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A fake cryptocurrency exchange can look surprisingly convincing.
You may have found what appeared to be a normal trading platform, created an account, deposited cryptocurrency, and watched the balance appear inside the exchange.
The website may have shown trades, profits, account verification, customer support, and even a withdrawal function.
Then something changed.
Your withdrawal may have failed.
Your account may have been restricted.
Your balance may have disappeared.
Or you may have discovered that the exchange itself was never legitimate.
If you believe you deposited cryptocurrency into a fake exchange, stop sending additional funds and preserve the account information before doing anything else.
The FBI warns that fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms can imitate legitimate exchanges, display professional-looking account balances, and later demand additional payments before supposedly allowing withdrawals.
Jim Recovery Team can review the information you have, identify relevant blockchain transactions, trace known fund movements, and help reconstruct what happened to the cryptocurrency.
If you’re ready, contact [email protected] or +1 (929) 399-9264 on WhatsApp.
If you need time first, preserve the evidence before doing anything else.
STOP DEPOSITING INTO THE FAKE EXCHANGE
Don’t send:
Another deposit
A withdrawal fee
A tax payment
A verification payment
A security deposit
A liquidity payment
A negative-balance payment
A “final” payment
A fake exchange may tell you that your cryptocurrency is already there but that another payment is required before you can withdraw it.
The FBI specifically warns that additional fees or taxes demanded to unlock supposed cryptocurrency investment funds can be part of the fraud.
The fact that the exchange shows a balance does not prove that the cryptocurrency is actually available for withdrawal.
CAPTURE THE EXCHANGE BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS
If you can still access the platform, save screenshots of:
Account dashboard
Displayed balance
Deposit history
Withdrawal history
Open trades
Transaction history
Wallet page
Account verification page
Error messages
Customer-support conversations
Fees
Withdrawal requirements
Website address
Don’t modify information unnecessarily.
Don’t delete the account.
Don’t rely on the platform remaining online.
A fake platform can disappear or become inaccessible after the operator realizes that users are questioning it.
Once you’ve captured the account, determine how much cryptocurrency actually entered the platform.
SEPARATE THE DISPLAYED BALANCE FROM REAL CRYPTOCURRENCY
Suppose the exchange showed:
Deposited, 10,000 USDT
Trading profit, 8,000 USDT
Displayed balance, 18,000 USDT
That doesn’t automatically mean 18,000 USDT exists in a wallet you control.
Start with the blockchain transactions that actually occurred.
Record:
Amount deposited
Asset
Network
Transaction hash
Receiving address
Date
Time
The FBI specifically recommends preserving cryptocurrency addresses, amounts and types, dates and times, and transaction hashes when documenting cryptocurrency fraud.
Your blockchain records should be treated separately from numbers displayed inside the suspicious exchange.
FIND EVERY DEPOSIT YOU MADE
Go through your wallet or legitimate cryptocurrency service and locate every transaction sent to the exchange.
Create a list:
Deposit 1, 5,000 USDT
Deposit 2, 2,500 USDT
Deposit 3, 7,500 USDT
Deposit 4, 3,000 USDT
Then calculate the total actually transferred.
For each payment, record:
Transaction hash
Sending wallet
Receiving wallet
Asset
Amount
Network
Timestamp
Don’t rely on memory.
Once you’ve found the deposits, identify exactly where the exchange told you to send them.
COMPARE THE EXCHANGE’S DEPOSIT ADDRESS WITH THE BLOCKCHAIN
The platform may have given you a deposit address through:
A dashboard
Customer support
Email
WhatsApp
Telegram
A QR code
A payment instruction
Save the address exactly as provided.
Then compare it with the actual destination recorded on the blockchain.
If the platform gave you Address A but your transaction went to Address B, document that discrepancy.
If they match, continue tracing what happened to the cryptocurrency afterward.
Once you’ve established the deposit destinations, trace what happened to those funds.
TRACE THE CRYPTOCURRENCY AFTER DEPOSIT
A deposit might follow a path such as:
Your wallet
↓
Exchange deposit address
↓
Wallet B
↓
Wallet C
Or:
Your wallet
↓
Exchange address
↓
Token swap
↓
Another address
Record each identifiable movement.
For each transaction, preserve:
From
To
Amount
Asset
Transaction hash
Timestamp
Don’t assume that every address belongs to the same person or company.
Document what the blockchain actually shows.
Once you’ve traced the movement, return to the fake exchange and examine the withdrawal process.
DOCUMENT YOUR FIRST WITHDRAWAL ATTEMPT
Record:
Date
Time
Amount requested
Asset
Withdrawal address
Network
Error message
Platform response
For example:
15,000 USDT withdrawal requested
→ withdrawal rejected
→ “Account requires verification”
→ verification completed
→ withdrawal rejected again
→ “Pay withdrawal tax”
This sequence can reveal how the exchange responded once you attempted to remove your funds.
Once you’ve documented the first failed withdrawal, save every explanation the platform gave you.
SAVE EVERY REASON THEY GAVE FOR BLOCKING THE WITHDRAWAL
You may have been told:
Your account isn’t verified
Your trading volume is too low
Your account has a negative balance
You need to pay taxes
You need to pay a security fee
Your wallet requires activation
Your account requires an upgrade
The blockchain requires another deposit
Your withdrawal limit must be increased
You need to pay a compliance fee
Save the exact wording.
Don’t rewrite it from memory.
The FBI warns that fraudulent investment platforms may invent taxes or fees as a condition for releasing supposed funds.
Once you’ve preserved the withdrawal explanation, document every payment you made because of it.
MATCH EACH EXTRA PAYMENT TO THE CLAIM THAT CAUSED IT
Create a record such as:
Claim, withdrawal tax
Payment, 2,000 USDT
Claim, verification
Payment, 1,500 USDT
Claim, account activation
Payment, 3,000 USDT
Then record what happened afterward.
If each payment produced another requirement, preserve that sequence.
The pattern matters more than the platform’s explanation of why the money is supposedly locked.
CHECK WHETHER THE EXCHANGE IS USING A FAKE BALANCE
Some fake investment platforms show users increasing balances that are not necessarily backed by cryptocurrency they can withdraw.
You might see:
Deposit, $5,000
Profit, $12,000
Balance, $17,000
But when you attempt to withdraw:
Tax required
Verification required
Additional deposit required
The displayed balance should therefore be compared against actual blockchain activity.
The FBI describes fraudulent platforms that show appealing portfolio balances and later create withdrawal requirements designed to obtain additional money.
Once you’ve identified the difference, preserve the displayed balance as evidence rather than treating it as recovered money.
SAVE THE EXCHANGE’S TRADING HISTORY
If the platform showed trades, save:
Trading pairs
Buy orders
Sell orders
Entry prices
Exit prices
Profit figures
Loss figures
Timestamps
Order IDs
Account balance changes
This can help establish whether the platform was actually executing trades or simply displaying activity.
Don’t assume a trade shown on the dashboard occurred on a real exchange.
Once you’ve preserved the trading history, examine the platform’s identity.
DOCUMENT THE EXCHANGE’S IDENTITY
Save:
Exchange name
Domain
Website URL
App name
Company name
Company address
Support email
Support phone number
Social-media accounts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Registration information shown on the site
Deposit instructions
Withdrawal instructions
A fake exchange may use a name, logo, or domain that resembles a legitimate cryptocurrency company.
The FBI specifically warns about cryptocurrency platforms using domains that mimic legitimate financial institutions.
Once you’ve documented the identity, check how you originally found the exchange.
RECORD HOW YOU FOUND THE EXCHANGE
Maybe you discovered it through:
A search result
Social media
An advertisement
A Telegram group
WhatsApp
A referral
A person you met online
A supposed investment adviser
A customer-support message
A trading community
Save the original source.
If someone directed you there, preserve their profile and messages too.
Once you’ve established the origin, reconstruct how trust was built.
DOCUMENT WHY YOU BELIEVED THE EXCHANGE WAS REAL
Write down what convinced you:
Professional website
Customer-support responses
Displayed profits
Company documents
Trading charts
Positive testimonials
Referral from someone you trusted
Supposed regulatory information
Withdrawal screenshots
Professional-looking app
Celebrity or expert endorsement
This isn’t about blaming yourself.
It establishes why the platform appeared legitimate at the time.
Once you’ve documented that, preserve the material used to reinforce that impression.
SAVE THE PLATFORM’S “PROOF”
Keep:
Screenshots
Videos
Account statements
Trade confirmations
Emails
Customer-support chats
Withdrawal confirmations
Deposit confirmations
Promotional materials
Terms
Certificates
Licenses displayed on the site
Don’t assume any document is authentic merely because it contains a logo or registration number.
Once you’ve preserved the material, check whether the supposed company information matches the website you actually used.
COMPARE THE DOMAIN AND COMPANY INFORMATION
Record:
Domain used
Company name displayed
Email domain
Support number
Company address
Then compare those details with independently verified information about the company the exchange claims to represent.
For example:
Website used, example-exchange.com
Company claimed, Example Exchange
Support email, [email protected]
If the domain or contact information differs from the legitimate company, preserve the discrepancy.
Once you’ve checked the identity, review your communications with customer support.
SAVE EVERY CUSTOMER-SUPPORT CONVERSATION
Keep:
Chat transcripts
Support tickets
Agent names
Agent IDs
Email addresses
Phone numbers
Instructions
Withdrawal explanations
Payment requests
Promises of release
If support told you:
“Your funds are secure.”
“Your withdrawal is approved.”
“Pay this final amount.”
preserve the exact message.
Once you’ve preserved the conversations, identify every person involved.
CREATE A CONTACT LIST
Record:
Name used
Username
Phone number
Email
Profile
Company claimed
Role claimed
Wallet address
Website
Date of contact
Keep the identities separate if several people contacted you.
For example:
Person A, introduced exchange
Person B, handled deposits
Person C, handled withdrawals
This can be more useful than treating everyone as one unidentified scammer.
Once you’ve mapped the contacts, connect each person to the transactions or instructions they provided.
CONNECT PEOPLE TO PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Create a simple record:
Person A → exchange recommendation
Person B → deposit address
Person C → withdrawal instructions
Person C → additional payment request
This establishes the relationship between the communications and the financial activity.
Don’t claim that someone controls a wallet merely because they gave you an address.
Once you’ve connected the communications, preserve the complete timeline.
BUILD THE COMPLETE EXCHANGE TIMELINE
For example:
June 2 → discovered exchange
June 3 → account created
June 4 → first deposit
June 5 → trading activity displayed
June 8 → balance increased
June 10 → withdrawal requested
June 10 → withdrawal rejected
June 11 → verification payment requested
June 11 → payment made
June 12 → withdrawal rejected again
June 13 → exchange stopped responding
The dates and amounts will depend on your case.
The purpose is to show how the situation developed from the first interaction to the loss.
Once the timeline is complete, calculate the total amount actually sent.
CALCULATE YOUR TOTAL CRYPTO LOSS
Separate:
Cryptocurrency deposited
Additional fees paid
Cryptocurrency withdrawn successfully
Cryptocurrency remaining
Unauthorized transfers
For example:
Deposited, 20,000 USDT
Additional payments, 5,000 USDT
Successfully withdrawn, 1,000 USDT
Net amount still outstanding, 24,000 USDT
Use actual blockchain transactions wherever possible.
Don’t count a displayed platform profit as cryptocurrency you actually received.
Once you’ve calculated the real loss, review the wallet you still control.
CHECK YOUR REMAINING WALLET
Look for:
Unknown transfers
Token approvals
Unexpected swaps
Smart-contract interactions
Unknown receiving addresses
If you still control assets in the wallet, don’t expose them to the same suspicious platform again.
If you shared your recovery phrase, private key, password, or gave someone remote access, treat that as a separate security issue.
Never give a recovery phrase or private key to someone claiming they need it to unlock or recover your funds.
Once you’ve checked the remaining wallet, preserve the evidence before making unnecessary changes.
CONTACT THE CRYPTOCURRENCY SERVICE YOU USED TO SEND THE FUNDS
If you funded the fake exchange through a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange or ATM operator, contact that service through its legitimate support channel as soon as possible.
Provide:
Transaction hash
Asset
Amount
Receiving address
Date
Time
Explanation of the fraud
The FTC recommends contacting the cryptocurrency exchange or ATM operator immediately after paying a scammer, reporting the transaction as fraudulent, and asking whether the transaction can be reversed or refunded.
Don’t assume the transaction can be reversed.
Ask what options are available and preserve the response.
Once you’ve contacted the provider, save the case number and every response.
PRESERVE THE SUPPORT RESPONSE
Keep:
Case number
Email
Chat transcript
Fraud report
Transaction review
Instructions
Date contacted
If the service says the transaction cannot be reversed, preserve that response too.
It becomes part of the chronology.
Once you’ve preserved the provider’s response, stop communicating with the fake exchange unless you need to preserve additional evidence.
DON’T WARN THE FAKE EXCHANGE THAT YOU’RE INVESTIGATING
You may feel tempted to confront them.
You may want to tell them:
“I know you’re a scam.”
“I traced the wallet.”
“I’m reporting you.”
“Give me my money back.”
Preserve the evidence instead of escalating the conversation.
The FBI advises victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud not to notify suspected criminals of an investigation because doing so may interfere with investigative efforts.
Your evidence is more valuable than an argument with the platform.
WATCH FOR A FAKE RECOVERY SERVICE
After losing money through a fake exchange, you may be contacted by someone claiming they can recover it.
They may say:
“We found your funds.”
“We traced the wallet.”
“The exchange is under investigation.”
“We can reverse the transaction.”
“Pay a recovery fee.”
“Send cryptocurrency to activate the recovery.”
Be extremely cautious.
The FBI warns that victims of cryptocurrency fraud are frequently targeted by recovery schemes in which someone falsely claims they can recover the lost funds.
Don’t send another payment simply because someone promises recovery.
If you seek professional assistance, give the professional your existing evidence rather than paying based on a promise of guaranteed recovery.
YOU DON’T NEED THE ENTIRE STORY TO START
You may only have:
The exchange website
One wallet address
One transaction hash
A screenshot of your balance
A withdrawal error
A customer-support conversation
That’s enough to begin reconstructing what happened.
Jim Recovery Team can review the information you have, identify relevant blockchain transactions, trace known fund movements, and help reconstruct the movement of the cryptocurrency.
If you’re ready for professional assistance, contact [email protected] or +1 (929) 399-9264 on WhatsApp with whatever information you currently have.
If you’re not ready, preserve the evidence first.
WHAT YOUR EVIDENCE SHOULD SHOW
Ideally, your records should establish:
How you found the exchange
↓
Why you believed it was legitimate
↓
Which account you created
↓
How much cryptocurrency you deposited
↓
Which blockchain addresses received it
↓
What balance the exchange displayed
↓
What happened when you attempted a withdrawal
↓
What additional payments were demanded
↓
Which payments you actually made
↓
Where the cryptocurrency moved afterward
↓
What evidence connects the exchange and the transactions
The most useful question isn’t simply “How do I get my money back?”
It’s:
“What cryptocurrency did I actually send to the exchange, which addresses received it, what did the platform display, what happened when I tried to withdraw, and where did the deposited funds move afterward?”
Start there.
Preserve the exchange evidence, document every blockchain transaction, stop sending additional money, and don’t allow a second person claiming to recover the funds to turn the original loss into another payment.
You may have found what appeared to be a normal trading platform, created an account, deposited cryptocurrency, and watched the balance appear inside the exchange.
The website may have shown trades, profits, account verification, customer support, and even a withdrawal function.
Then something changed.
Your withdrawal may have failed.
Your account may have been restricted.
Your balance may have disappeared.
Or you may have discovered that the exchange itself was never legitimate.
If you believe you deposited cryptocurrency into a fake exchange, stop sending additional funds and preserve the account information before doing anything else.
The FBI warns that fraudulent cryptocurrency platforms can imitate legitimate exchanges, display professional-looking account balances, and later demand additional payments before supposedly allowing withdrawals.
Jim Recovery Team can review the information you have, identify relevant blockchain transactions, trace known fund movements, and help reconstruct what happened to the cryptocurrency.
If you’re ready, contact [email protected] or +1 (929) 399-9264 on WhatsApp.
If you need time first, preserve the evidence before doing anything else.
STOP DEPOSITING INTO THE FAKE EXCHANGE
Don’t send:
Another deposit
A withdrawal fee
A tax payment
A verification payment
A security deposit
A liquidity payment
A negative-balance payment
A “final” payment
A fake exchange may tell you that your cryptocurrency is already there but that another payment is required before you can withdraw it.
The FBI specifically warns that additional fees or taxes demanded to unlock supposed cryptocurrency investment funds can be part of the fraud.
The fact that the exchange shows a balance does not prove that the cryptocurrency is actually available for withdrawal.
CAPTURE THE EXCHANGE BEFORE IT DISAPPEARS
If you can still access the platform, save screenshots of:
Account dashboard
Displayed balance
Deposit history
Withdrawal history
Open trades
Transaction history
Wallet page
Account verification page
Error messages
Customer-support conversations
Fees
Withdrawal requirements
Website address
Don’t modify information unnecessarily.
Don’t delete the account.
Don’t rely on the platform remaining online.
A fake platform can disappear or become inaccessible after the operator realizes that users are questioning it.
Once you’ve captured the account, determine how much cryptocurrency actually entered the platform.
SEPARATE THE DISPLAYED BALANCE FROM REAL CRYPTOCURRENCY
Suppose the exchange showed:
Deposited, 10,000 USDT
Trading profit, 8,000 USDT
Displayed balance, 18,000 USDT
That doesn’t automatically mean 18,000 USDT exists in a wallet you control.
Start with the blockchain transactions that actually occurred.
Record:
Amount deposited
Asset
Network
Transaction hash
Receiving address
Date
Time
The FBI specifically recommends preserving cryptocurrency addresses, amounts and types, dates and times, and transaction hashes when documenting cryptocurrency fraud.
Your blockchain records should be treated separately from numbers displayed inside the suspicious exchange.
FIND EVERY DEPOSIT YOU MADE
Go through your wallet or legitimate cryptocurrency service and locate every transaction sent to the exchange.
Create a list:
Deposit 1, 5,000 USDT
Deposit 2, 2,500 USDT
Deposit 3, 7,500 USDT
Deposit 4, 3,000 USDT
Then calculate the total actually transferred.
For each payment, record:
Transaction hash
Sending wallet
Receiving wallet
Asset
Amount
Network
Timestamp
Don’t rely on memory.
Once you’ve found the deposits, identify exactly where the exchange told you to send them.
COMPARE THE EXCHANGE’S DEPOSIT ADDRESS WITH THE BLOCKCHAIN
The platform may have given you a deposit address through:
A dashboard
Customer support
Telegram
A QR code
A payment instruction
Save the address exactly as provided.
Then compare it with the actual destination recorded on the blockchain.
If the platform gave you Address A but your transaction went to Address B, document that discrepancy.
If they match, continue tracing what happened to the cryptocurrency afterward.
Once you’ve established the deposit destinations, trace what happened to those funds.
TRACE THE CRYPTOCURRENCY AFTER DEPOSIT
A deposit might follow a path such as:
Your wallet
↓
Exchange deposit address
↓
Wallet B
↓
Wallet C
Or:
Your wallet
↓
Exchange address
↓
Token swap
↓
Another address
Record each identifiable movement.
For each transaction, preserve:
From
To
Amount
Asset
Transaction hash
Timestamp
Don’t assume that every address belongs to the same person or company.
Document what the blockchain actually shows.
Once you’ve traced the movement, return to the fake exchange and examine the withdrawal process.
DOCUMENT YOUR FIRST WITHDRAWAL ATTEMPT
Record:
Date
Time
Amount requested
Asset
Withdrawal address
Network
Error message
Platform response
For example:
15,000 USDT withdrawal requested
→ withdrawal rejected
→ “Account requires verification”
→ verification completed
→ withdrawal rejected again
→ “Pay withdrawal tax”
This sequence can reveal how the exchange responded once you attempted to remove your funds.
Once you’ve documented the first failed withdrawal, save every explanation the platform gave you.
SAVE EVERY REASON THEY GAVE FOR BLOCKING THE WITHDRAWAL
You may have been told:
Your account isn’t verified
Your trading volume is too low
Your account has a negative balance
You need to pay taxes
You need to pay a security fee
Your wallet requires activation
Your account requires an upgrade
The blockchain requires another deposit
Your withdrawal limit must be increased
You need to pay a compliance fee
Save the exact wording.
Don’t rewrite it from memory.
The FBI warns that fraudulent investment platforms may invent taxes or fees as a condition for releasing supposed funds.
Once you’ve preserved the withdrawal explanation, document every payment you made because of it.
MATCH EACH EXTRA PAYMENT TO THE CLAIM THAT CAUSED IT
Create a record such as:
Claim, withdrawal tax
Payment, 2,000 USDT
Claim, verification
Payment, 1,500 USDT
Claim, account activation
Payment, 3,000 USDT
Then record what happened afterward.
If each payment produced another requirement, preserve that sequence.
The pattern matters more than the platform’s explanation of why the money is supposedly locked.
CHECK WHETHER THE EXCHANGE IS USING A FAKE BALANCE
Some fake investment platforms show users increasing balances that are not necessarily backed by cryptocurrency they can withdraw.
You might see:
Deposit, $5,000
Profit, $12,000
Balance, $17,000
But when you attempt to withdraw:
Tax required
Verification required
Additional deposit required
The displayed balance should therefore be compared against actual blockchain activity.
The FBI describes fraudulent platforms that show appealing portfolio balances and later create withdrawal requirements designed to obtain additional money.
Once you’ve identified the difference, preserve the displayed balance as evidence rather than treating it as recovered money.
SAVE THE EXCHANGE’S TRADING HISTORY
If the platform showed trades, save:
Trading pairs
Buy orders
Sell orders
Entry prices
Exit prices
Profit figures
Loss figures
Timestamps
Order IDs
Account balance changes
This can help establish whether the platform was actually executing trades or simply displaying activity.
Don’t assume a trade shown on the dashboard occurred on a real exchange.
Once you’ve preserved the trading history, examine the platform’s identity.
DOCUMENT THE EXCHANGE’S IDENTITY
Save:
Exchange name
Domain
Website URL
App name
Company name
Company address
Support email
Support phone number
Social-media accounts
Terms and conditions
Privacy policy
Registration information shown on the site
Deposit instructions
Withdrawal instructions
A fake exchange may use a name, logo, or domain that resembles a legitimate cryptocurrency company.
The FBI specifically warns about cryptocurrency platforms using domains that mimic legitimate financial institutions.
Once you’ve documented the identity, check how you originally found the exchange.
RECORD HOW YOU FOUND THE EXCHANGE
Maybe you discovered it through:
A search result
Social media
An advertisement
A Telegram group
A referral
A person you met online
A supposed investment adviser
A customer-support message
A trading community
Save the original source.
If someone directed you there, preserve their profile and messages too.
Once you’ve established the origin, reconstruct how trust was built.
DOCUMENT WHY YOU BELIEVED THE EXCHANGE WAS REAL
Write down what convinced you:
Professional website
Customer-support responses
Displayed profits
Company documents
Trading charts
Positive testimonials
Referral from someone you trusted
Supposed regulatory information
Withdrawal screenshots
Professional-looking app
Celebrity or expert endorsement
This isn’t about blaming yourself.
It establishes why the platform appeared legitimate at the time.
Once you’ve documented that, preserve the material used to reinforce that impression.
SAVE THE PLATFORM’S “PROOF”
Keep:
Screenshots
Videos
Account statements
Trade confirmations
Emails
Customer-support chats
Withdrawal confirmations
Deposit confirmations
Promotional materials
Terms
Certificates
Licenses displayed on the site
Don’t assume any document is authentic merely because it contains a logo or registration number.
Once you’ve preserved the material, check whether the supposed company information matches the website you actually used.
COMPARE THE DOMAIN AND COMPANY INFORMATION
Record:
Domain used
Company name displayed
Email domain
Support number
Company address
Then compare those details with independently verified information about the company the exchange claims to represent.
For example:
Website used, example-exchange.com
Company claimed, Example Exchange
Support email, [email protected]
If the domain or contact information differs from the legitimate company, preserve the discrepancy.
Once you’ve checked the identity, review your communications with customer support.
SAVE EVERY CUSTOMER-SUPPORT CONVERSATION
Keep:
Chat transcripts
Support tickets
Agent names
Agent IDs
Email addresses
Phone numbers
Instructions
Withdrawal explanations
Payment requests
Promises of release
If support told you:
“Your funds are secure.”
“Your withdrawal is approved.”
“Pay this final amount.”
preserve the exact message.
Once you’ve preserved the conversations, identify every person involved.
CREATE A CONTACT LIST
Record:
Name used
Username
Phone number
Profile
Company claimed
Role claimed
Wallet address
Website
Date of contact
Keep the identities separate if several people contacted you.
For example:
Person A, introduced exchange
Person B, handled deposits
Person C, handled withdrawals
This can be more useful than treating everyone as one unidentified scammer.
Once you’ve mapped the contacts, connect each person to the transactions or instructions they provided.
CONNECT PEOPLE TO PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS
Create a simple record:
Person A → exchange recommendation
Person B → deposit address
Person C → withdrawal instructions
Person C → additional payment request
This establishes the relationship between the communications and the financial activity.
Don’t claim that someone controls a wallet merely because they gave you an address.
Once you’ve connected the communications, preserve the complete timeline.
BUILD THE COMPLETE EXCHANGE TIMELINE
For example:
June 2 → discovered exchange
June 3 → account created
June 4 → first deposit
June 5 → trading activity displayed
June 8 → balance increased
June 10 → withdrawal requested
June 10 → withdrawal rejected
June 11 → verification payment requested
June 11 → payment made
June 12 → withdrawal rejected again
June 13 → exchange stopped responding
The dates and amounts will depend on your case.
The purpose is to show how the situation developed from the first interaction to the loss.
Once the timeline is complete, calculate the total amount actually sent.
CALCULATE YOUR TOTAL CRYPTO LOSS
Separate:
Cryptocurrency deposited
Additional fees paid
Cryptocurrency withdrawn successfully
Cryptocurrency remaining
Unauthorized transfers
For example:
Deposited, 20,000 USDT
Additional payments, 5,000 USDT
Successfully withdrawn, 1,000 USDT
Net amount still outstanding, 24,000 USDT
Use actual blockchain transactions wherever possible.
Don’t count a displayed platform profit as cryptocurrency you actually received.
Once you’ve calculated the real loss, review the wallet you still control.
CHECK YOUR REMAINING WALLET
Look for:
Unknown transfers
Token approvals
Unexpected swaps
Smart-contract interactions
Unknown receiving addresses
If you still control assets in the wallet, don’t expose them to the same suspicious platform again.
If you shared your recovery phrase, private key, password, or gave someone remote access, treat that as a separate security issue.
Never give a recovery phrase or private key to someone claiming they need it to unlock or recover your funds.
Once you’ve checked the remaining wallet, preserve the evidence before making unnecessary changes.
CONTACT THE CRYPTOCURRENCY SERVICE YOU USED TO SEND THE FUNDS
If you funded the fake exchange through a legitimate cryptocurrency exchange or ATM operator, contact that service through its legitimate support channel as soon as possible.
Provide:
Transaction hash
Asset
Amount
Receiving address
Date
Time
Explanation of the fraud
The FTC recommends contacting the cryptocurrency exchange or ATM operator immediately after paying a scammer, reporting the transaction as fraudulent, and asking whether the transaction can be reversed or refunded.
Don’t assume the transaction can be reversed.
Ask what options are available and preserve the response.
Once you’ve contacted the provider, save the case number and every response.
PRESERVE THE SUPPORT RESPONSE
Keep:
Case number
Chat transcript
Fraud report
Transaction review
Instructions
Date contacted
If the service says the transaction cannot be reversed, preserve that response too.
It becomes part of the chronology.
Once you’ve preserved the provider’s response, stop communicating with the fake exchange unless you need to preserve additional evidence.
DON’T WARN THE FAKE EXCHANGE THAT YOU’RE INVESTIGATING
You may feel tempted to confront them.
You may want to tell them:
“I know you’re a scam.”
“I traced the wallet.”
“I’m reporting you.”
“Give me my money back.”
Preserve the evidence instead of escalating the conversation.
The FBI advises victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud not to notify suspected criminals of an investigation because doing so may interfere with investigative efforts.
Your evidence is more valuable than an argument with the platform.
WATCH FOR A FAKE RECOVERY SERVICE
After losing money through a fake exchange, you may be contacted by someone claiming they can recover it.
They may say:
“We found your funds.”
“We traced the wallet.”
“The exchange is under investigation.”
“We can reverse the transaction.”
“Pay a recovery fee.”
“Send cryptocurrency to activate the recovery.”
Be extremely cautious.
The FBI warns that victims of cryptocurrency fraud are frequently targeted by recovery schemes in which someone falsely claims they can recover the lost funds.
Don’t send another payment simply because someone promises recovery.
If you seek professional assistance, give the professional your existing evidence rather than paying based on a promise of guaranteed recovery.
YOU DON’T NEED THE ENTIRE STORY TO START
You may only have:
The exchange website
One wallet address
One transaction hash
A screenshot of your balance
A withdrawal error
A customer-support conversation
That’s enough to begin reconstructing what happened.
Jim Recovery Team can review the information you have, identify relevant blockchain transactions, trace known fund movements, and help reconstruct the movement of the cryptocurrency.
If you’re ready for professional assistance, contact [email protected] or +1 (929) 399-9264 on WhatsApp with whatever information you currently have.
If you’re not ready, preserve the evidence first.
WHAT YOUR EVIDENCE SHOULD SHOW
Ideally, your records should establish:
How you found the exchange
↓
Why you believed it was legitimate
↓
Which account you created
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How much cryptocurrency you deposited
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Which blockchain addresses received it
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What balance the exchange displayed
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What happened when you attempted a withdrawal
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What additional payments were demanded
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Which payments you actually made
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Where the cryptocurrency moved afterward
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What evidence connects the exchange and the transactions
The most useful question isn’t simply “How do I get my money back?”
It’s:
“What cryptocurrency did I actually send to the exchange, which addresses received it, what did the platform display, what happened when I tried to withdraw, and where did the deposited funds move afterward?”
Start there.
Preserve the exchange evidence, document every blockchain transaction, stop sending additional money, and don’t allow a second person claiming to recover the funds to turn the original loss into another payment.