An investment scammer told you to send crypto through Changelly, or used Changelly to swap stolen funds before cashing out. Changelly is a non-custodial swap service — it doesn't hold funds in accounts like a traditional exchange. This creates unique challenges and opportunities for recovery.
Investment scammers use Changelly to break the transaction chain — swapping BTC to ETH or to privacy coins before the funds reach a centralized exchange. Changelly doesn't hold funds: swaps are instant. However, Changelly uses SumSub for KYC and can flag/blacklist addresses. Changelly also has a 24-hour refund policy for law enforcement requests.
Changelly compliance: Changelly's compliance team uses SumSub for KYC. They process legal requests through email. Changelly has a 24-hour refund window for law enforcement — if funds are in a pending swap, law enforcement can request a refund to the sender. Response times: 3-7 business days for legal requests.
Freeze capability: Changelly can't 'freeze' an account (non-custodial model) but can: blacklist addresses, refund pending swaps (within 24h), and share KYC information. If the swap is complete and funds have left Changelly, we trace to the next destination.
KYC disclosure: Changelly KYC: government ID, selfie (via SumSub). KYC is triggered for suspicious transactions. Not all swaps require KYC — lower-value swaps may be anonymous. Disclosure follows their jurisdiction (varies by entity).
A client lost €40,000 to a fake investment platform that used Changelly to swap the client's BTC to XRP before sending to a cash-out exchange. The swap was still pending when we filed the legal request. Changelly refunded the funds to the sender address within 24 hours — the client received their BTC back. Outcome: 100% recovery (€40,000). This is the best-case scenario — it only works if the swap is still pending.
Details anonymized to protect client confidentiality. Swiss professional secrecy applies.
The 'fee scam' within the scam: If a platform is asking you to pay 'withdrawal fees,' 'tax clearance,' or 'insurance deposits' — these are additional scams. Do NOT send more money. Read our recovery scam warning.
Was your own Changelly account also frozen? Our Changelly account unlock practice can help.
Changelly is non-custodial: swaps are instant and funds don't sit in accounts. However, if the swap is still pending (which can take 10-30 minutes), Changelly can refund the funds to the sender. If the swap is complete, we trace to the destination exchange and pursue recovery there. Changelly can also blacklist addresses to prevent future swaps.
Changelly has a policy allowing law enforcement to request a refund of pending swaps within 24 hours. If we file the request while the swap is still processing, Changelly can reverse the swap and return funds to the sender. This is the fastest recovery path — but only works if the swap hasn't completed yet.
Yes. Changelly uses SumSub for identity verification. KYC is triggered for higher-value or suspicious transactions. If the scammer completed KYC, their identity is on file. If the swap was below the KYC threshold, no identity was collected — but the sending and receiving addresses are still traceable on-chain.
Yes. Changelly can blacklist specific blockchain addresses, preventing them from using the service in the future. If the scammer's address is blacklisted on Changelly, they'll need to find alternative swap services — which we can also monitor.
3-7 business days for legal requests. The 24-hour refund window for pending swaps is much faster — this is why for Changelly cases, speed is absolutely critical. If you contact us while the swap is still processing, recovery chances are very high.
Changelly is a non-custodial swap service — it does not hold user accounts or balances. However, it records the destination address, IP, and KYC (for swaps above €1,000). If the swap is still pending (within 24 hours), Changelly can reverse it — 100% recovery. If completed, we trace the destination address on-chain and file freeze requests with whatever exchange holds it. Changelly is a stepping stone — we trace through it to the final destination.
Describe what happened. Include the platform URL, deposit addresses, transaction hashes, and amount lost. We respond within 6 hours.