Crypto Asset Recovery Scams

The pitch is engineered to sound plausible to someone still reeling from a loss. The firm claims to run proprietary tools — 'blockchain reversal software', a 'private mempool bridge', a 'smart-contract clawback engine' — that can locate stolen coins and pull them back to your wallet. All they need is a one-time licence fee to activate the software on your specific case.

None of that technology exists. The Bitcoin and Ethereum networks are, by design, append-only ledgers. Once a transaction is confirmed, no software — proprietary or otherwise — can move those coins without the private key of the current holder. That is the entire point of a blockchain.

The scam usually runs in three stages. First, an activation or licence fee of $200–$2,000 in crypto. Second, once paid, a 'compliance' or 'gas' fee needed to execute the recovery. Third, a 'tax' or 'insurance' payment demanded before the recovered funds can be released to you. Nothing is ever recovered. The victim either gives up, or is bled until they realise.

AvexBridges is a documented example currently active in 2026. The site markets itself as a crypto-recovery specialist with a proprietary 'bridge' capable of recovering Bitcoin and Ethereum lost to prior scams. Victims are told they must purchase a one-time-use software licence upfront. A representative operating under the name 'Matthew' cold-calls victims from +1 (646) 337 5284.

Every element matches the template: cold outreach to prior scam victims, a fictional proprietary tool, an upfront fee in crypto, follow-up fees for 'activation' and 'gas', and no recovery. If you have been contacted by AvexBridges or a firm that mirrors this pattern, treat it as a scam.

1. They contacted you first — by phone, Telegram, WhatsApp, or email.
2. They claim proprietary or one-time-use blockchain 'reversal' software.
3. They ask for payment in cryptocurrency — often the same coin you lost.
4. Fees escalate: activation, gas, compliance, release, tax.
5. They ask for your wallet seed phrase, private key, or exchange login.
6. The domain was registered within the last 12 months (check WHOIS).
7. The firm is not listed on any financial regulator's authorised register.
8. Testimonials are on the site only — no independent trace on Reddit or Trustpilot.

Law enforcement seizure. The FBI, UK's NCA, Europol and the Australian AFP have all executed on-chain seizures — but only when they control the destination wallet's private keys, usually via an arrest or an exchange with KYC records.

Exchange freezes. If stolen coins move into a KYC'd account at Binance, Coinbase, Kraken or a similar exchange, a subpoena or court order can freeze and return them. File a report and let investigators trace, do not pay a middleman.

Civil action. If the counterparty is identifiable (a company, a bank account), a solicitor can pursue recovery through the courts. This is slow, expensive, and only viable for large losses — but it is real.

Notice what is not on this list: any private firm you found via a Google ad, a Telegram DM, or a phone call. See our fictitious law firm recovery scam explainer for the closely related variant that impersonates lawyers and regulators.

Do not pay. Do not share keys or logins. Screenshot every message and preserve the URL. Report the firm to your national fraud agency — IC3 (US), Action Fraud (UK), Scamwatch (AU), Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre — and to the original exchange or wallet where you lost funds. Then run the recovery firm's website through Scam AI. It returns a colour-coded verdict in about fifteen seconds, free, no signup. If the verdict is red, you have your answer.