Recovery / Refund Scams
The cruelest category — scammers target people who have already been scammed, promising to recover their losses for an upfront fee. It never works. Victims of investment and romance scams are re-victimized at very high rates.
How it worksThe anatomy of the scam
Every case follows roughly the same playbook. Recognize the pattern, stop it early.
1. The contact
You get a call or email from a 'recovery agent', 'asset recovery firm', or 'blockchain forensics company'.
2. They know details about your loss
Because scammers sell victim lists to each other. It sounds legitimate.
3. The retainer fee
Payment required upfront — for 'court fees', 'legal filings', or 'blockchain tracing'.
4. The escalation
More fees appear: taxes on the 'recovered' amount, transfer charges, compliance deposits.
5. Nothing is recovered
No money comes back. The 'agent' ghosts. You've lost twice.
Warning signsRed flags to watch for
If you're seeing two or more of these, assume it's a scam until proven otherwise.
Unsolicited 'good news'
You didn't hire them — they found you.
Any upfront fee
Real law firms work on contingency or charge by the hour with clear invoices.
Claims of government connections
'We work with the FBI/IRS/FTC' — they don't.
Crypto recovery by magic
Almost all crypto scams are unrecoverable. 'Blockchain tracing' doesn't reverse transactions.
Protect yourselfDo this. Not that.
✓ Do
Report the original scam to IC3, FTC, and local police. These are the only real recovery paths.
✗ Don't
Never pay upfront fees to recover scam losses.
✓ Do
If you need legal help, hire a bar-certified lawyer you found yourself.
✗ Don't
Don't trust 'refund checks' that arrive unexpectedly — they're almost always fake-check scams.
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