How to Report a Crypto Scam in the US, UK, EU and Beyond

How to report a crypto scam in the US, UK and EU: which agency to use, what evidence to gather and how to total your loss. Details checked September 2026.

Reporting a scam feels pointless when the money is already gone. It isn’t. A report creates an official record you can show your exchange or bank, and it gives investigators wallet addresses and websites they can link to other cases.

This guide covers the order of operations, the evidence that makes a report useful, and where to file in the US, the UK, the EU and elsewhere. Agency names, web addresses and phone numbers were checked as of September 2026. Services do get renamed, so confirm on the official site before you file.

What should you do first, before reporting?

The first hour matters more than the paperwork. If a scammer still has access to your wallet or accounts, secure those before anything else; our guide to what to do if your crypto wallet is compromised covers that triage.

Contacting the exchange or bank early is worth the effort. The FTC notes that cryptocurrency payments typically are not reversible, but if the money is still moving through a regulated platform, that platform may be able to flag or hold funds linked to the scam.

Build your evidence file

A report is only as useful as the details in it. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) asks crypto victims for:

• the cryptocurrency addresses involved;
• the amounts and types of cryptocurrency;
• the transaction hashes (the unique IDs of each transfer);
• the dates and times of each transaction;
• how you met the scammer and which platforms you used to talk;
• any website domains, phone numbers or other identifiers.

Screenshot the whole conversation, including usernames and profile pages, before the scammer deletes anything. Copy addresses and hashes as text rather than retyping them; one wrong character makes a hash useless. You can find each hash in your wallet’s transaction history or on a block explorer.

Worked example: totaling your loss

Agencies ask what you lost, and scattered transfers make that surprisingly hard to answer. Here is a hypothetical log for a fake trading platform, with each transfer valued at the time it was sent.

The math:

1. Value sent: $1,500 + $1,000 + $1,200 + $500 = $4,200.00.
2. Costs of buying the crypto (a 1% exchange fee): $4,200 × 1% = $42.00.
3. Network fees for the four transfers: $1.20 + $0.80 + $3.50 + $1.20 = $6.70.
4. Total out of pocket: $4,200 + $42 + $6.70 = $4,248.70.
5. Minus the $150 “test withdrawal” the scammer allowed early on: net loss $4,098.70.

Report both the crypto amounts and the local-currency values, and note where each price came from. In your real log, add two more columns for the transaction hash and the receiving address.

Tip: Keep one master document with the log, a timeline and your report reference numbers. You will be asked for the same details by the exchange, the bank and the police, and consistent answers help.

Where to report a crypto scam

File where you live, even if the scammer appears to be abroad. This table summarizes the main channels; the sections below add detail.

United States

The FTC’s crypto scam guidance lists five places to report: the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at CFTC.gov/complaint, the Securities and Exchange Commission at sec.gov/tcr, the FBI’s IC3 at ic3.gov, and the crypto exchange you used to send the money. A sensible default is to file with the FTC and IC3, then add the SEC or CFTC when the scam posed as an investment or trading platform.

If you are 60 or older, the National Elder Fraud Hotline (833-372-8311) can help you file with IC3.

United Kingdom

If you knew the UK service as Action Fraud, note the change. Report Fraud replaced Action Fraud on 4 December 2025 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a full public launch in January 2026. Report online at reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

In Scotland, the City of London Police says victims should continue to call Police Scotland on 101. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) also takes scam reports on 0800 111 6768, and its Warning List of unauthorised firms is worth checking before you deal with any platform.

European Union

There is no single EU-wide victim portal. Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, points victims to their own country: its “Report cybercrime online” page links to the national reporting websites of member states that have one. Where a country has no dedicated online option, Europol advises going to your local police station to file a complaint.

If the platform claimed to be licensed, tell your national financial regulator too, and check its official register rather than the platform’s own claims.

Everywhere else

Start with your national police or cybercrime unit, then your financial regulator and the exchange or payment provider you used. Use only official government websites and phone numbers you find yourself, not ones sent to you in a message.

What reporting can and cannot do

Set realistic expectations. The FTC says that once you pay with cryptocurrency, you can usually only get your money back if the person you paid sends it back. The FCA states plainly that it cannot help you get your money back, although it uses reports to protect others.

That gap is exactly what recovery scammers exploit. After a report, you may be contacted by “investigators,” “blockchain lawyers” or even fake agency staff promising to trace your funds for a fee. The IC3 warns: “Be wary of cryptocurrency recovery services, especially those charging an up-front fee.” Treat any request for an upfront fee as a red flag, even when the caller claims to be from an agency, because scammers often impersonate officials and brands to make the pitch convincing. Our guide to crypto recovery scams explains the pattern.

If you are not sure whether what happened was a scam, compare it against the 12 red flags of a crypto scam. Relationship-based schemes such as pig butchering and wallet-draining sites described in how crypto drainers steal funds are both worth reporting even if your loss was small.

The bottom line

Secure your accounts, alert your exchange or bank, then file with the right national service: the FTC and IC3 in the US, Report Fraud or Police Scotland in the UK, and your national police in the EU. A precise evidence log with addresses, hashes, dates and values makes every report more useful. Treat anyone who asks for a fee to recover your crypto as the next scam.

This content is for education only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money. Examples use hypothetical numbers. See our disclaimer and editorial policy.