You have lost crypto to a scam, and you are in the United Kingdom. The next few days matter more than the next few weeks.
Information, not advice
This page is information, not legal advice about your matter. A retainer begins only when a lawyer confirms it.
Start here
Report it today, and keep everything
Transaction IDs, wallet addresses, every message, and the exchange you sent from. Report to Action Fraud and to the exchange that received the funds on the same day. Anyone promising to recover your money for an upfront fee is running a second scam.
What to work through, in order
Reporting, and what each channel actually does
Action Fraud creates the national record, the receiving exchange may freeze on early contact, and in some authorised push payment cases the sending bank carries reimbursement obligations.
Tracing and the realistic odds
English courts have developed proprietary injunctions, Bankers Trust disclosure orders and service by alternative means for crypto fraud, which makes the jurisdiction comparatively favourable. Recovery still depends on funds reaching an identifiable, reachable holder.
Costs, and whether it is worth pursuing
The loser normally pays a share of the winner’s costs, which raises both the upside and the downside. After-the-event insurance and funding exist for larger claims but rarely for small ones.
Recovery scams
Anyone who contacts you promising to recover your funds for an upfront fee is running a second scam against the same victim. No legitimate firm guarantees recovery, and no legitimate firm asks for payment in crypto to start.
Next steps
What happens if you go ahead
Scoping call
Written scope and fixed-fee quote
Engagement, once a lawyer confirms
Who would handle it
Offices
London
25 Southampton Buildings, London WC2A 1AL