What to do after a crypto trading group scam
If you lost funds to a fraudulent trading group, cut contact immediately, preserve all message records, and report the incident to UK authorities. An onchain investigation can map where your funds travelled to help support formal crime reports.
- These frauds usually begin in private messaging channels where administrators post fabricated profit screenshots and instruct members to deposit cryptocurrency onto an unvetted platform to copy trades executed by an alleged expert.
- A major warning sign is being told that guaranteed returns require upgrading your membership tier, or discovering that the trading platform demands further deposits to release your original balance once you request a withdrawal.
- Stop sending funds immediately, decline any demands for administrative fees or account unfreezing charges, and leave the group without alerting the organisers that you realise you have been defrauded.
- Export the full chat history, save screenshots of user profiles and platform deposit pages, and record every transaction hash alongside the exact receiving wallet addresses to which you transferred your digital assets.
- Report the fraud to Action Fraud or Police Scotland if you live in Scotland, and inform your bank if any initial payments originated from your debit card, credit card, or current account.
- An onchain trace can follow your cryptocurrency across intermediate wallets to identify the destination services that received it, but it cannot automatically freeze stolen assets or reveal real-world identities without law enforcement intervention.
Read next
Written by the Wallsec investigations team. General information only, not legal or financial advice.
Need a case reviewed?
Tell us what happened and we will say honestly whether the onchain data supports a trace.