Verify a call or message claiming to warn you about crypto fraud

Pause before providing information

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Record the claimed agency, caller's name and case reference without supplying financial credentials or moving money. Do not use caller ID as proof of identity. A genuine programme name such as Operation Level Up can appear in a fraudulent message, so recognition of the name is only a starting point.

Use an independent contact route

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Find the agency's official website yourself and use its published contact or verification instructions. Do not call a number supplied only by the suspicious message. The FBI's investment-fraud page says it will not ask for money, move communications to private messaging apps or request bank-account details through such contact. Compare the request with that official guidance.

Keep the incident record

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Save the message, number, domain and any requested payment destination. If you also suspect an investment fraud, preserve the original transfers and communications separately from the alleged warning. Use official reporting channels and avoid paying a recovery agent. Verification can protect against a second scheme without requiring you to dismiss a potentially legitimate warning outright.

Verify an unsolicited warning independently

Practical checklist · not an audit of another provider

Pause any transfer requested by the original investment contact. Record the caller's stated name and office, then use independently located FBI field-office information to verify the outreach. The programme page says its staff will not provide an account to which you should send money, request application passwords or move contact to social media. Preserve the message but do not use a link supplied in it as your only verification route. A genuine warning still does not mean the caller can recover earlier losses or that an individual investigation has been opened.

Sources, dates and limits

Checked 23 October 2026. The newer figures describe March 2026, not the audit date. The savings estimate is a counterfactual programme measure and is not equivalent to seized funds, reimbursements or a guaranteed individual result.