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Stop and check before sending crypto
Urgency, secrecy, impersonation, and instructions to ignore warnings are reasons to stop. Verify the person, purpose, wallet destination, and payment details through a separate trusted channel.
Cryptocurrency payments need a deliberate pause
Worried this may be happening to you now? Use the “Am I being scammed?” check before sending more money, sharing information, or following another instruction.
A cryptocurrency transfer is usually difficult or impossible to reverse after the network confirms it. Scammers use that finality together with pressure, fear, trust, or confusion. They may impersonate a business, government office, bank, support worker, employer, seller, friend, relative, or romantic partner.
The scam often begins somewhere ordinary, such as a phone call, text message, social-media account, online advertisement, marketplace listing, email, or changed invoice. The cryptocurrency purchase is only the payment step.
Four questions guide this section
- What are the warning signs? Recognize pressure, secrecy, impersonation, suspicious links, and requests for wallet access.
- How can I verify a request? Contact the person or organization through a separate channel you already trust.
- What should I do after a scam? Stop further payments, preserve evidence, contact the services involved, secure accounts, and report quickly.
- Can I check a payment in one minute? Use the short checklist before buying or sending cryptocurrency for someone else.
Stop immediately if someone tells you to buy cryptocurrency to protect money, fix an account, pay a government agency, unlock a prize, accept a job, or recover money already lost.
A warning from a provider matters
A purchase provider, bank, card issuer, ATM, or wallet may interrupt a transaction with a fraud warning. Do not let another person explain the warning away. End the call or conversation, read the warning yourself, and contact the organization through its official website or a number you already know.
Someone who insists that you stay on the phone, keep the payment secret, or choose an inaccurate answer is controlling the process. Stop before paying.
Official references
The US Federal Trade Commission describes common cryptocurrency scam patterns and reporting routes. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lists urgency, impersonation, requests for account access, and cryptocurrency demands among common warning signs. Reporting options differ by country, so also use the official fraud-reporting service or police contact where you live.