Crypto Investment Scam Refund — Can You Get Your Money Back?

Cryptocurrency investment scams are among the fastest-growing fraud types in the UK. Whether you were targeted by a fake trading platform, a 'pig butchering' romance scam, or a clone of a legitimate crypto exchange, you may be able to recover your losses from your bank — even though the destination was a crypto wallet.

Quick Answer: UK banks must reimburse most authorised push payment (APP) fraud victims — including crypto investment scams — up to £85,000 within 5 business days under the PSR's mandatory reimbursement rules that came into force on 7 October 2024. Action Fraud recorded £306 million of crypto-related fraud in 2023. Source: PSR APP Fraud Reimbursement Rules 2024.

Common Crypto Scam Types

Fake crypto exchanges — professional-looking platforms that show fabricated profits, then freeze your account when you try to withdraw
Pig butchering (sha zhu pan) — fraudsters build a relationship over weeks or months, introduce a "trading opportunity", and disappear with your funds
Celebrity endorsement scams — fake adverts using celebrity names or deepfake videos to promote fraudulent platforms
Crypto recovery fraud — scammers targeting earlier crypto fraud victims with false promises of recovering their funds
Pump and dump schemes — coordinated campaigns to inflate a token price before fraudsters sell their holdings

Your Bank's Liability for Crypto Scams

A common misconception is that crypto scam losses are irrecoverable because cryptocurrency is unregulated. This is incorrect. Your bank's liability arises from how your money left your account — not where it ended up. If you made a bank transfer to a crypto exchange (or directly to fraudsters), the PSR mandatory reimbursement rules apply to that transfer regardless of its destination. The key questions are:

Was the payment made through UK Faster Payments or CHAPS?
Were you deceived into authorising the payment?
Did the bank have adequate fraud detection systems in place?
Did the bank issue specific, targeted warnings about crypto investment scams?

What If You Sent Money to a Crypto Wallet Directly?

Where funds were sent directly to a crypto wallet (rather than via a bank transfer), bank liability is harder to establish. However, we can explore claims against the exchange platform itself, particularly where it is FCA-registered or operated within the UK. The FCA has maintained a Crypto Asset Register since 2021 — unregistered exchanges operating in the UK are acting unlawfully.

Regulatory Landscape (2024–26)

Under the FCA's cryptoasset registration regime (FSMA 2000 as amended), crypto exchanges serving UK customers must be FCA-registered. Several major exchanges — Binance, KuCoin — were previously rejected by the FCA. If your scam involved an unregistered platform, this strengthens both the bank liability argument and any separate claim against the platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

I transferred money to what I thought was a crypto exchange — can I claim from my bank?

Yes, if the transfer was via a UK bank payment (Faster Payments or CHAPS) and you were deceived. PSR mandatory reimbursement rules apply to the bank transfer regardless of the destination, including crypto exchanges.

The 'exchange' showed me profits for months before freezing my account — is this a scam?

Yes. This is the classic pattern of a fake trading platform scam. The 'profits' are fabricated to encourage further deposits and are not real. Contact us immediately — the sooner you act, the better the recovery prospects.

Which crypto scam types qualify for bank reimbursement?

Any authorised bank transfer to a fraudulent crypto platform qualifies as APP fraud under the PSR rules — including fake trading platforms, romance-based crypto scams, and impersonation scams. Card payments and crypto-to-crypto transfers on-chain do not qualify.

What is the deadline to report a crypto scam to the bank?

You must report the fraud to your bank within 13 months of the last authorised payment to keep the mandatory PSR reimbursement right. Report as soon as possible — evidence and reversal chances weaken quickly.

Talk to us

Confidential, free assessment on 01228 272 395 or start your claim online. Related: APP fraud claims, investment scam refunds.