7 October 2026

How to spot a fake crypto job scam

Fake crypto job scams recruit victims through messaging apps to complete simple online tasks, paying small initial sums before demanding escalating cryptocurrency deposits to unlock supposed earnings. If an employer asks you to send your own digital currency to continue working, stop all payments immediately.

• These arrangements typically begin with unsolicited contact on messaging platforms offering flexible remote work, where you are directed to an external portal to rate products, like videos, or process fictional orders using an assigned profile balance.
• A definitive warning sign appears when the platform displays a negative balance or frozen commission, requiring you to deposit personal cryptocurrency to reset the account, complete a higher-tier task set, or release accrued earnings.
• Cease all contact with the recruiters immediately, stop transferring any further funds regardless of threats regarding lost deposits, and inform your personal bank if any fiat payments or linked debit cards were used during the process.
• Preserve complete records of your interaction by exporting chat histories, taking full screenshots of the task interface and displayed balances, and recording every recipient deposit address alongside exact transaction hashes from your transfer logs.
• Report the incident formally to Action Fraud through their online reporting portal or helpline, and notify the compliance departments of any regulated digital currency exchanges through which you purchased or sent the assets.
• A professional onchain trace can map where your funds moved across public ledgers and identify recipient deposit addresses at centralised exchanges, but it cannot override transactions, identify the pseudonymous perpetrators directly, or guarantee any return of capital.

Written by the Wallsec investigations team. General information only, not legal or financial advice.