Stronger Together Against Crypto Scams

Crypto scams remain a serious and growing issue. They cause not only financial damage, but also have a deep personal impact on victims. In many cases, people invest out of trust, sometimes putting in their entire life savings. What makes it even worse is that victims are later approached again, either by the same perpetrators or new ones, through an “asset recovery scam.” These so-called recovery scams promise to retrieve stolen crypto, but in reality, they are a second form of fraud. We previously published an article explaining this method in more detail (see the link below).

Filing a report with the police is, and always will be, a necessary first step for victims. It is also important to know that, in criminal proceedings, victims can join as a civil party. This allows the court to rule not only on the offender’s sentence, but also on possible financial compensation for the victim.

Still, a large number of cases are never investigated. This may be because the suspect is abroad and cannot be apprehended. As a result, many victims never receive compensation, even though that is often what they need most.

In such cases, a civil lawsuit can offer a solution. While criminal law focuses on identifying and prosecuting the offender, civil law is concerned with tracing, freezing, and potentially recovering stolen assets. These two legal paths can complement each other and increase the overall effectiveness of the response.

A civil procedure, combined with a police report and a professionally executed crypto tracing report, such as those provided by DataExpert, can lead to the freezing of crypto assets at exchanges. In some cases, it is even possible to recover these funds and return them to their rightful owner.

This approach does come with costs, including expenses for tracing, legal support, and court proceedings. We hope that, in the future, there will be more ways to make this route more accessible and affordable, for example through closer cooperation with legal expenses insurers and other partners in the chain.

Addressing crypto scams requires joint effort. The police and Public Prosecution Service are important, but so are banks, insurers, and crypto exchanges. While their legal responsibility may currently be limited, societal and ethical pressure is growing for them to better protect customers. Encouragingly, we are seeing a growing willingness to take responsibility:

• The police and the Public Prosecution Service are investing in crypto expertise;
• Insurers, in some cases, provide support through legal assistance;
• Exchanges strive to offer a secure platform and deliberately avoid any association with criminal activity.

Everyone is moving in the same direction. We share a common goal: to protect people from crypto scams. The real question now is whether we can, through closer cooperation, develop an approach that helps victims faster, more effectively, and more affordably.

Crime should not pay. Although international prosecution remains difficult, the civil route offers a hopeful alternative. In collaboration with Hupkes Advocaten, we have already achieved promising results.

Let’s work together to strengthen our response to crypto scams. If you have ideas, questions, or would like to contribute, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Want to read more about asset recovery scams? Click here.

Interested in collaborating with our crypto team, using our tracing services, or connecting with our network? Feel free to contact us at +31(0)683644172 or send an email to crypto@dataexpert.nl