How do I protect myself from cryptocurrency scams?
Verify any crypto platform with your financial regulator before depositing, never invest based on advice from an online contact, and remember that crypto transactions are irreversible.
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
Explanation
Cryptocurrency scams range from fake exchanges and rug pulls to romance-based investment fraud and fake mining platforms. What makes crypto uniquely dangerous is that transactions are permanent and pseudonymous — there is no bank fraud team to call and no chargeback mechanism. Prevention is essentially the only option.
Only use crypto exchanges and platforms that are registered with your country's financial regulator. In the US, crypto exchanges handling securities must register with the SEC or CFTC depending on the asset type. In the UK, crypto businesses must register with the FCA for anti-money-laundering purposes. Check the regulator's register before depositing. Platforms promising unusually high returns, locked staking rewards, or guaranteed trading profits are almost universally fraudulent.
Be extremely cautious about any platform introduced by someone you met online — a new friend, a romantic interest, or a social media contact. Pig-butchering scams involve cultivating a relationship and then introducing a fraudulent trading or investment platform. These platforms display false balance growth to encourage larger deposits; when you try to withdraw, you are told you need to pay fees or taxes first, and neither payment nor balance is ever returned.
For legitimate crypto activities: use hardware wallets for significant holdings, never share your seed phrase with anyone under any circumstance, verify smart contract addresses from multiple official sources before interacting with them, and be deeply sceptical of NFT minting events and new token launches promoted aggressively on social media.
Common red flags
- Platform not listed on your financial regulator's register
- Guaranteed returns or unusually consistent profits with no losing periods
- Platform introduced by a new online contact, especially a romantic one
- Withdrawal requests met with requests for additional fees or taxes before release
- Pressure to recruit others to earn commissions
- Unsolicited DM promising free crypto or access to an exclusive trading group
- Any request to share your seed phrase, private key, or wallet recovery phrase
What to do now
- Check any crypto platform against your financial regulator's register before depositing
- Never share your seed phrase or private keys with anyone
- Use only exchanges and wallets you reached through official sources, not links in DMs
- Be sceptical of any investment platform introduced by someone you met online
- Report suspected crypto scams to the FTC, FBI IC3, and your country's financial regulator
- Visit /recovery if you have already lost money to see what options exist
Frequently asked questions
Can I recover stolen cryptocurrency?
Crypto transactions on the blockchain are permanent and cannot be reversed by any central authority. Some law enforcement agencies have seized and partially returned funds in large cases, but individual recovery is rare. Speed of reporting to IC3 and your exchange gives the best chance of any intervention.
What is a rug pull?
A rug pull is when developers of a new crypto token or project collect investor funds and then abandon the project and drain the liquidity pool, leaving token holders with worthless assets. They are common in DeFi (decentralised finance) and NFT launches.
Is crypto itself a scam?
No — cryptocurrency is a legitimate technology, but it attracts a disproportionate number of scams because of irreversibility, pseudonymity, and the technical complexity that many investors do not fully understand. Apply the same scepticism you would to any high-risk investment.