Lost crypto to a scam? What to do and who to tell in Canada

In the first hour

Crypto transactions usually can’t be reversed once confirmed on a blockchain. What you do quickly is about limiting further loss and preserving evidence, not undoing the transfer.

1. Stop sending. Don’t send more crypto or money for any reason, including “fees”, “taxes” or “verification” to get your funds back.
2. Cut contact. Stop replying to the scammer. Don’t delete the conversation; you need it as evidence.
3. Secure what’s left. If your seed phrase or private key may be exposed, set up a new wallet with a new seed phrase on a device you trust, and move any remaining funds there.
4. Revoke approvals. If you signed something on a suspicious website, revoke the token approvals you gave. Our wallet approvals guide shows how.
5. Call your bank. If you paid by e-Transfer, wire, card or another bank payment, tell your bank or card issuer immediately.
6. Tell the platform. If funds left from, or went to, a crypto platform, contact its support through the official website or app, not through a link someone sent you.
7. Start a written timeline. Note what happened, when, and with whom, while it’s fresh.

Who to report to

Report to more than one place. Each has a different job, and together they give the best chance of a response and of protecting others.

Start with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre’s report fraud and cybercrime page. To check whether a platform was registered, or to find investor alerts, use the CSA’s Are They Registered tool.

Be honest with yourself about outcomes. Reporting does not guarantee your money comes back. It does create a record, help investigators link cases, and can stop the same scam from reaching someone else.

See the full infographic with notes.

Evidence to keep

Investigators, platforms and banks all work from specifics. Save these in one folder, with copies off the device that may be compromised.

• Transaction hashes (IDs) for every transfer, with the network each was on.
• Wallet addresses: yours and every address you sent to.
• Amounts, assets, dates and times, including your time zone.
• Messages: screenshots and exports of chats, emails and texts, showing usernames, phone numbers and email addresses.
• Web addresses of any sites or apps involved, plus screenshots of what they showed you.
• Payment records: bank statements, e-Transfer confirmations and platform account statements.
• Names used by the people you dealt with, and any profiles or groups where you met them.

Beware recovery scams

After a loss, many people are contacted by someone who says they can get the crypto back: a “recovery agent”, a “blockchain investigator”, a “lawyer”, or someone claiming to be from a government agency or the police.

Recovery scammers often know details of your case, because victim lists are shared and sold, or because they ran the original scam. Knowing your details does not make them legitimate. If you are unsure, hang up and call the agency on a number you find yourself.

Protecting yourself afterwards

Once the urgent steps are done, take a little time to close the gaps that let the scam happen.

• Use a fresh wallet and seed phrase if the old one was ever exposed, and store the new phrase offline. See seed phrase security.
• Turn on stronger sign-in protection for your email and any platform accounts.
• Before using any platform, check it on the CSA lists, as described in check a platform.
• Learn the common patterns in DeFi scams in Canada and use our scam red flags tool.
• Tell people you trust. Scams often spread through family, friends and community groups.

Records and tax after a loss

Keep your evidence folder with your tax records. The CRA expects crypto records, including dates, amounts and wallet addresses, to be kept for at least six years.

The CRA crypto pages we checked on 2026-10-30 do not specifically address how losses from theft or fraud are treated. If you have lost a significant amount, ask a qualified tax professional before you file, and bring your evidence log.

Our scam response checklist puts all of these steps on one page you can work through.

Your checklist

• Stop sending money or crypto, including any “release” fees.
• Secure remaining funds in a new wallet if your seed phrase may be exposed.
• Revoke suspicious token approvals.
• Report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and local police, and get a file number.
• Contact your bank and any platform involved through official channels.
• Save transaction hashes, addresses, messages and payment records.
• Ignore anyone who offers to recover your crypto for a fee.

Sources and dates

• Report fraud and cybercrime — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centrereference
  No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-31. How Canadians report fraud and cybercrime, including crypto scams.
• Investment scams — Canadian Anti-Fraud Centrereference
  No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-31. Warning signs of investment and crypto investment scams.
• Are they registered? (National Registration Search) — Canadian Securities Administratorsreference
  Page date 2026-01-13 · checked 2026-10-30. Check registration, disciplinary history and investor alerts.
• Investor tools — crypto assets — Canadian Securities Administratorsreference
  Page date 2025-10-22 · checked 2026-10-30. Crypto assets can be very volatile and risky; you could lose some or all of your funds.
• Crypto platforms: regulation and enforcement actions — Canadian Securities Administratorsin force
  Page date 2025-10-22 · checked 2026-10-30. Platforms serving Canadians, including foreign ones, must register; operating platforms sign a pre-registration undertaking while under review.
• Keeping books and records of crypto-assets for tax filing — Canada Revenue Agencyin force
  Page date 2025-11-10 · checked 2026-10-30. What to record per transaction, wallet addresses, yearly balances; export platform history; keep records at least six years.
• Ethereum security and scam prevention — ethereum.orgreference
  No date shown on page · checked 2026-10-31. Wallet security habits and common scams.