Five Crypto Scams We See Every Week — and the Tells That Give Each One Away
Across the files on our desk, the same five plays come up again and again. The amounts change, the names change, the country changes — the mechanics do not. Here is how each one works, the single detail that gives it away, and a real case from our records where we put a number on the recovery.
Most people who contact us did not miss a glaring red flag. They missed a small one, under pressure, while a stranger was rushing them. Scams are engineered to look ordinary right up until the money is gone. The fastest protection is recognising the pattern early — and if it is already too late, knowing that what you do in the first 72 hours sets the ceiling on how much comes back.
Every recovery figure below is real and links to the full case file. We publish the low results as plainly as the strong ones, because the honest range — not a marketing promise — is what tells you whether a recovery practice is worth trusting.
01 The fake-CFD “withdrawal fee” trap
How it starts. A polished trading platform shows your account growing. A small test withdrawal works. Then, when you try to take real money out, a “tax,” “clearance,” or “insurance” fee blocks the way.
The tell. You are asked to pay money in before you can take money out. Real platforms deduct fees from your balance — they never demand an up-front payment to release funds.
02 The crypto “task” or commission job
How it starts. You are recruited over a chat app for flexible remote work: complete simple tasks for commission. A tiny first payout is real. Then “merged” or “combination” tasks demand ever-larger crypto top-ups.
The tell. A job that requires you to deposit money to keep earning. Wages that only grow on screen and freeze the moment you try to withdraw.
03 The NFT mint / wallet drainer
How it starts. A hyped NFT “mint” with a countdown asks you to connect your wallet and approve a transaction. The signature is not a purchase — it is a blanket approval that lets a contract sweep your assets.
The tell. A signature request for “setApprovalForAll” or unlimited token access during a mint. Your assets vanish in a sweep you did not individually authorise.
04 The Telegram pump-and-dump
How it starts. A “VIP signals” group posts screenshots of huge, fast gains and tells you to deposit through one specific “partner” platform to join the next coordinated buy. You buy at the signal; the token collapses seconds later.
The tell. A group that needs you to be the buyer at the top. Guaranteed “signals,” one mandatory partner platform, and a token that spikes and crashes within minutes.
05 The SIM-swap account takeover
How it starts. You suddenly lose mobile signal. An attacker has convinced your carrier to port your number, intercepts your SMS two-factor codes, resets your exchange logins, and empties your accounts.
The tell. Loss of phone signal with no explanation, security emails about changes you did not make, and reliance on text-message codes for two-factor authentication on crypto accounts.
All eight investigations, with the full method, our step-by-step log, and the exact recovery on each, live in one place.
Read the Steven Storch case files →□ The first 72 hours
If you think you are in one of these patterns right now, this is the order that matters:
- Stop sending money. No “tax,” “unlock,” or “release” fee will free funds that do not exist.
- Save everything — platform name, wallet addresses, transaction IDs, and every message and screenshot.
- If a wallet was drained, revoke approvals and move remaining assets to a new wallet immediately.
- If your phone or accounts were taken over, lock every account and replace SMS codes with an authenticator app.
- Report the scam and get the chain traced before the funds are laundered — speed is the single biggest lever on the outcome.
Get your case in front of an investigator
Bring us the platform name, the wallet addresses, and the messages. We will tell you honestly what is reachable — and we charge no up-front fee to find out.
Request a Case Review →Visit StevenStorch.com