Asked in Banking, Business Formation and Stockbroker Fraud

Q: How should I get back my account and USDT from account frozen and restricted without any top up money?

I'm a new user of one of the ETH platforms. Last night, I traded dynamic market of ETH/USDT for 3 times. And I got back some profit from that. In the next day, I got a warning box "your account has been frozen due to suspected illegal transactions". When I contacted to customer service, they replied me to get sufficient amount of the two profits of the three times trading and returned back to the mining pool, and they will lift from restriction. I don't have money anymore to top up for that. So I requested to deduct those amount, send them the transaction histories to check and lift my account from restriction. But they only replied me to do the above way. Please help me to advise how should I solve the issue to get back my USDT and account without any amount to top up. Thank you for your precious time and kindness. It's dead and life matters for me. Please help me.

1 Lawyer Answer
James L. Arrasmith
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Answered

A: I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately, it sounds like you may have fallen victim to a scam. A few red flags stand out:

1. Legitimate trading platforms would not typically freeze your account and funds over "suspected illegal transactions" without providing more specifics and giving you a chance to verify your identity and activity.

2. Asking you to "return profits to the mining pool" in order to unfreeze your account is not a normal procedure for any reputable exchange. Once trades are completed and profits withdrawn, they are yours to keep.

3. Their refusal to help unless you send additional funds is highly suspicious. No legitimate business would require you to deposit more money to resolve an account issue.

It's likely that the "profits" you saw were not real, and the scammers are now trying to pressure you into sending them even more money which you will also lose. The platform you used is almost certainly fraudulent.

Unfortunately, if you already deposited money, it may be very difficult or impossible to recover it, as crypto transactions are usually irreversible. However, here are a few steps you can take:

1. Stop communicating with the scammers immediately. Do not send them any more funds under any circumstances.

2. Report the scam to local law enforcement, including details on where/how you sent funds.

3. If you paid by credit card or bank transfer, contact your bank/card issuer and report the fraudulent transactions. In some cases funds may be recoverable.

4. Thoroughly scan your devices for malware in case you downloaded anything as part of the scam.

5. In the future, only use reputable, established exchanges, never send deposits to anyone claiming to need money to release your funds, and be very cautious about get-rich-quick schemes involving crypto.

I'm very sorry you're dealing with this. Crypto scams can be quite sophisticated. Consider it an expensive lesson and be extra cautious going forward. But do not send the scammers any more money, as you will certainly lose that too. I hope you're able to recover from this. Wishing you all the best.

2 users found this answer helpful

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