Recovery scams are one of the most cynical forms of fraud. They specifically target people who have already lost money to a scam, offering to recover their funds — for a fee. In many cases, the recovery scammers are part of the same network that defrauded the victim in the first place, or they have purchased lists of victims from other criminal groups.

How Recovery Scams Work

The approach is usually unsolicited. You may receive a phone call, email, social media message or even a text message from someone claiming to represent a "recovery firm," a "cyber investigation unit" or a "blockchain recovery specialist." They will often know details about your original scam — the amount you lost, the platform involved, sometimes even the dates — which makes them seem credible. In reality, this information was either shared by the original scammers or found through your own social media posts about the experience.

The supposed recovery process always involves an upfront payment. It might be described as a legal fee, a processing charge, a tax payment to release the recovered funds, or a fee to access the blockchain. None of these are legitimate. No legitimate investigation or recovery service guarantees the return of stolen funds, and none requires an advance payment to begin the process.

Red Flags of a Recovery Scam

Recovery scams share a consistent set of characteristics:

  • Unsolicited contact — they reached out to you, not the other way around
  • Guarantees of recovery — no legitimate firm can guarantee the return of stolen funds
  • Upfront fees — requests for payment before any work is done
  • Pressure to act quickly — claims that funds will be lost if you do not pay immediately
  • Requests for remote access to your device or your banking credentials
  • Communication only through messaging apps, with no verifiable business address or registration
  • They claim to have already located your funds and just need a fee to release them

How CTL Analysis Is Different

CTL Analysis does not recover funds. We are an intelligence analysis company that produces structured reports based on open-source intelligence, blockchain forensics and digital infrastructure analysis. Our reports are designed to support your case — whether you take it to law enforcement, a solicitor or your bank's fraud department. We charge a transparent, fixed fee for our analytical work, and we never promise the return of money. We do not make unsolicited contact, and we never ask for your banking credentials, passwords or remote device access.

Key takeaway: If someone contacts you out of the blue promising to recover money you lost to a scam, it is almost certainly another scam. Legitimate firms do not guarantee fund recovery, and they never require upfront payments to "release" your money.

If you have been approached by a suspected recovery scam, report it to CTL Analysis. We can assess whether the contact is fraudulent and advise you on next steps.