To educate people about possible methods to retrieve their funds
If you have fallen victim to bitcoin investment fraud, there is no guarantee that you will get your money back.
However it is still worth the effort to undertake the following steps to see how far you can get – perhaps the stars will align and you will find favour ?
No matter what anyone else tells you, take the time to follow this method because in some cases the information may actually be of benefit, while in other cases it may not work at all. Give it a go.
First, you will need to have filled in an appropriate report with your local authorities. This will become the point of reference for you to discuss your situation with a bank or credit card company. Then it’s time to talk with your bank.
Call Your Bank or Credit Card Company Immediately
You may feel a little uncomfortable doing this if there is a lot of shame involved, but we insist that you contact your bank or credit card company to report the fraud. If you paid cash through bank transfer or via credit card to the crypto exchanges, and then passed it onto a bitcoin exchange, then this is your starting point.
You will need to provide:
- the amount of transfer
- the date and time
- to whom it was sent
- why you were told to convert to bitcoin in order to participate in the “investment offer”
- the reason why it is considered to be fraud
Your bank or credit card company will take some time to investigate. And they won’t promise any return of funds at this point.
What we are looking for here is the bank to provide you with a chargeback for the fraud offence.
What most people are led to believe is that if you first convert your cash (or fiat currency) into bitcoin, and then transfer that to the “investment” scam, that the banks would have no interest in dealing with you. This is often misquoted by services like police, or is simply assumed that your stuck in the situation that you are in. However this is not necessarily the case, and here we can call the banks our friends because they can take the necessary steps to investigate the flow of money and provide a decision as to whether or not they will pursue the issue on your behalf.
THEREFORE: It is imperative that you contact your bank or credit card company as soon as you can, once you know that you have been defrauded.
There is a time limit to work to, which can range from 60 to 120 days from the date of the transaction. Once that time limit is up, it will be nigh impossible to retrieve your funds.
So act quickly !
If this doesn’t work out, then the next step that you may want to consider is to engage the services of a private investigator who can take further actions on your behalf. Be aware that there are usually up front fees involved, and they may not be able to help you retrieve funds in some instances.