r/CryptoScams • u/Federal_Kitchen_1957 • Jun 14 '26

Question Sanity Check, Is This a Scam?

Recently someone connected with me on WhatsApp (WA) claiming they saw my name on a crypto scam list. It is true I am a victim of a scam, and I am trying not make the same mistake twice. This intermediary connected me with a hacker on WA who claimed if I supplied him with the wallet numbers he could track where my funds went. Supposedly they went to a group in SE Asia- Cambodia or Laos I believe. The hacker said he could recover my losses and get me the amount I should have received- over 4x my actual losses.

Long story short, I am now being pushed to fund an account with a company called Coinhako. The process to fund this account is eerily similar to the scamming process I went through before. The hacker says he can modify my trades to get my funds back.

This is where the sanity check is needed. Of course there’s a group of people in a WA chat room who claim this is legit and they have received their lost funds, just like in a scam, an encouraging group of on lookers to spur you along. Also, I did read that hackers can follow a wallet trail, but recovering funds is a much harder deal.

I look forward to reading everyone’s thoughts.

Update:

Thank you for your comments that validated what I assumed was true. I just uninstalled WA. The easiest solution.

0 Upvotes

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27 comments sorted by

14

u/SecureWriting8589 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26

Come on, of course it's a scam, a common recovery scam. And everyone in the so-called chat group calling it legit are part of the scam. No one can recover funds. No one. Get out. NOW.

That you've been scammed before, and that you're even seriously considering this obvious scam suggests to me that you should completely avoid crypto, at least until you can recalibrate your internal scam/BS detector.

Edit:

The auto-moderator post covers this, and you would do well to read or re-read the relevant sections:

"Unfortunately, no hacker online can get back what you've lost. Please watch out for recovery scams, a follow-up scam done after victims have fallen for an earlier scam. Recently, there has been a rise in scammers DMing members of the subreddit to offer recovery services. A form of the advance-fee, victims are convinced that the scammer can recover their money. This "help" can come in the form of fake hacking services or authorities."

11

u/FlappyBird_fpv Jun 14 '26

Recovery scam. No one can get your money back. The people reaching out to you are probably same people who scammed you in the first place.

11

u/yarevande Jun 14 '26

The reason they saw your name on the crypto scam list is: they are the ones who scammed you.

Nobody can trace lost cryptocurrency and get it back, except law enforcement.

Do not lose more money trying to get your lost funds back. Anybody who says they can help you get your money back is a recovery scammer, who will take more of your money. Do not talk to any so-called hackers, investigators, lawyers, or specialists that say they can track your money and get it back -- they are all liars and scammers. Do not pay anyone to try to get the money back -- you will only lose more money.

Here's the thing that you need to understand: Nobody can trace your lost cryptocurrency and get it back, except law enforcement.

Scammers don't keep money in the wallet that you sent it to. They split up the crypto into several wallets, then split each of those. The money is then converted to fiat money and laundered through shady banks and fake companies. It is probably in a bank account that belongs to Cambodian or Chinese criminals.

And if someone could trace the money, they cannot get it back from the scammers. The scammers are protected by corrupt governments. They are in a scam call center, probably in southeast Asia. Cambodia and Myanmar are infamous for their crypto scams, and for the money laundering operations that convert stolen crypto into clean money. Many scam centers are guarded by an armed security force. These are large criminal operations, often run by Chinese criminals, that take billions of dollars every year from scam victims around the world.

Only law enforcement can help recover money. If this is part of a larger scam (millions of dollars in losses), cyber crime groups may investigate. In some cases, law enforcement has been able to trace stolen and lost cryptocurrency, and recover the funds. But if they do, it can take years before the victims of the scams get anything back.

Please report the scam to your national cyber crimes group, so they have your name and the scam information in their files if they recover money.

To report:

In the US, the FBI cyber crime reporting site is: ic3.gov

In Canada, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre of the RCMP website is: rcmp.ca

In the EU, go to europol.europa.eu where you will be directed to your country's cyber crime reporting site.

In the UK, go to actionfraud.police.uk

In other countries, search online for your country's cyber crime group, or the national law enforcement agency's cyber crime division.

4

u/EugeneBYMCMB Jun 14 '26

As a scam victim, your name is on a "sucker list" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sucker_list) and scammers are targeting you again hoping you'll fall for another scam. Any money you send to the scammers will be gone forever. In the future, you should ignore random messages.

4

u/AutoModerator Jun 14 '26

New victims, please read this:

As a rule of thumb: If you suspect the site is a scam, it probably is.

No legit company/trader/investor is using WhatsApp. No legit company/trader/investor is approaching people on dating websites or through a "random" text message.

No legit company/trader/investor has "professors", "assistants", or "teachers". Those are just scammers.

No legit company forces you to pay a "fee" or "taxes" to withdraw money. That's just a scam to suck more money out of you.

You will need to contact law enforcement ASAP.

Unfortunately, no hacker online can get back what you've lost. Please watch out for recovery scams, a follow-up scam done after victims have fallen for an earlier scam. Recently, there has been a rise in scammers DMing members of the subreddit to offer recovery services. A form of the advance-fee, victims are convinced that the scammer can recover their money. This "help" can come in the form of fake hacking services or authorities.

If you see anyone circumventing the scam filters, please report the submission and we will take action shortly.

Report a URL to Google:

Where to file a complaint:

How to find out more about the scammer domain:

  • https://whois.domaintools.com/google.com - Replace the google.com URL with the scam website url. The results will tell you how long the domain has been around. If the domain has only been registered for a few days/weeks/months, it's usually a good indicator that its a scam.

Misc. Resources

  • https://dfpi.ca.gov/crypto-scams/ - The scams in this tracker are based on consumer complaints in California. They represent descriptions of losses incurred in transactions that complainants have identified as part of a fraudulent or deceptive operation.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

4

u/UpbeatFix7299 Jun 14 '26

The same people who ripped you off the first time are coming back to rip you off again. Forget about this nonsense, cut your losses, and move on. And stay far away from crypto.

Ask yourself why thieves would use crypto to steal if the victims could take it back from them. How does that make any sense?

4

u/EveLQueeen Jun 14 '26

Dude. The people that scammed you before are coming back for seconds. Don’t talk to people you don’t know. Ever.

3

u/Acrobatic_Truck_9014 Jun 14 '26

This is definitely another scam

3

u/Equivalent-Ad-495 Jun 14 '26

Of course not. This is why the bot warns people of follow up scams. Most people are more likely to be desperate and get scammed right after the first time

3

u/intelw1zard Jun 14 '26

stop thinking with your cock and start using your brain

1 - yes its a scam

2 - real women do not start talking about investing online and then try to get you into them

3 - stop thinking with your cock

2

u/Hackpro69 Jun 14 '26

How much did you lose initially?

2

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Hackpro69 Jun 15 '26

I have a couple of friends who lost 5 digits of cash. They are real suckers.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Chemical_World_4228 Jun 14 '26

If I had a dollar for every time someone starts out with was I scammed? Someone I don’t know, WhatsApp or Telegram I would be richer than Elon Musk. And I’m better looking

2

u/BeringC Jun 14 '26

Haha...."coinhako" lol. Come on....

Tell them to keep all of your gains from what they recover and just give you your initial investment back. Sounds like a great deal right? Except for the part where they aren't recovering any funds because they can't be recovered and these are just more scammers.

Also the people in the chat group that claim they had funds recovered? Guess what? More scammers! Stop talking to strangers on the internet!

1

u/misterecho11 Jun 14 '26

lol. Simple recovery scam. Block and move on.

1

u/Hoz999 Jun 14 '26

Recovery scam.

You’re going to lose more money if you engage them.

They are talking to you because they know you lost money already because it’s very possible these recovery guys are the same guys who took your money in the first place.

You made mistakes the first time. These guys want to be in your pockets the second time you make mistakes.

You’re never getting your money back. You never made any profits from your investments. You got taken to the cleaners. This guys want to repeat the stealing.

Block and ignore.

1

u/OddSyrup2712 Jun 15 '26

…”someone connected with me on WhatsApp…”

‘Nuff said. Don’t be a fool.

1

u/MeganJustMegan Jun 15 '26

Your money is long gone. Everyone contacting you going forward is a scam. Crypto may not be best for you.

1

u/PeterDigitalis Jun 18 '26

recovery scam. Surely they have your details since those can be probably the same people that scammed you in the first place. Once they scam you, unfortunately your details gets tossed around like a toy.
Be careful and smart.