We will never ask you to pay to release, unlock or recover funds

Artemis-Tracing will never ask you to pay a fee, tax, deposit, "gas" payment, verification charge or any other amount to release, unlock, convert, withdraw or recover funds or tokens. If anyone asks you to pay for any of these things, whether they say they act for Artemis-Tracing or for anyone else, stop and do not pay.

What a recovery scam is

A recovery scam targets people who have already lost money. The scammer contacts the victim, or waits to be found online, and claims to be able to get the money back. They may present themselves as an investigator, a lawyer, a regulator, a police unit, an exchange, a blockchain "compliance" service or a hacker. They then ask for money in advance. Once paid, they ask for more, or they disappear.

How counterfeit tokens are used

A counterfeit token can appear in your wallet with a familiar name such as "Tether USD" and a large balance. It is not USDT or USDC and it cannot be exchanged for either of them. Counterfeit tokens are used to:

• make it look as though you have been paid, for example in a trade or a sale, when you have not;
• persuade you that you hold funds that are "frozen" or "locked" and that a fee is needed to release them;
• lead you to a website that asks you to connect your wallet or approve a contract, which can then be used to take your genuine assets.

Warning signs

• Someone asks for payment before anything can be released, unlocked or withdrawn.
• You are told to pay a "tax", an "anti-money-laundering fee", a "verification deposit", a "gas fee" or an "activation fee".
• Someone guarantees that you will get your money back, or says they have already traced and frozen it.
• Someone you did not contact first approaches you through social media, a messaging app or email and offers recovery.
• You are asked for your seed phrase or private key, or for remote access to your device.
• You are put under time pressure or told to keep the matter secret.
• Someone claims to act for, or to be endorsed by, a police force, regulator, court, exchange or Artemis-Tracing, and this cannot be confirmed through that organisation's own official contact details.

How to check that you are dealing with us

We contact people only after they have first contacted us through this website. The register is published only at https://fraudsupport.co.uk and our contact email is TO CONFIRM: contact email on the site domain. If you receive a message that claims to come from Artemis-Tracing, check it by writing to us at that address.

We will never ask you for your seed phrase or private key, and we will never ask you to install remote access software.

What we do not do

Artemis-Tracing does not hold, freeze, release or transfer funds, and cannot do so. No one can make a counterfeit token valuable. We do not promise or predict that any money will be recovered.

If you choose to instruct any professional, including a lawyer, the scope of the work and the fees must be agreed in writing before any work begins. A legitimate professional fee is never a payment to release, unlock or withdraw funds.

If you have already paid someone

Stop any further payments. Report what happened to the police or your national fraud reporting service, to Chainabuse, and to your bank or the exchange you used to pay. Keep all messages and transaction records. See What to do for more detail.