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08-17-2025
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5 min.
🎯 5 Signs You’re Dealing with Crypto Scammers
Save this — it might come in handy for you or your loved ones. All examples are from real AML Crypto investigation cases.
1️⃣ “Your funds are frozen. To unlock them, send another payment of XXX USDT.”
2️⃣ “You need to verify the origin of your funds through Service X.”
3️⃣ “You need to pay a tax to receive the transfer.”
4️⃣ “You receive an ‘official document’ from government agencies, regulators, or a blockchain with instructions to unlock your wallet.”
5️⃣ “Increase your deposit to ‘comply with the platform’s rules.’”
2️⃣ “You need to verify the origin of your funds through Service X.”
3️⃣ “You need to pay a tax to receive the transfer.”
4️⃣ “You receive an ‘official document’ from government agencies, regulators, or a blockchain with instructions to unlock your wallet.”
5️⃣ “Increase your deposit to ‘comply with the platform’s rules.’”
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1️⃣ “Your funds are frozen. To unlock them, send another payment of XXX USDT.”
Phrases like “send the same amount,” “you need to deposit X to activate,” or “pay the commission” are classic scam tactics.
No legitimate service — whether it’s a wallet, exchange, swap platform, or investment site — will ever require extra payments to unlock your assets, even if there’s a problem with the transaction.
No legitimate service — whether it’s a wallet, exchange, swap platform, or investment site — will ever require extra payments to unlock your assets, even if there’s a problem with the transaction.
- 🔴 Every such payment isn’t a step toward a solution — it’s just another loss.⚠️ This is a psychological trap: since you’ve already invested, scammers know it’s easier to convince you to send more by promising that “this time it will definitely work.”
2️⃣ “You need to verify the origin of your funds through Service X.”
Phrases like “check your assets for taint,” “use AML Service A,” or “confirm the source of funds by following this link” are common scam tactics.
- ⚠️ No reputable exchange, swap service, or platform sends customers to third-party sites to verify funds themselves.They run such checks internally using trusted solutions like AML Crypto, Chainalysis, Elliptic, Crystal Blockchain, Merkle Science, and others — but they never ask the client to personally verify anything or register anywhere.
🔒 The biggest danger is connecting your wallet to these so-called “recommended AML sites.”
By authorizing through MetaMask or a similar wallet, you may unknowingly grant full control over your assets — including the ability to create and confirm transactions on your behalf.
👉 If you do authorize with your wallet, always carefully review the permissions the site is requesting. A request to approve or sign without a clear explanation is a major red flag. Granting such access can allow scammers to drain your wallet entirely.
By authorizing through MetaMask or a similar wallet, you may unknowingly grant full control over your assets — including the ability to create and confirm transactions on your behalf.
👉 If you do authorize with your wallet, always carefully review the permissions the site is requesting. A request to approve or sign without a clear explanation is a major red flag. Granting such access can allow scammers to drain your wallet entirely.
3️⃣ “You need to pay a tax to receive the transfer.”
Phrases like “you must pay a tax to complete the transfer” are a common scam tactic.
💰 Scammers claim that without paying this “tax” you won’t be able to receive the funds, often promising to return the money after the “withdrawal.” This is a lie — their only goal is to extract as much money from you as possible.
📄 To appear legitimate, fraudsters often use forged documents:
⚠️ Be especially suspicious if the “tax” must be paid in cryptocurrency — this is almost certainly a scam.
💰 Scammers claim that without paying this “tax” you won’t be able to receive the funds, often promising to return the money after the “withdrawal.” This is a lie — their only goal is to extract as much money from you as possible.
📄 To appear legitimate, fraudsters often use forged documents:
- fake government forms and “notifications” with coats of arms, seals, and signatures;
- fraudulent websites designed to look like official tax authority or regulator portals.
⚠️ Be especially suspicious if the “tax” must be paid in cryptocurrency — this is almost certainly a scam.
- 📌 Important to knowIn most countries, cryptocurrency taxes are paid directly to your country’s tax authority, not through exchanges or intermediaries.
4️⃣ “You receive an ‘official document’ from government agencies, regulators, or a blockchain with instructions to unlock your wallet.”
Phrases like “Your transaction has been frozen by the blockchain AML team” or “An insurance deposit is required for verification” are frequently used in scam schemes.
- 📄 What you might receive:
- an “official document” allegedly from government agencies, regulators, or the “blockchain” with wallet-unlocking instructions;
- fake letters supposedly from SEC, FinCEN, Rosfinmonitoring, or other regulators;
- notifications pretending to be from crypto wallet or exchange security teams;
- forged documents from “AML providers” or the so-called “blockchain as a system.”
- ⚠️ Remember:
- Blockchain is a technology, not an organization. It does not freeze transactions, send notifications, or request payments;
- Crypto wallets and exchanges do not forward messages on behalf of OFAC, SEC, FinCEN, etc.;
- Regulators do not contact people via messengers and never ask for cryptocurrency transfers.
5️⃣ “Increase your deposit to ‘comply with the platform’s rules.’”
No legitimate platform will ever require you to top up your balance in order to access funds that already belong to you.
- 💬 Common scam phrases:
- “You need to top up to meet the minimum limit.”
- “Your account is inactive due to insufficient funds.”
- “To unlock, add XXX USDT.”
Scammers create the illusion that you’re “almost there” — you just need to pay a little more.
To boost credibility, they may even “offer to lend” you the missing amount — claiming they’ll deposit it for you and then deduct it later. This is a trap.
- ⚠️ Remember:
- No one needs you to ‘add more’ to return your own money;
- Legitimate services never make ‘loan’ offers like this;
- Topping up a deposit is never a condition for withdrawing funds.
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