I was scammed or lost funds
Cryptocurrency scams target people of all experience levels, including professionals in finance and technology. You are not alone, and being here is the right first step.
Secure your remaining assets
If you interacted with a scammer or suspect your wallet is compromised, take these steps immediately:
- Move remaining funds to a new, secure wallet that the scammer does not have access to
- Revoke token approvals. Scammers often trick you into approving unlimited token spending. Revoking these permissions prevents further draining of your wallet
- Change passwords on any exchange accounts that may be linked
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on all crypto-related accounts
How to revoke token approvals
When you interact with a dapp or smart contract, you may have granted it permission to spend your tokens. If a scammer tricked you into approving a malicious contract, they can continue draining your tokens even after the initial scam.
Use these tools to check and revoke approvals:
- Revoke.cash (opens in a new tab): connect your wallet to see all active approvals and revoke them
- Revokescout (opens in a new tab): check and revoke approvals via Blockscout
- Etherscan Token Approval Checker (opens in a new tab): check and revoke approvals via Etherscan
Report scam addresses and websites
Reporting helps warn other users and may assist law enforcement investigations. Document everything: transaction hashes, wallet addresses, screenshots, and any communication with the scammer.
Report a scam address
- Chainabuse (opens in a new tab): community-driven scam and fraud reporting database. Submit reports and search for known scam addresses
- Etherscan report (opens in a new tab): flag an address on the most-used Ethereum block explorer
- CryptoScamDB (opens in a new tab): open-source database tracking cryptocurrency scams
Report a scam website or social media account
- PhishTank (opens in a new tab): submit and verify phishing URLs
- Google Safe Browsing (opens in a new tab): report phishing sites to Google so they get blocked in Chrome and other browsers
- Netcraft (opens in a new tab): report malicious and fraudulent websites
- Report directly on the social media platform where the scam occurred (Twitter/X, Discord, Telegram all have reporting features)
Report to law enforcement
- United States: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (opens in a new tab)
- United Kingdom: Action Fraud (opens in a new tab)
- European Union: Europol (opens in a new tab)
- Other countries: file a report with your local police. Cryptocurrency fraud is a crime in most jurisdictions
Analyze what happened
Understanding where your funds went can help with reports and may support recovery efforts if the funds land on a centralized exchange.
- Blockscout (opens in a new tab): open-source block explorer to look up any transaction hash or wallet address to see where funds were sent
- Etherscan (opens in a new tab): look up any transaction hash or wallet address to see where funds were sent
- Chainabuse lookup (opens in a new tab): check if an address has already been reported by other victims
- MetaSleuth (opens in a new tab) by BlockSec: visual transaction tracing tool that maps fund flows
If funds were sent to a centralized exchange (like Coinbase, Binance, Kraken), contact their support team immediately with the transaction details. Exchanges can sometimes freeze accounts flagged for fraud.
The hard truth
Because Ethereum is decentralized, no central authority can reverse transactions or recover stolen funds. Once a transaction is confirmed on the blockchain, it is final.
Reporting is still valuable. Reports help law enforcement track organized fraud rings, and flagging addresses on Chainabuse and Etherscan warns future potential victims.
Types of scams to watch for
Scammers create fake giveaways promising to multiply your ETH or give you free tokens. They often impersonate well-known figures like Vitalik Buterin. If you send ETH to a "giveaway" address, you will not receive anything back.
Remember: Vitalik and other prominent figures will never ask you to send them ETH.
Scammers impersonate Ethereum team members, moderators, or support agents on Discord, Telegram, and social media. They may send you direct messages offering help or claiming there is a problem with your account.
Remember:
- There is no "Ethereum support team"
- Real moderators will never DM you first
- Never share your seed phrase or private keys with anyone, for any reason
- Never click links sent in unsolicited messages
Recovery scams specifically target people who have already lost funds. Scammers monitor social media for people talking about being scammed, then reach out posing as "blockchain investigators" or "crypto recovery experts."
They promise to trace and recover your stolen crypto for an upfront fee. After you pay, they disappear.
No legitimate service can reverse blockchain transactions. Anyone promising this is lying. This is one of the most common follow-up scams.
Phishing sites look identical to real wallet apps, exchanges, or DeFi platforms. They trick you into entering your seed phrase or connecting your wallet, then drain your funds.
Protect yourself:
- Always verify the URL before connecting your wallet
- Bookmark the official sites you use regularly
- Never enter your seed phrase on any website. Legitimate apps never ask for it
- Use PhishTank (opens in a new tab) to check suspicious URLs
Page last update: April 3, 2026
