How to avoid getting scammed by a fake recovery service?

Many asset recovery services you come across online are fraudulent. Beware of fake recovery services who pretend to be lawyers or hackers. They will guarantee a successful recovery without any payment and then demand hidden fees in cryptocurrency later on using various excuses. Please refrain from exposing your case data to such individuals to preserve your case's privacy and recovery odds.

We understand that you may be in touch with several service providers at the same time to find the best option for you. If any of the following apply to the service contacting you, they are a scam:

• Unrealistic recovery timelines: Due to the complex nature of cross-border asset recovery, recovering your assets within the same day or the week is virtually impossible and is a common lie used by fake recovery services to instill a sense of urgency.
• A price that's too good to be true: If the price quoted for their services is too good to be true especially considering your loss amount, complexity of your case, and the age of the scam, it's highly likely a fraudulent service.
• Requiring payment in cryptocurrency or wire transfers to foreign countries: No legitimate asset recovery service will accept payment in cryptocurrency, ask the client to purchase or exchange USD to cryptocurrency, or instruct to make wire transfers to bank accounts based in foreign countries.
• Promising a guaranteed recovery: This is the clearest way to spot a fake recovery service. The result depends on where the funds went, so no one can promise it in advance. The FBI has, in the past, taken action against companies promising a guaranteed recovery.
• Discussing hacking: "Recovery" through hacking is one of the most common recovery scams. Real recovery works through banks, exchanges and law enforcement, so steer clear of anyone offering to hack funds back.
• No case assessment process: To understand the potential costs and preliminary recovery odds of a case, it's important and necessary to assess and verify the losses upfront. If a service quotes you a price and/or confirms they "recovered" your funds in a suspiciously short timeline without significant case assessment, they are a recovery scam.
• Hiring without a contract or a badly made one: If your service provider agrees to work on your case without a contract or with a contract that looks off, it's a scam. Asset recovery is a sensitive process, and both the client and the service provider require significant legal protection and a detailed legal agreement to outline their responsibilities and the scope of work.
• Poor grammar or unnatural English: Recovery means constant, clear communication with banks, exchanges and law enforcement in the U.S. and abroad, so a genuine firm writes clearly and professionally.
• Lack of case studies and/or technical evidence of past asset recoveries: All established service providers would have case studies, client testimonials, and independently verifiable technical evidence showing that successful recoveries and asset freezes have been made as a result of their services and investigations.

Van Orton offers the holistic approach you need for crypto scam investigations. Beyond analyzing cryptocurrency transactions, we leverage open-source intelligence and blockchain cash-out patterns to uncover how criminals launder stolen funds. We then use this information to identify real-world assets and the identities of scammers, increasing your odds of recovery. If you'd like to learn more, feel free to get in touch with our team.