Scam type
Cryptocurrency Scams
Cryptocurrency fraud takes many forms — exchanges that exist only as a website, 'trading platforms' built around long-running relationship scams, malicious token approvals that empty a wallet in a single transaction, and giveaways that promise to double whatever you send. What they share is a destination: crypto moved to addresses controlled by the fraudster.
It is important to be honest about what comes next. Confirmed blockchain transactions cannot be reversed by anyone — not by ChargeBack, not by a bank, and not by the network itself. What can be done is to document how the crypto was purchased and where it moved, report promptly to the police and any exchanges involved, and examine whether the payments you made to buy the crypto have their own dispute routes. ChargeBack helps with the assessment, tracing documentation, and preparation of those reports.
The pattern
How this scam typically works
The setup
Contact arrives through social media, dating apps, messaging groups, or search adverts for an 'exchange'. Pig-butchering operations invest weeks in friendly or romantic conversation before money is ever mentioned; fake exchanges simply look like the real thing, sometimes imitating well-known brands.
The first deposit
You are guided to buy cryptocurrency through a genuine exchange, then transfer it to the platform's deposit address or connect your wallet to their site. Fabricated dashboards show early gains, and a small test withdrawal may even succeed to build confidence.
The drain
Deposits are escalated through 'exclusive opportunities', margin calls, or emotional pressure. In wallet-draining variants, signing a single malicious approval or transaction gives the fraudster's contract permission to move your tokens without any further action from you.
The lockout
Withdrawals are refused pending 'taxes', 'verification fees', or 'unlocking charges' that never end. Eventually the site goes offline, the contact vanishes, and the crypto has already been split across many addresses and moved through mixers or other exchanges.
Warning signs
- An online contact you have never met steers the conversation towards crypto trading
- A platform promises guaranteed or unusually consistent trading profits
- You are told to move crypto off a regulated exchange to an unfamiliar platform or address
- Withdrawals require paying a tax, fee, or deposit before your own funds are 'released'
- A website or pop-up asks you to enter a seed phrase or sign an approval you do not understand
- A celebrity or company 'giveaway' promises to return more crypto than you send
What to do right now
- Stop sending funds immediately, including any 'withdrawal fees' or 'taxes' — these are part of the scam, and paying them does not release anything.
- If a wallet may be compromised or you signed an unknown approval, move remaining assets to a fresh wallet with a new seed phrase and revoke outstanding token approvals.
- Report the fraud to your local police or national fraud-reporting service and keep the reference number.
- Notify any legitimate exchange you used to buy or send the crypto — exchanges can flag destination addresses and may restrict linked accounts on their platform.
- Preserve all records before sites disappear: transaction hashes, wallet addresses, screenshots, chat histories, and the platform's web addresses.
Evidence worth collecting
- Transaction hashes (TXIDs) and the wallet addresses you sent funds to
- Records from the legitimate exchange where you bought the crypto, including deposits and withdrawals
- Bank and card statements showing how the crypto purchases were funded
- Screenshots of the fake platform, dashboards, balances, and any deposit instructions
- All chat, email, and social-media conversations with the people involved
- The website addresses, app names, and social-media profiles used by the fraudsters
- Police or fraud-service reference numbers you already have
How ChargeBack can help
- Assess your case and set realistic expectations about what each channel can and cannot achieve
- Trace the on-chain movement of your funds and document the path in a clear written report — tracing shows where crypto went, it does not bring it back
- Organise transaction hashes, statements, and communications into a coherent case file
- Identify which of your payments — such as card purchases of crypto — may have their own dispute or complaint routes
- Prepare written summaries suited to your bank, the police, exchanges, or an independent lawyer
We assess and document; banks, payment providers, and authorities decide outcomes. No recovery can be guaranteed by anyone.
Possible channels
Dispute and reporting channels that may apply
Which channels are realistic depends on how you paid, where the money went, and how quickly the incident was reported.
Police and fraud-reporting services
An official report is the essential first step for crypto fraud. Law enforcement is the only party with powers to compel exchanges to act, and your report may connect to wider investigations of the same addresses.
The exchange where you bought the crypto
Legitimate exchanges accept fraud reports, can flag the destination addresses you identify, and may act on accounts that received the funds on their own platform. They cannot reverse confirmed blockchain transactions.
Card dispute or bank fraud report
If you funded the purchases by card or bank transfer, tell your issuer or bank you were defrauded and ask what applies to your situation. Outcomes vary because you typically did receive the crypto you paid for, but early, well-documented reporting matters.
Financial regulator
Reporting the fake platform to your national financial regulator can lead to public warnings that protect others, and creates an official record of the entity involved.
In Canada
Where to report and complain in Canada
The official routes for someone who lives in Canada. Report quickly, and keep the file numbers you are given — every one of these bodies works from the evidence you hold.
Your local police
Report the fraud to your local police service — or to the RCMP where it polices your area — and ask for a file or occurrence number. Banks and exchanges often ask for it, and it belongs at the front of your evidence.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
Report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre as well, online or by telephone on 1-888-495-8501. The CAFC asks for reports even from people who have already gone to the police, and from witnesses as well as victims, because it is how patterns across Canada are found.
Your bank or card issuer — straight away
Use the number on the back of your card or on your bank's own website, never one given to you by the person or site involved. Ask the bank to stop further payments and to try to recall or dispute the money, and make a formal complaint. Note the date you complained: it starts the clock for the next step.
If your bank says no: OBSI
The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments is the free, independent complaints body that every federally regulated bank in Canada must belong to. You can take your complaint to OBSI once 56 days have passed since you first complained to the bank, or sooner if the bank has already given you its final response. Once you have that final response in writing, you have 180 calendar days. Credit unions and caisses populaires are regulated by their province and have their own routes — ask yours which applies.
Interac e-Transfers and wire transfers
A payment you sent yourself is harder to dispute than a card payment, so speed matters most here. Ask your bank at once to contact the receiving bank and try to hold or recall the money. An Interac e-Transfer that has not yet been deposited may still be cancelled — ask your bank immediately.
Investment, trading, and crypto platforms
Check whether a firm or a crypto trading platform is registered with Canadian securities regulators using the National Registration Search, and report one that is not — or that took your money — to your provincial or territorial securities regulator. Unregistered platforms may lack the protections registered ones must offer. OBSI also handles complaints about many registered investment firms.
General information from each body's published guidance, not advice on Canadian law. Confirm deadlines with the body concerned.
FAQ
Common questions
Start here
Start with a free, confidential consultation.
Tell us what happened. We will review the information and explain whether our services are relevant — and, if you choose to proceed, exactly what any investigation would involve and cost.