Is This Crypto Recovery Lawyer Real? How to Check

After a crypto scam, many victims are contacted by a “law firm”, “crypto attorney” or “recovery agency” offering to get their money back. Some of these are fake firms, or real firms’ names being impersonated, run by the same kind of criminals. This checklist shows how to tell the difference before you pay anyone.

Red flags the FBI warns about

In an August 2025 warning about fictitious law firms targeting crypto scam victims, the FBI listed these signs:

Claims to be an official partner of US or foreign government agencies. The FBI says “there are no law firms which are officially authorized partners of US Government agencies.”
References to government bodies that don’t exist, such as an “International Financial Trading Commission”.
Knowing the exact amounts and dates of your earlier losses and where you sent the money.
Saying you’re on a government list of scam victims who can recover money through “legal channels”.
Asking for payment in crypto or gift cards, or to a third-party “trading company”.
Saying your funds are at a foreign bank and asking you to open an account there.
Moving you into a WhatsApp or other group chat for supposed secrecy and safety.
Refusing to show a license, appear on camera or hold a video meeting.
Fake documents using a real law firm’s name, logo or letterhead.

How to check a lawyer or firm yourself

Look the lawyer up with the licensing agency (usually the state bar) in the state where they say they’re licensed. The American Bar Association keeps a directory of state licensing lookups.
Contact the firm through details you find yourself, such as the bar listing or the firm’s own website, not the phone number, email or chat link they gave you. Scammers impersonate real lawyers.
Ask for video verification and a photo of their law license, as the FBI suggests, and for verification of employment from anyone claiming to work for the government or law enforcement.
Search the name together with words like “complaint”, “scam” or “review”, as the FTC recommends.
Keep records of every name, number, document and payment request.

What legitimate help looks like

You can verify the lawyer’s license, and you reached the firm through contact details you found independently.
They give you a written engagement agreement that explains their fees before any work starts.
They don’t guarantee recovery, claim government partnership, or ask for your seed phrase or passwords.
They never ask you to pay a “release fee”, “tax” or “processing charge” to receive money that has supposedly already been recovered. The FTC says: “Never pay upfront for a refund or help with a refund.”

Be most careful when someone contacted you first. The FTC warns: “Don’t trust someone who contacts you claiming they can recover your lost money for a fee.”

If you already paid a fake lawyer or recovery firm

Stop paying and stop contact, however urgent they make it sound. The FBI says IC3 “will never ask for payment to recover lost funds.”
Report it to the FBI at ic3.gov. Say it was a recovery scam and include details of the original scam. Also report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
If the scammers used a real lawyer’s name, tell the real firm and that state’s bar.
Contact your bank or the exchange you paid from right away. See crypto recovery scams for the full steps.

Checking a recovery lawyer or firm: common questions

Is there such a thing as a legitimate crypto recovery law firm?

There are real attorneys who handle crypto fraud cases, and you can verify them through your state bar. But no firm is an official partner of the US government, and no one can guarantee to get your crypto back. Unsolicited offers of “recovery” for an upfront fee are a classic sign of a recovery scam, according to the FTC.

They knew exactly how much I lost and when. Doesn’t that prove they’re real?

No. The FBI lists knowing the exact amounts and dates of earlier losses as a red flag, and the FTC warns that recovery scammers buy lists of people who have already been scammed. Knowing your details proves nothing.

They say I’m on a government list of scam victims. Is that real?

No. The FBI specifically warns about fake firms claiming victims are on a government-affiliated list and can recover money through “legal channels.”

They want me to open an account at a foreign bank to receive my funds. Should I?

No. The FBI names this as one of the tactics fake firms use. Stop contact and report it.

Can a legitimate lawyer charge me a fee?

A lawyer you find and hire yourself charges for their work under a written agreement you can review before you pay. But according to the FTC, anyone who contacts you offering to recover money for an upfront fee is a scammer, and no real lawyer or government agency charges you to release money they say has already been recovered.

Request a case review

This guide is general information, not legal advice. ChainWatch is a blockchain-forensics firm, not a law firm, and does not guarantee fund recovery.

Sources

The information on this page was checked against the sources listed on September 29, 2026. Laws, agency guidance, company policies and contact details change, so please verify the current information with the original source before you act.