Ask what the work will actually produce
An investigation produces a document, not an outcome. Before instructing anyone, ask precisely what you will hold at the end and who it can be sent to. If the answer is vague, the scope is vague.
- A written narrative of what happened, tied to verifiable references.
- A diagram or table of the fund route, hop by hop.
- An annexe of transaction hashes so a third party can check the work independently.
- A statement of what the data does not support, alongside what it does.
Ask about scope and price before any work begins
- Is the scope fixed and set out in writing, including the number of networks and payments covered?
- What happens if the trace ends early at an exchange deposit address — is that a completed piece of work or an upsell?
- Are there further charges for updates, reissued reports or correspondence?
- Is the quote given after reviewing your material, or before anyone has looked at it?
Check who you are dealing with
- A verifiable business address and a company registration you can look up yourself.
- A published contact route — a domain email address rather than a free webmail account or a messaging app handle only.
- Consistent identity across the website, correspondence and any call. Contact details found in a forum comment or a direct message are not verification.
- Willingness to answer questions in writing rather than pushing you towards an urgent decision on a call.
What a legitimate firm will never need
The distinction is simple and worth stating plainly. Investigating a loss requires public ledger data and the records you already hold. It never requires control of your assets or your accounts.
- Private keys, seed phrases or recovery words — never required, in any circumstance.
- Exchange passwords, two-factor codes or account access.
- Payment in cryptocurrency to an address supplied over chat.
- Any transfer of funds described as a fee, deposit, bond or unlock charge held on your behalf.
Realistic language versus unrealistic promises
Onchain analysis can establish where value went and which services it touched. It cannot reverse a confirmed transaction, and it cannot reveal a name from ledger data alone — attribution depends on records held by regulated businesses and released under legal process.
Any description of the work that ignores those limits is describing something the technology does not permit, however confident it sounds. Conversely, a firm that tells you at triage that your case is unlikely to progress is giving you the most valuable answer available, and the cheapest.
Report the loss regardless
- England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Action Fraud, online or by telephone.
- Scotland: Police Scotland on 101.
- The bank or exchange you funded the payment from, as soon as possible.
- The Financial Conduct Authority, where a firm claimed to be authorised or regulated.
If you are looking at your own case rather than reading generally, our cryptocurrency investigation service explains how a case is scoped and worked, the asset tracing hub covers the network-specific work, and our overview of cryptocurrency scam recovery in the UK sets out what is realistic. Asset pages: USDT tracing, Bitcoin tracing and Ethereum tracing. You can also contact the investigations team directly.
Common questions
- Can anyone guarantee that lost cryptocurrency will be returned?
- No. Confirmed transfers cannot be reversed, and whether anything can be pursued depends on where the funds ended up and on decisions taken by regulated businesses, courts and law enforcement. Any guarantee of an outcome should be treated as a reason to stop.
- Should I ever share my seed phrase or private key with an investigator?
- No. Tracing uses publicly available ledger data and the records you already hold. Nobody needs your seed phrase, private key, passwords or account access to investigate a loss.
- What does an investigation cost?
- It depends on the number of payments, networks and hops involved. What matters is that the scope and price are fixed in writing before work starts, after someone has actually reviewed your material.
- Do I still need to report the matter to the authorities?
- Yes. Reporting is free, creates an official record and is often required before a bank, exchange or insurer will engage. An investigation report supports a report; it does not replace one.
Have a case you want reviewed?
We scope at intake and tell you honestly whether the onchain data supports a traceable case.