Crypto recovery scams: why "we can get your money back" is the second scam

If you have just lost money to a crypto scam or a rug pull, the next message you get may be a second scam. Someone offers to get your money back: a "recovery firm", a lawyer, a "blockchain investigator", an "ethical hacker", even someone saying they are the police or the regulator. They ask for a fee, your ID, remote access to your device or your seed phrase. Then they disappear, or ask for more.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) calls these recovery room scams. It warns that the upfront fees "can result in losses that can be greater than the initial loss" (FCA). This guide explains how they work, the tells, and what real help in the UK looks like. It describes a pattern, not any one firm or person.

Why people who lost money are targeted

The people running recovery scams want victims who are upset, embarrassed and keen to believe there is a way back. Someone who has just lost savings is more likely to pay a "small" fee for a chance to recover a big sum.

They find you in a few ways:

Your own posts. Replies to a post on X, Reddit or Telegram that says "I got rugged" or "my wallet was drained" often arrive within minutes.
Lists of victims. The FCA says fraudsters who have scammed you may target you again or sell your details to other criminals (FCA). The original scammers may even run the recovery room themselves (FCA).
Search results and adverts. People who search "recover stolen crypto" find paid adverts and review sites that are run by the same people they advertise.

The four disguises

Fake recovery services

A website or account that says it specialises in "crypto asset recovery" or "fund tracing". It shows testimonials, a success rate and sometimes a UK address. The FCA warns that these websites "claim to have a UK presence when they don't" and make false claims about money they have recovered for others (FCA).

Fake lawyers and law firms

A "solicitor" or "law firm" says it is handling a group claim against the scammers, or has found your funds and needs fees to release them. The FCA lists "solicitor" fees as one of the usual disguises for the upfront charge. In the US, the FBI has warned that fictitious law firms target crypto scam victims and claim authority to investigate fund recovery (FBI IC3).

Fake police, regulators and government

A caller says they are from the police, Report Fraud, the FCA or a government department. They may say a suspect has been arrested with your details, or that your money has been found. The FCA warns that fraudsters impersonate it and claim to work with the government, police or other regulators (FCA). In 2026, the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit warned UK crypto holders about calls from bogus police officers, followed by a call from a fake "crypto company" that asked for the victim's seed phrase (ERSOU).

Fake blockchain investigators and "hackers"

Someone says they can "trace the blockchain", "hack the scammer's wallet" or "reverse the transaction". Tracing is real: anyone can follow a transaction on a public block explorer. Getting the money back is a different thing. A confirmed Solana transaction cannot be reversed, and nobody can hack it back for you. Anyone who offers to break into another wallet is offering to commit a crime, and has no reason to give you the money if they could.

Warning: The FCA says it would never suggest that you make payments to recover lost funds. Real police and regulators do not charge victims fees.

The tells

Any one of these is enough to stop.

They contacted you first. Being contacted out of the blue about money you lost is the first warning sign the FCA lists (FCA). Real police don't slide into your replies, and real law firms don't hunt for clients in Telegram comments.
They want money up front. A "registration fee", "tax", "release fee", "gas fee", "verification deposit" or "solicitor's fee" paid before anything comes back. Often there is a second fee, then a third.
They guarantee results. "We recovered 97% of client funds." Nobody can promise that.
They offer to hack the scammer. No legitimate service breaks into wallets.
They ask for your seed phrase, private key or remote access. Nobody needs these to trace a transaction. Whoever has your phrase owns your wallet. UK police warned in 2026 that they will never ask for your seed phrase (ERSOU).
They know about your loss but can't say how. The FCA notes that fraud reports are only shared between law enforcement agencies, so a stranger who "has your case file" is a red flag.
They use pressure. "The funds will be lost if you don't act today." Hurry is a tool.
They use a webmail address or a chat app. The FCA notes that recovery rooms generally use web-based email such as Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail.
They want payment in crypto or gift cards. The FBI lists both as red flags in its updated warning (FBI IC3).

Genuine recovery is rare

Crypto sent on a blockchain cannot be pulled back by your bank, by us or by a "recovery expert". Money only comes back in a few narrow cases:

A bank or card payment you made into the scam. If you paid a scammer by bank transfer, your bank may be able to help, and some victims are reimbursed. UK Finance reported that in 2025, 48% of investment scam losses and 67% of romance scam losses were returned to victims (UK Finance). That money comes back through your own bank, at no fee, not through a recovery firm.
Funds frozen during a police investigation. Since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, police can apply to a court to freeze crypto held with a UK-connected crypto firm. That happens through a police investigation, not through a private firm you pay.
Criminal proceedings. Courts can sometimes order compensation after a conviction. That takes years and is never something you buy.

For a memecoin rug pull, where you swapped your own SOL for a coin that collapsed, there is usually no payment to reverse. Our read: anyone promising to get rugged memecoin money back should be treated as a scam until proven otherwise.

Where real help is in the UK

All of these are free.

Who	What they do	How to reach them
Report Fraud (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)	The national fraud and cyber crime reporting service, which replaced Action Fraud in December 2025	reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040
Police Scotland	Takes fraud reports in Scotland	101, or 999 in an emergency
Your bank or card provider	Can try to stop or recover a payment you made from your account	The number on the back of your card, or 159
FCA	Check a firm on the Firm Checker and the Warning List, and report a scam firm	fca.org.uk or 0800 111 6768
Citizens Advice	Free advice and can pass scam reports to Trading Standards	0808 223 1133 (England), 0808 223 1144 (Welsh speakers)
Advice Direct Scotland	Consumer advice and scam reporting in Scotland	consumeradvice.scot or 0808 164 6000
Consumerline (Northern Ireland)	Consumer advice and scam reporting in Northern Ireland	0300 123 6262

A few notes:

Action Fraud is now Report Fraud. City of London Police switched the national service over on 4 December 2025, with the same phone number. If someone sends you to an "Action Fraud" link today, check the address carefully.
159 connects you to your own bank's fraud line if your bank takes part in the scheme run by Stop Scams UK. It is a short number, so scammers can't easily fake it on caller ID (Stop Scams UK).
The FCA's ScamSmart pages now sit under Protect yourself from scams. The Warning List names firms the FCA knows are operating without permission. A firm missing from the Warning List can still be a scam.
To check a firm, look it up on the FCA Firm Checker and only contact it using the details listed there, never the phone number or link the caller gave you. The FCA warns that clone firms copy the names and reference numbers of real ones (FCA).

If a "recovery" contact has already got in touch

Stop replying. You don't owe them an explanation.
Pay nothing more. Not a fee, not a tax, not a "final release" charge.
Never share your seed phrase, private key or screen. If you already did, treat that wallet as lost: make a new wallet with a new phrase on a device you trust and move what is left. Our wallet safety guide covers this.
If you paid by bank transfer or card, call your bank straight away.
Report it to Report Fraud (or Police Scotland) as a separate fraud, and to the FCA if the contact used the name of a firm.
Keep everything: messages, email addresses, phone numbers, website addresses and transaction IDs.

What to do after a rug pull instead

Our Rugged? What to do now page walks through the first hour and the first week: securing your wallet, writing down the facts, reporting it and the tax side. This guide is information, not financial advice.

Not financial advice. This guide explains how things work. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold anything. Memecoins are extremely high risk and most go to zero.