Recovery scams. You paid someone to recover your funds, and now that money is gone too.
Review of an original cryptocurrency loss and later payments to a supposed recovery provider, with in-house blockchain investigation where relevant.
A second scam after the first loss
After a cryptocurrency loss, someone offered to recover your funds. They said the money had been located and asked for a fee to release it. After you paid, another demand followed, or the contact disappeared. The original loss and the later payments both deserve review.
Confidential Case Review
Tell us what happened.
We will review your information and follow up with next steps.
The review is free and confidential, and you speak with the attorney. Any further work and fees are addressed separately.
Do not send passwords, seed phrases, private keys, or authentication codes. No attorney-client relationship is created by submitting an inquiry.
The firm reviews matters involving losses of $75,000 or more. State the original loss and recovery-service payments separately.
For general inquiries: info@ambarbara.com
Verify the person and the work offered
People seeking help after a loss may encounter contacts describing themselves as recovery specialists, investigators, government agents, or lawyers. Some promise access to money they do not control or use purported taxes and legal costs to request further payments.
The FTC warns about refund and recovery scams, and the FBI warns about fictitious law firms targeting cryptocurrency victims. A professional title, report, or reference to a government agency is not enough to verify the person contacting you.
Check a lawyer’s identity and current license through the relevant official bar directory. Contact the firm using details obtained independently; a real lawyer’s name can be impersonated. Ask for a written explanation of the proposed work, fees, and limitations. A fee for defined professional work is different from a claim that payment will unlock money already located. Advance payment alone does not establish legitimacy or fraud.
How the firm can help
The review considers both events, any deadlines, and the records available. Where relevant, in-house blockchain analysis supports the legal assessment. Further work may involve investigating recipients, seeking preservation of records, evaluating claims, or preparing a report to the appropriate authority.
The firm explains the scope of any proposed engagement and its fees. Reviewing both histories does not mean every issue will be covered by the same engagement or require the same work.
For the original cryptocurrency loss, read about the firm’s crypto fraud and asset recovery practice.
Keep the two payment histories separate
Prepare one chronology for the original loss and another for the recovery service. Include the provider’s name, how contact began, what was promised, any agreement or report, and how each payment was made. Keep receipts, messages, account details, and wallet addresses.
Do not assume the two events involved the same people. Comparing the records may reveal a connection, but the later payment can also present separate factual and legal questions. Bank transfers and cryptocurrency transfers may require different investigative steps.
Practical limits
A recent payment is not necessarily recoverable, and identifying an account does not establish that it still holds funds. Legal rights, available evidence, jurisdiction, and the practical cost of proceeding all affect the assessment. Neither a tracing report nor the decision to take a matter guarantees a recovery.