you already paid, stop paying and replying, tell the bank that funded the payments, save the evidence and report it.
On this page10 sections
  1. Why the fee demand comes when you try to withdraw
  2. What the demand is called: tax or fee
  3. Real withdrawal fee or scam fee: how to tell
  4. Example with made-up numbers: two withdrawal screens
  5. How to check a platform before you pay or deposit
  6. If you already paid a fee
  7. Offers to get your money back come next
  8. Common misconceptions
  9. Risks to understand
  10. Sources

If a crypto exchange will not release your cryptocurrency balance until you pay a "tax" or fee, stop paying: that demand matches the last stage of a scam run through a fake crypto exchange. In its 2025 annual report (opens in a new tab), the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) says crypto investment fraud victims who try to withdraw are charged taxes and fees as a final attempt to take more money before the scammers disappear with all the funds.

Look the platform up yourself, and report it if it is not what it claims. Victims often pay more to unlock their funds than they deposited.

Why the fee demand comes when you try to withdraw

The balance on a fake platform is a number on the scammer's site. Australia's regulator, ASIC, says (opens in a new tab) these sites show profits and trades, but there is no real trading and the site contains fake data. A fake cryptocurrency exchange website can also look polished: the UK regulator, the FCA, says (opens in a new tab) fraudsters' websites and materials can look identical to the real thing.

Early on, scammers often let victims withdraw a small amount. IC3 calls this a trap (opens in a new tab) meant to reassure you and to make you invest even more. The fee demand comes later, when you try to withdraw the large amount.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) puts the result plainly: on a fake investment site, you will not be able to withdraw your money at all, or only if you pay high fees (opens in a new tab). For how people end up on these sites, read how a pig butchering scam works.

What the demand is called: tax or fee

As of October 2026, regulators' warnings name these labels for the payment:

Whatever the label, the demand is the same: pay first, access later. A crypto withdrawal fee scam explains the payment with various made-up reasons, so judge the demand, not the label.

Real withdrawal fee or scam fee: how to tell

As of October 2026, Kraken's help center says (opens in a new tab) it charges a fee on each crypto withdrawal to cover the cost of moving the crypto out of your Kraken account. It lists fees and minimums on a public page, and the final fee is shown when you confirm the withdrawal.

Comparing a fee with the platform's fee page and its withdrawal screen only helps on a platform you have already confirmed through the registration check. A fake site controls its own screens and fee page, and they can look identical to the real thing. For how real fees work, read how crypto exchange fees work.

IC3 lists (opens in a new tab) being required to pay taxes or fees to receive or unlock your investment as a red flag. That holds wherever the demand appears: in a chat, an email, a phone call or inside the site's own screens.

The FTC says (opens in a new tab) no legitimate business will demand that you send cryptocurrency in advance, and that this is always a scam.

Tax follows the same test. In the US, when a payer must withhold tax under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) backup withholding rules (opens in a new tab), the tax is taken from payments to the person. That page does not mention crypto, so it shows how withholding works, not what a given platform does. Being asked to pay tax to withdraw crypto matches the red flag above, in a chat or inside the site.

Real holds and reviews exist. For those, read why Kraken holds a withdrawal and why a crypto withdrawal is pending. If the registration check confirms the platform, ask its support from inside its own app.

Example with made-up numbers: two withdrawal screens

These amounts are invented, and the coin is made up.

  • Screen A: you withdraw 0.5 Coin X. The screen shows a fee of 0.01 Coin X. You confirm once and receive 0.49 Coin X.
  • Screen B: a dashboard shows 40 Coin X. A message says you must first send a 15% "tax" to a new address. That is 6 Coin X.
  • You send it. The message then asks for a "verification fee" of 4 Coin X. You have now paid 10 Coin X and received 0.

Screen A takes its fee inside one confirm and asks for nothing else. Screen B asks you to pay first and releases nothing, whether the demand arrives in a chat or on the site. A real screen may label and group amounts differently.

How to check a platform before you pay or deposit

As of October 2026, the warning lists below name firms regulators have flagged. To look up registered or authorized firms where you live, use the registration check and search the legal name of the company that provides the crypto service.

Official warning lists

A firm missing from a list is not proof that it is real. ESMA says not to assume, in the absence of a relevant warning on the IOSCO portal, that a company offering you investment services is authorized or legitimate, and to check with your domestic regulator.

Lists also fall behind: ASIC says (opens in a new tab) its list is not exhaustive and that a name or contact details may have changed since an entry was added. That is why we publish no list of fake exchanges.

If an online contact gave you the platform, stop even when its name checks out. See the stop signs for a platform someone recommended online.

If you already paid a fee

Tell the bank or card issuer that funded the payments right away. Save the platform's web address, the chats and the transaction ID of every payment.

For the full steps, read what to do first after a crypto scam. To report fake crypto exchange activity in your country, use where to report a crypto scam.

Offers to get your money back come next

IC3's 2025 report (opens in a new tab) says victims of crypto investment fraud are also targeted in recovery scams that claim to help recover lost funds.

An offer to get your money back after you pay a fee is the same demand again. In the UK, the FCA calls (opens in a new tab) these recovery room scams. Read how crypto recovery scams work before you answer any such offer.

Common misconceptions

  • "My first withdrawal worked, so the site is real." The small early withdrawal is part of the scheme, as described in why the fee demand comes when you try to withdraw.
  • "The balance is mine, it is just locked." The balance is data on a site with no real trading behind it. IC3 says (opens in a new tab) that at the withdrawal stage there is usually nothing the victim can do, because the scammers will never unlock the funds and have likely moved them into wallets the victim cannot access.
  • "The tax is a legal duty, so I have to pay it." The FTC says (opens in a new tab) no legitimate business or government will ever email, text or message you on social media to ask for money. If a message says you owe tax, look up the rule on your tax authority's own website instead of paying the sender.

Risks to understand

You could lose everything you sent plus every fee you paid after it. Crypto payments typically are not reversible (opens in a new tab), so a payment to a scammer is hard to undo. Read whether crypto transactions can be reversed for what that means.

Before you put money into any new platform, read how to spot crypto scams.

Sources

  1. What To Know About Cryptocurrency and Scams, Federal Trade Commission. Accessed .
  2. 2025 IC3 Report (Internet Crime Report), FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Accessed .
  3. Investment Fraud, FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Accessed .
  4. Protect yourself from scams, Financial Conduct Authority (UK). Accessed .
  5. Investor Corner, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Accessed .
  6. What Are the Warning Signs of Fraudulent Platforms and Suspicious Crypto-Asset Service Providers?, Národná banka Slovenska (National Bank of Slovakia). Accessed .
  7. Investment scam alerts, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Accessed .
  8. Scam alert: Scammers luring investors onto fake crypto-asset trading platforms, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Accessed .
  9. Investor Warnings and Alerts, Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). Accessed .
  10. Cryptocurrency withdrawal fees and minimums, Kraken (Payward). Accessed .
  11. Backup withholding, Internal Revenue Service. Accessed .
  12. Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities (PAUSE), US Securities and Exchange Commission. Accessed .

This guide was researched and written with AI using the sources above. It is general information, not financial advice. Cryptoassets are volatile and you could lose the money you invest. Check the rules in your country before you buy. Some links on this site may be affiliate links; they never change what we write. Spotted an error? Email contact@how2buycrypto.org.

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