How to report a crypto scam in Germany
Act fast. Contact your bank immediately to try to recall the transfer, then file a criminal complaint (Strafanzeige) via your state's police Onlinewache. Call 110 for emergencies.
Report online โ the fastest step
File a Strafanzeige (criminal complaint) online via your state's police Onlinewache โ you can upload screenshots and evidence. For violent threats or immediate danger, call 110.
Emergency: 110. Victim support (Weisser Ring): 116 006.
Who to report to in Germany
- โขPolizei Onlinewache โ file a Strafanzeige online; emergency 110.
- โขBaFin โ financial regulator; check the consumer warning list and company database.
- โขWeisser Ring โ victim-support NGO; nationwide helpline 116 006.
Check before you pay
Check BaFin's consumer warning list before and after dealing with any "platform" โ if it isn't BaFin-authorised, it's almost certainly a scam. You can also verify a firm's licence in BaFin's company database (Unternehmensdatenbank). BaFin publishes named warnings frequently.
BaFin โ consumer warning list โWhere to get help & support
- โขWeisser Ring โ 116 006; free, confidential victim support.
- โขPolizei-Beratung โ official crime-prevention & consumer info.
Do this right now
- โขStop all contact and send no more money โ including "fees" or "taxes" to withdraw.
- โขContact your bank immediately to attempt a recall or stop of the transfer.
- โขPreserve evidence: screenshots, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, the scam website or app.
- โขReport the scam wallet address on Chainabuse.
Germany-specific things to know
- โขContact your bank immediately to attempt a recall/stop, then file the Strafanzeige via your state's Onlinewache (portal.onlinewache.polizei.de).
- โขCheck BaFin's warning list and company database before and after โ if the "platform" isn't BaFin-authorised, it's almost certainly a scam.
- โขBeware scams impersonating BaFin itself โ BaFin never contacts consumers to help "recover" funds or asks for payments.
- โขOnlinewache covers straightforward fraud; for violent threats or complex cases go in person or call 110. Weisser Ring 116 006 gives free, confidential victim support.
โ ๏ธ Beware "recovery" services. Anyone who contacts you promising to get your money back for an upfront fee is almost always a second scam. See the red flags โ
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