How to report a crypto scam in South Africa

What to know first

• Reporting is free. No police station, government body or regulator will ever ask you to pay to open a case or to have money returned.
• A criminal case is opened in person at a police station. You can't open a fraud case on the SAPS website.
• The order matters. Your bank and the exchange can sometimes act within hours. A police case number (CAS number) is usually what they, and others, ask for next.
• Reporting here doesn't replace the police. Our report prepares you for the police station; it isn't a police case.

Step 1 — Call your bank (if rand was involved)

If you paid by EFT or card, or bought the crypto from your bank account, call your bank's fraud line straight away. Use the number on your card or in your app, not one you were given. Ask whether the payment can be stopped or recalled, and ask for a reference number. Write it down with the date, time and the name of the person you spoke to.

Step 2 — Tell the exchange you sent from

Use the exchange's official app or website. Tell them it was a scam, and give them:

• the wallet addresses you sent to
• the transaction ID (TXID) of each transfer, with dates and amounts
• your police case number, as soon as you have it

The receiving exchange — where the scammers' wallet is — can only be asked for information or to hold funds through the proper channels, usually by the police. That's why your case number matters.

Step 3 — Open a case at a police station

Go to any police station and ask at the Community Service Centre to open a fraud case. If the station isn't the right one for your case, it can be transferred.

Take with you:

• Your ID or passport
• Your draft statement pack from this site, printed if you can
• Copies of your evidence: screenshots, bank statements, proof of payment (printed or on a USB stick)
• A list of the wallet addresses and TXIDs (it's in your pack, Annexure A)

At the station:

• The officer will take your statement. They may use your draft as it is, or write it in their own format using your draft. Read the final version carefully before you sign.
• Sign only in front of a commissioner of oaths (police officers are). Never sign anything you haven't read or that isn't true.
• Ask for your CAS number (usually sent by SMS) and for the name and contact number of the investigating officer when one is assigned.

Then come back to your report and add your CAS number and police station, so your records are complete.

Step 4 — Report the platform to the FSCA

Since 19 October 2022, crypto assets have been a financial product under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act, and crypto providers must be licensed by the FSCA. If the platform you used wasn't licensed, tell the FSCA so it can warn others and act against it.

The FSCA doesn't investigate individual losses or return money — but its warnings protect the next person.

Tip: scammers often copy a real company's name and FSP number. Check the number on the FSCA's own register at fsca.co.za, not on the platform's website, and check that the contact details match.

After you report

• Keep your CAS number. Quote it in every call or email about the case.
• Follow up in writing. Ask the investigating officer for an update by email, and keep a copy. It's reasonable to ask whether the case has been referred to the Hawks, especially if many people were affected or the losses are large.
• Tell the investigating officer about new information — for example, if the scammers contact you again or you find other victims.
• Be patient, and realistic. Cases involving crypto and other countries can take months. Many don't lead to money being returned, even when the scammers are identified.

Can money be frozen or returned?

Sometimes, but it can't be promised by anyone. It's most likely when the money is still in a bank account, or when crypto reached an exchange or a stablecoin issuer that can hold it — and the right people act quickly with a police case behind them. It's much less likely once funds have been moved through many wallets, mixers or services that don't cooperate.

Your pack helps by giving the police, banks and exchanges exact, checked details from the start.

Warning others

When you report here, you can choose to share the crypto addresses you paid to — never your name or personal details — with our WatchTower service, which helps exchanges spot payments going to scammers. You can also report addresses publicly on Chainabuse. Neither replaces a police case.