Crypto scams remain the top threat to investors by far. In 2019, over $4.2 billion worth of crypto was stolen from investors, users, and exchanges, according to the report made by CipherTrace.
Even in 2021, cryptocurrency made a lot of remarkable breakthroughs by reaching its all-time high of $65k. But let’s not forget that over $14 billion worth of crypto was stolen by scammers in 2020, according to blockchain data from Chainalysis.
With a boom in the cryptocurrency industry in the last couple of months – it’s no surprise that scammers will take notice of this opportunity for illegal activities. Think about it, scammers are known to always target booming investments. And the high-tech nature of crypto is an example of a booming investment to scammers.
Since the existence of crypto, a lot of investors have fallen prey to scammers and many people are still doing the same. Like any heist, it’s not all the time that the perpetrators make a clean getaway. If you have fallen prey to scammers and are wondering how to get your coins, it’s time to report the scam.
But how do you report crypto scams in 2022?
1. Contact your Wallet Provider
Immediately you notice that you’ve been scammed, you should contact your wallet provider. Report the transaction between you and the scammer. If possible provide them with additional information to support your claim. These will allow the wallet provider to create awareness about the scammer while trying to recover your coins.
2. Contact & Threaten the Scammer
Whenever your crypto gets stolen, the first thing you should do is contact the crypto platform where your coins were scammed from. Try persuading them to revert your stolen coins or you will take legal action against them by reporting their business to the financial authorities.
When using this method, there’s no guarantee that your coins will be reversed back from the crypto platform. However, it’s worth a try.
3. Report to Financial Authorities
Use every detail you have of the scammer who scammed you and reports it to the financial authorities in your state. You might not get your money back immediately, but once the scammer is caught, you will receive whatever was stolen back.
4. Seek Help from Professionals
You can also seek help from experts like detectives and investigators to help you catch the scammer with the information you have. Most of the time, using this method is very effective at the initial stage when you just lost your coins.
Also, you can try publicizing your story on online forums in hope that someone will recognize the scammer and help you get your coins back. Online forums like Quora, Reddit, and online bitcoin forums are the perfect place to start.
After following the above processes to report a Bitcoin scammer, you can also try reporting the bitcoin address. These will allow the Bitcoin community to take further steps in catching the scammer.
You can choose to report to the police, FBI, or through the official fraud platform in your state.
Here’s how you can do this:
Use a Bitcoin Report Address Page
On the Bitcoin report address page, you can view crypto scam reports. Go to: https://reportscammedbitcoin.com/ and enter the Bitcoin address of the scammer to submit a scam report. Also, add supporting evidence of the scammer in the form of screenshots before submitting.
If you happen to be wondering if a Bitcoin address is from a scammer, you can also enter a bitcoin address to search if someone has already reported it as a scam before.
Contact & Report to Law Enforcement Authorities Online
Reporting mechanisms for cyber-crimes vary from country to country. You just have to find the right law enforcement agency in your area to make a complaint.
Once you visit those websites, fill in the required information and carefully explain what happened. You will be presented with more tips to protect yourself while the report is shared with law enforcers to help with the investigation. If everything went according to plan, you might be able to get your lost coins back.
Note: Even by following all of the above processes, there’s no guarantee that your missing coin will be reverted to you. So, before you perform any crypto transaction, be sure that you are not dealing with a scammer. Use the report Bitcoin address page to check the recipient’s bitcoin address for a scam before transacting.
