Guides
Guides for crypto theft and scam victims
Plain answers for people who have lost cryptocurrency to theft or a scam: what to do first, how to report it, whether stolen USDT can be frozen, and how to avoid recovery scams. Every guide lists the sources it relies on.
All guides
- Is crypto recovery legit? How to spot a recovery scamMost crypto “recovery” services that approach scam victims are a second scam. The red flags the FBI, FTC and CFTC list, what legitimate tracing can and can't do, and how to check any firm, including us.
- How to check you're really dealing with TracewrightScammers impersonate real crypto-tracing firms. Our only website and email domain, what we will never ask for, and what to do if someone contacts you claiming to be us.
- Can stolen USDT be frozen?Tether can freeze USDT at a specific address, but it acts with law enforcement, not on a victim's request. How freezes work, what a request needs, why speed matters, and what happens after a freeze.
- Wallet drained? What to do in the first 24 hoursStep by step: stop using the compromised wallet, don't send gas to it, move what's left safely, preserve evidence, report it, and avoid the recovery scammers who follow.
- How to report a crypto scam or theft so the report gets usedWhere to report crypto theft in the US and UK, what to include, how to report to the exchange that received the funds, and how to avoid fake “IC3 agents”.
- Pig-butchering scam: what to do if it happened to youHow pig-butchering crypto investment scams work, why you should never pay the “tax” to withdraw, what evidence to keep, where to report, and what tracing can and can't do.
- Sent crypto to a lookalike address? Address poisoning explainedHow address poisoning works, why the transfer can't be undone, what can still be done if the funds were USDT or USDC or reached an exchange, and how to stop it happening again.
- Can an exchange freeze stolen crypto?What exchanges can and can't do when stolen or scammed crypto lands on their platform, why they ask for a police report or freezing order, and how to report to Binance, Coinbase, OKX, Kraken, Bybit and Crypto.com.
- Stolen XRP: what can be traced and frozen on the XRP LedgerNo one can freeze XRP on the ledger, but exchanges can freeze XRP they hold, destination tags identify exchange customers, and token issuers such as Ripple can freeze RLUSD. What that means if your XRP was stolen.
- Crypto forensic reports for lawyers and investigatorsHash-sealed cryptocurrency tracing reports for counsel, law enforcement and exchange compliance: findings separated from opinion, confidence per finding, a reproducible chain of custody, and examiner declarations.
- What does crypto tracing cost?Published prices for cryptocurrency tracing and forensic reports: $1,800 for a direct trace, $4,500 multi-chain, from $9,000 for complex cases, or $0 upfront and 15% of funds returned.