Use the reporting channel that matches the conduct you suspect: the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) for cyber-enabled cryptocurrency crime, an FBI tip for suspected public corruption, FinCEN’s whistleblower process for potential Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) or specified sanctions violations, and the IRS for tax-law violations. If someone faces immediate danger, call 911 or local police.
You do not need a complete blockchain investigation or proof of a crime before reporting. Submit the facts you have, preserve the original records, distinguish what you personally observed from assumptions, and do not pay anyone who promises to recover cryptocurrency for an upfront fee.
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Choose the reporting route that fits the suspected conduct
These channels are not interchangeable. The right destination depends on whether the central issue is a cyber-enabled theft or scam, public corruption, money laundering or sanctions evasion, or a tax violation.
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| What you suspect | Primary U.S. route | What the channel is for | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cryptocurrency scam, hacking, extortion, or another cyber-enabled crime | FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3); you can also contact your local FBI field office | Reports about online crime involving cryptocurrency | IC3 accepts a complaint even when no financial loss occurred. |
| Suspected public corruption | FBI tip or FBI contact route listed by the Department of Justice | Information about bribery, misuse of public office, or related fraud | Explain the public official, government function, conduct, and evidence you know. |
| Potential money laundering, BSA violations, or specified sanctions-related violations | FinCEN’s “Submitting a Tip” process | Tips concerning potential violations within FinCEN’s whistleblower program | Review the program’s current definitions, eligibility rules, and submission instructions. This is not a replacement for a victim’s IC3 complaint. |
| Tax-law violations | IRS tax-fraud reporting guidance | Unreported income, false returns, or other violations of tax law | The IRS says suspected cryptocurrency or other money laundering and wire fraud should be routed to FinCEN. |
| Immediate physical danger | 911 or local police | Emergency response | Do not wait for an online complaint process. |
The U.S. agencies do not publish one mandatory sequence for every fact pattern. A person who lost money may file an IC3 complaint and notify the exchange, bank, or other financial institution involved. A witness to corruption may submit an FBI tip. Someone with specific information about a possible BSA violation can review FinCEN’s whistleblower process. Select the route based on what you know, and use more than one channel when the facts genuinely involve different jurisdictions or offenses.
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If you were targeted by a cryptocurrency scam
1. Stop sending money
End payments, deposits, “taxes,” unlock fees, and requests to move funds to a new wallet. The FBI’s cryptocurrency-investment-fraud guidance tells victims to stop sending money and report promptly.
2. Preserve evidence before accounts disappear
Save messages, emails, invoices, screenshots, call details, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, exchange statements, and the dates and amounts of every transfer. Keep the original files and export copies where possible. Do not alter, crop, or annotate the only copy of a record.
3. Submit an IC3 complaint promptly
Use the IC3 complaint form. Include the full timeline and identify every service, website, app, account, and person involved. The FBI says to report even if you are unsure whether a transaction detail matters: “If you are unsure whether transaction information you have is relevant, please include it.” — FBI, FBI Guidance for Cryptocurrency Scam Victims, August 24, 2023.
4. Notify the exchange, bank, or payment service
Contact the institution that handled a deposit, withdrawal, card payment, wire, or account takeover. Give it the transaction identifiers and ask what fraud or account-security steps are available. Reporting does not guarantee a reversal; cryptocurrency transfers may be difficult or impossible to undo.
5. Do not tip off the suspected criminals
For an active investment scam, avoid telling the suspected operators that you contacted the FBI or IC3. The FBI warns that alerting them could compromise an investigation. Preserve communications instead of arguing with the person or trying to conduct your own confrontation.
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Reporting suspected public corruption
Public corruption can involve a public official, government employee, contractor, or intermediary using a public position for an improper benefit. Cryptocurrency may be the payment method, a concealment mechanism, or simply one part of a broader bribery or fraud scheme.
Use the DOJ’s Report a Crime or Submit a Complaint page to reach an FBI tip route. The DOJ Criminal Division also provides a Report Fraud page. Describe:
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- What government decision, contract, permit, inspection, investigation, or service was affected.
- What was requested, offered, paid, or concealed, and when it happened.
- Which wallet addresses, exchanges, banks, intermediaries, or digital accounts appear connected.
- What you personally saw or received, versus information supplied by someone else or an inference you drew.
Do not label an allegation as proven. A clear account of observable facts is more useful than a conclusion unsupported by dates, records, or firsthand knowledge.
Reporting potential money laundering, BSA, or sanctions violations
FinCEN’s Submitting a Tip page describes a whistleblower process for information about potential violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and specified sanctions-related violations. Read the current instructions carefully before submitting. The page, rather than a general crypto complaint form, controls questions about eligibility, required information, confidentiality, and any possible award.
Useful information can include the financial institution or money-services business involved, account or customer identifiers, dates, amounts, transaction patterns, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, counterparties, and the reason the activity appears designed to disguise ownership or source of funds. Explain the conduct in chronological order and identify records that support each important point.
FinCEN’s process is not a substitute for an IC3 report when you were the victim of a cyber-enabled theft or scam. A single set of facts may justify separate reports because the agencies have different remits. Do not assume that filing with one agency automatically forwards your information to every other agency.
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When the suspected conduct is a tax violation
Use the IRS guidance at Report tax fraud, a scam or law violation for suspected false returns, hidden income, fraudulent deductions, or other tax-law violations. Include the taxpayer or business identity, tax years, transactions, and records you lawfully possess.
The IRS specifically directs suspected cryptocurrency or other money laundering and wire fraud to FinCEN. That distinction matters: send the tax issue to the IRS, and send a money-laundering or wire-fraud concern to the channel identified by the IRS and FinCEN guidance rather than treating every crypto allegation as an IRS matter.
If someone is in immediate danger
Call 911 or local police for threats, violence, kidnapping, coercion, or another emergency. Online forms are not emergency dispatch systems. After the immediate risk is addressed, preserve evidence and use the appropriate federal reporting route.
Prepare a concise, usable evidence package
Agencies do not require you to complete a forensic blockchain analysis before filing. The FBI says to submit a report even when you lack transaction information. Start with what you know and state what is missing.
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Build a timeline
- Write the date and time of the first contact and how contact began.
- List each request, promise, payment, transfer, account change, or threat in order.
- Record the asset type, amount, currency, sending and receiving service, and transaction date for every transfer.
- Note when you realized the conduct might be fraudulent, corrupt, or intended to launder funds.
- Identify every report or notification already made, including the institution, date, and reference number.
Collect identifiers
- Cryptocurrency wallet addresses and the blockchain or network, if known.
- Transaction hash or transaction ID for each transfer.
- Names, aliases, usernames, email addresses, phone numbers, domains, websites, apps, and social-media profiles.
- Exchange, bank, money-services business, payment processor, or other service names.
- Invoices, contracts, account statements, chat logs, emails, call records, screenshots, and relevant files.
Wallet address versus transaction hash
A wallet address identifies a blockchain destination or source associated with an account or wallet. A transaction hash, also called a transaction ID, identifies a particular blockchain transaction. The same address may appear in many transactions, while each confirmed transaction normally has its own hash on its network. Include both when available, along with the asset and network; an address without the network can be ambiguous.
Separate observation from inference
Use labels such as “I received,” “the account statement shows,” or “the message said” for firsthand facts. Then explain why those facts suggest corruption or laundering, and mark that explanation as your assessment. Identify secondhand information and its origin. This lets investigators evaluate reliability without mistaking a theory for a confirmed fact.
Retain originals
The IC3 form instructs complainants to retain original pertinent documents for law enforcement and to follow the form’s submission instructions. Keep the original email files, exported chats, transaction records, and unedited photographs or screenshots. Store a backup in a secure location, and do not destroy records after filing.
How to submit an IC3 complaint
- Open the IC3 Complaint Form and read the instructions before entering information.
- Provide your contact details if you are willing to be contacted, then identify the incident type and the people or entities involved.
- Enter the timeline, amounts, asset types, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, dates, services, and communications you have.
- Describe the suspected conduct in plain language. State what you know, what you do not know, and which details are estimates.
- Submit the complaint and save any confirmation or reference information shown by the form.
- Retain the originals of all supporting records. If an investigator contacts you, respond through a verified official channel.
The FBI’s cryptocurrency page says: “The FBI encourages the public to submit a complaint through this website, even if a financial loss did not occur.” That makes IC3 appropriate for attempted scams, suspicious online conduct, and incidents where another person lost the money.
What filing a report does—and does not—promise
A complaint gives an agency information to assess; it does not prove wrongdoing. Filing does not guarantee that an investigation will open, that an investigator will contact you, that funds will be recovered, or that you will receive an award. Confidentiality protections and eligibility rules vary by channel, particularly for whistleblower programs. Read the current terms of the agency you use and avoid promising yourself a result the agency has not promised.
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Cryptocurrency records can help investigators, but tracing may involve multiple wallets, services, jurisdictions, and changing identities. The FBI discusses tracing and cross-border challenges in its cryptocurrency guidance. A visible transaction on a public ledger is not, by itself, proof of who controlled an address or why a transfer occurred.
Recognize recovery scams
People who lose cryptocurrency are frequently approached by supposed investigators, lawyers, hackers, or recovery specialists who claim they can retrieve the funds. The FBI and IC3 warn against these offers, especially when the service demands an upfront fee. IC3 says it does not work with non-law-enforcement entities to recover lost funds or investigate cases.
- Do not send a second payment to “unlock” or “release” the first one.
- Do not give a stranger remote access to your computer, exchange account, email, or wallet.
- Do not share seed phrases, private keys, one-time codes, or identity documents outside a verified institutional process.
- Save the recovery message and add it to your existing report; it may be related to the original scam.
No commercial recovery service is required to file an IC3, FBI, FinCEN, or IRS report. Do not pay for blockchain tracing merely to submit a complaint.
Reporting from outside the United States
The routes above are U.S.-specific. If you are elsewhere, contact your national financial-intelligence unit for suspected laundering, your national or local police for criminal conduct, your anti-corruption authority for public corruption, and the applicable tax or financial regulator for tax and reporting violations. Deadlines, confidentiality protections, language options, and whistleblower eligibility differ by jurisdiction. This guide does not establish those foreign procedures.
How common is crypto-enabled fraud?
The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center’s 2023 Cryptocurrency Report, published in 2024, recorded more than 69,000 public complaints involving financial fraud that used cryptocurrency during 2023. That is a count of complaints received, not a count of unique victims, proven crimes, recovered funds, or current-year incidents. The official material does not provide a comparable named statistic for cryptocurrency-related public corruption, so the fraud figure should not be presented as a corruption measure.
Quick Recap
A practical decision checklist
- Cyber-enabled scam or theft: stop sending funds, preserve records, submit IC3, and notify the exchange or bank.
- Public official or government decision involved: submit an FBI tip through the DOJ reporting route and explain the public function affected.
- Specific potential BSA or sanctions violation: review FinCEN’s whistleblower submission instructions and provide financial details.
- False return or hidden taxable income: use the IRS tax-fraud route; follow the IRS direction for laundering or wire-fraud concerns.
- Immediate danger: call 911 or local police first.
- Any route: report the information available, keep originals, distinguish facts from inferences, and ignore anyone demanding an upfront recovery fee.
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