After 4 Months of Online Romance, All Accounts Were Fake - Successful Fund Recovery
Case Type: Romance Scam (Pig Butchering Scam) Victim: Single woman in San Francisco, California (pseudonym: Emily P.) Amount Recovered: $58,000 Processing Time: Approximately 2 weeks Case Summary: Emily, a 35-year-old tech company employee in San Francisco, met a man on social media who claimed to be a successful engineer in Europe. After months of sweet talk, he lured her into investing in a fake cryptocurrency investment platform. After investing a total of $58,000, he disappeared without a trace. Our Actions: Our team used blockchain analysis to trace the funds to a compliant cryptocurrency exchange located in the United States. We quickly secured all chat logs and transaction evidence and, in cooperation with the exchange's security team and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, successfully froze and returned all the funds.
Fake PayPal Email Scam - Merchant Successfully Stopped Losses
Case Type: Phishing/Business Email Compromise Victim: James C., owner of a small online store in Austin, Texas Amount Recovered: $49,000 Processing Time: Approximately 1 week Case Summary: James runs an online craft store. He received an email spoofed as an official PayPal account claiming to be "account restricted," requesting him to verify a $49,000 order. He clicked the link and entered credentials, resulting in his account being compromised and funds being transferred. Our Actions: We immediately assisted James in contacting PayPal's security department and provided a digital forensics report proving the email was fake. Simultaneously, we traced the bank account that received the funds and issued an emergency freeze order and a request for law enforcement assistance to the bank, ultimately successfully recovering the funds before they were transferred again.
Fake Investment Advisor Identity - Recovering pension losses
Case Type: Fake Investment Advisor Scam Victim Identity: Mid-level manager in New York City, New York (pseudonym: Susan W.) Amount Recovered: $220,000 Processing Time: Approximately 3.5 weeks Case Summary: Susan, a 50-year-old company manager, was looking for investment opportunities for her retirement. She contacted an advisor claiming to be from a well-known investment firm, who induced her to transfer $220,000 of her retirement savings to a fake platform designed to mimic a legitimate brokerage firm. Our Actions: We investigated the fake platform's backend IP address, domain registration information, and fund flows. We discovered that the funds were transferred to multiple shell companies overseas. Through collaboration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and international anti-fraud organizations, we identified the main suspects and exerted legal pressure, successfully recovering the vast majority of Susan's losses.
American families scammed in overseas real estate investments – most funds recovered.
Case Type: Overseas Real Estate Investment Fraud Victims: Retired couple from Tampa, Florida (pseudonyms: Mr. and Mrs. Robert) Recovered Amount: $350,000 (85% of total loss) Processing Time: Approximately 4 weeks Case Summary: Mr. and Mrs. Robert planned to purchase a retirement property in Costa Rica. They invested in a beachfront villa project through a seemingly professional website, paying a down payment of $412,000. They later discovered the project didn't exist and all documents were forged. Our Actions: Our international investigation team traced the cross-border flow of funds, discovering that the money ultimately ended up in an account in Dubai. Working with local financial investigation agencies, we successfully froze and returned the majority of the investment through civil forfeiture proceedings.
Ordered from Instagram Ad Then Got Disconnected - Recovered Payment
Case Type: Social Media Shopping Scam Victim: Jessica L., a freelance designer in Seattle, Washington Amount Recovered: $2,100 Processing Time: Approximately 1 week Case Summary: Jessica saw an advertisement for a fashion brand on Instagram and placed an order for clothing. However, she was unable to contact the seller afterward and never received the goods. She realized she had fallen victim to a "fake online store" scam. Our Actions: By analyzing the advertising account, domain registration information, and payment processor, we confirmed that this was a typical flash sale scam website. We submitted a complete fraud evidence package to the payment processor, prompting them to initiate buyer protection procedures, ultimately securing a full refund for Jessica.
High-Value Order Substitution - Legal Support Recovered Losses
Case Type: Business-to-Business Payment Fraud Victim: Mr. Davis, a small business owner in Chicago, Illinois Amount Recovered: $102,000 Processing Time: Approximately 3 weeks Case Summary: Mr. Davis's industrial parts company received a large order from a "foreign defense contractor." The contractor forged bank transfer documents during the payment phase, demanding that Mr. Davis's company pay a deposit to a "designated supplier." Mr. Davis paid the deposit without confirming receipt of the funds, incurring a loss. Our Actions: We quickly located the domestic shell company that received the deposit and obtained a temporary restraining order from the court, freezing the company's accounts. By collecting email header information and tracing IP addresses, we built a complete chain of evidence and ultimately recovered all funds through negotiation and legal pressure.
LINE Romance Turned Into Fraud - Recovered $80,000 USDT
Case Type: Cryptocurrency Romance Scam Victim: Single woman from Denver, Colorado (pseudonym: Amanda K.) Amount Recovered: $80,000 (USDT) Processing Time: Approximately 2.5 weeks Case Summary: Amanda met a man on a popular dating app. After gaining her trust, he guided her to a fake trading platform to purchase USDT cryptocurrency for "co-investment." After investing $80,000, the platform became inaccessible, and the man disappeared. Our Actions: Our blockchain experts traced the USDT on-chain and discovered that the funds were transferred to a mixer, but some ultimately flowed out of a legitimate exchange. We immediately partnered with the exchange, providing evidence of the fraud, successfully freezing the assets that had not yet been transferred, and recovering all of Amanda's losses.
Retired Engineer Misled by Stock Guru Recommendation - recovering investment losses
Case Type: Fake Stock Investment Platform Scam Victim Identity: Retired teacher from Phoenix, Arizona (pseudonym: Mr. Thompson) Amount Recovered: $78,000 Processing Time: Approximately 3 weeks Case Summary: Mr. Thompson followed a "stock analysis guru" on YouTube and invested on an app that impersonated a well-known brokerage firm, as recommended by the guru. After initially making small profits, he increased his investment to $78,000, subsequently finding that he could not log in to the platform, and the so-called "guru" had blocked him. Our Actions: We conducted a technical analysis of the fake app, tracing its servers to an overseas location. By analyzing its fund receiving patterns, we discovered that the victim's funds were concentrated in a U.S. intermediary account. We assisted Mr. Thompson in reporting the case to the state attorney general's office and the FBI, and cooperated with law enforcement to seize the intermediary account, successfully recovering his funds.
Exposing Stock Fraud Trap: Successfully Recovered NT$2.4 Million Investment Loss
Case Type: Stock Investment Fraud | Victim's Identity: Retired Engineer from Central Taiwan (pseudonym: Mr. Lin) | Amount Recovered: NT$2,400,000 | Processing Time: Approximately 3 weeks | Mistakenly Trusting Expert Recommendations, Falling into a Fake Investment Scam | Mr. Lin is a recently retired engineer with a stable financial foundation and years of savings. In early 2024, he was lured into joining a fake investment group on LINE. Under the guidance of a "mentor," he invested his life savings into a fraudulent platform. After investing NT$3.2 million, the platform immediately shut down, and the other party disappeared. Fortunately, Mr. Lin sought professional technical assistance in time. The team acted swiftly, freezing the accounts involved and successfully recovering most of his losses, totaling NT$2.4 million.
The Day of Credit Card Fraud: Recovered Credit Card Losses
Case Type: Credit Card Fraud Victim: Jennifer H., a freelancer in Atlanta, Georgia Amount Recovered: $11,000 Processing Time: Approximately 4 weeks Case Summary: Jennifer received a bank alert showing several large transactions totaling $11,000 made on her credit card at multiple luxury stores in Miami, while the card was in her possession. Our Actions: We immediately guided her to contact the issuing bank to formally dispute these transactions. Simultaneously, we analyzed the transaction times and locations to identify potential suspects and assisted the police in retrieving surveillance footage from the merchants. Our technical analysis report expedited the bank's investigation, ultimately leading to the transactions being determined to be fraudulent, and Jennifer received a full refund.
Trap Behind Romance: The Difficult Journey of Recovering $180,000 Romance Scam Loss
Case Type: Romance Scam | Victim: Retired Hong Kong Teacher (pseudonym: Ms. Lin) | Amount Recovered: US$180,000 | Processing Time: Approximately 3 months | First Meeting: A Carefully Planned Gentle Approach | Ms. Lin is a retired teacher nearing sixty years old. Her children are all grown up and have started their own families. Due to the monotony of her daily life, she began trying to make friends online and quickly fell in love with a man who claimed to be a "successful businessman." After gaining Ms. Lin's complete trust, the man tricked her into transferring US$180,000 under the pretext of "urgent business investment." After the transfer, the man completely disappeared. Realizing she had been scammed, Ms. Lin did not despair but immediately gathered evidence and sought professional help. Through complex international legal procedures and continuous tracking, the team worked for approximately six weeks, successfully locating and freezing the stolen funds that had not yet been transferred, recovering all of Ms. Lin's US$180,000 loss.
Business Email Compromise Fraud - Recovered $360,000 USD
Case Type: Business Email Scam Victim: Pacific Global Traders, an import/export company in Los Angeles, California Amount Recovered: $360,000 Processing Time: Approximately 2.5 weeks Case Summary: The company's finance staff received an email spoofed by the CEO, requesting an urgent payment of $360,000 to a new "supplier." The email address differed from the CEO's real email address by only one letter. The scam was discovered only after the payment was made and the CEO was contacted in person. Our Actions: We immediately analyzed the email headers and traced the scammers to Eastern Europe. Simultaneously, we discovered the receiving bank account was located in Hong Kong. We immediately contacted the Hong Kong Police Anti-Fraud Coordination Centre, providing all technical evidence and legal documents. We successfully froze the account before the funds were transferred and recovered all funds through legal proceedings.