What to do after a crypto romance scam
If an online romantic contact persuaded you to transfer money into a cryptocurrency platform that is now inaccessible, cease all communication and do not send further funds. Secure your accounts immediately and report the fraud to your bank and UK authorities.
- This fraud typically begins on a dating application or social network, where an individual builds a rapport before steering conversations towards lucrative cryptocurrency trading opportunities on an unfamiliar platform.
- A key warning sign is that the person refuses to meet in person or on video, claims inside market knowledge, and asks you to pay escalating fees to unlock purported trading profits.
- Stop all contact with the individual immediately, refuse any further transfer requests regardless of threats or emotional appeals, and change the passwords on your email, banking, and exchange accounts.
- Preserve complete conversation logs across messaging platforms, dating profiles, phone numbers, website links, deposit receipts, and the exact wallet addresses where you were instructed to send your funds.
- Report the crime to Action Fraud or Police Scotland if resident north of the border, and notify your bank immediately if any direct fiat deposits or card payments were made to fund the transactions.
- An onchain trace can map where your funds travelled and pinpoint the deposit addresses at centralised exchanges, but it cannot reveal the scammer's real identity directly or guarantee the recovery of stolen assets.
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Written by the Wallsec investigations team. General information only, not legal or financial advice.
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