Recovery Scams That Demand Wire Transfers
How recovery scammers — posing as fraud investigators or lawyers — use wire transfer requests to defraud people who have already lost money to a previous scam.
Part of: Recovery Scams
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Recovery scams target people who have already been defrauded, offering to retrieve lost funds for an upfront fee. Demanding payment by wire transfer is a deliberate choice: it is fast, largely irreversible, and can be directed to overseas accounts that are quickly emptied.
Victims are often in a vulnerable state after a prior loss and are more susceptible to a convincing authority figure — a fake lawyer, government investigator, or blockchain recovery specialist — who presents a plausible story about how funds can be traced and returned.
How this scam works on Wire Transfer
Victims of prior fraud are often found through public scam-reporting forums, social media groups for fraud survivors, or data sold between scam operations. The recovery scammer contacts the victim directly, demonstrating knowledge of the original scam (obtained from these sources) to appear credible.
The pitch involves paying a wire transfer fee — described as a legal retainer, a government processing fee, or a compliance deposit — to initiate the recovery process. After the wire is sent, the scammer may request additional fees for invented complications before disappearing. Because wire transfers are the same method used in many original scams, victims are doubly harmed.
Common red flags
- Unsolicited contact from someone who knows details of your prior scam
- Promise to recover lost funds in exchange for an upfront wire transfer fee
- Government agency or law enforcement body that demands a fee to release recovered funds
- Lawyer or recovery firm with no verifiable bar registration or company registration
- Recovery process that requires wiring money to a foreign account
- Additional fees demanded after the initial wire, each with a new justification
How to protect yourself
- Know that legitimate law enforcement agencies and regulated lawyers do not demand upfront wire fees to release recovered funds
- Verify any recovery firm through your country's lawyer registration authority and company registry
- Search the company name combined with 'scam' or 'review' before engaging
- Contact your original fraud agency report handler — they can advise on legitimate recovery processes
- Never wire money to someone who contacted you first offering to recover your losses
How to report it
- Report the recovery scammer to the same agency where you reported the original fraud
- File a separate report with IC3 (US), Action Fraud (UK), or your national cybercrime agency
- Alert the recovery firm's claimed professional body (bar association, etc.) if applicable
Frequently asked questions
Someone contacted me claiming they can recover money I lost to a previous scam, but wants a wire transfer fee first — is this legitimate?
No — this is almost always a second scam targeting people who've already lost money once, since legitimate fund recovery (through law enforcement, banks, or licensed asset-recovery attorneys) doesn't require you to wire an upfront fee to a stranger who contacted you unsolicited. Genuine recovery efforts, when possible at all, work through your bank, police, or regulators — not a paid intermediary who found you.
How can I tell if a "recovery agent" or "lawyer" contacting me about my scam loss is real?
Be suspicious of anyone who reaches out to you first (rather than you seeking them out), asks for payment before doing any work, or claims special access to frozen funds or a "government recovery fund." Verify any lawyer's credentials independently through your local bar association, and never wire money based solely on their own claims about their identity or authority.
I already wired a "recovery fee" — should I report this as a separate incident from my original scam?
Yes — report it as its own fraud incident to your bank and to your fraud reporting agency, providing details of both the recovery scammer's contact information and the original scam, since these are typically run by different (or coordinated) operators and each report helps build the full picture for investigators.
Do legitimate asset recovery services exist?
Yes — regulated solicitors and licensed tracing agents do offer recovery services, but they operate within the legal system and typically work on contingency or with transparent upfront billing reviewed by a bar association. They will not ask you to wire money to an overseas account. Always verify registration independently before paying any fee.