Identify the event being disputed
Start with a sentence explaining the event, rather than a list of wallet addresses. Are you questioning an instruction to transfer, an exchange account action, a withdrawal restriction or a representation made before payment? State what you expected to happen and what the available records show happened instead.
Keep the disputed transfer separate from the total loss you believe you suffered. There may be several deposits, conversions or withdrawals. A sequence of events is easier to review when each step has a date, a source record and an explanation of how it connects to the next step.
For example, an invented summary might distinguish a bank payment to an exchange, a purchase of a digital asset and a later transfer following a message. This illustrates record organisation only. It does not identify a responsible person, establish liability or show that the asset can be recovered.
Keep transaction identifiers and source records
Preserve the transaction identifier as text where available, together with the asset, amount, date and addresses recorded in the confirmation. Keep the source: an exchange export, a wallet confirmation or another record you received. If you do not know what a field means, retain its original label instead of guessing.
The FBI's cryptocurrency reporting guidance asks for transaction details including addresses, amount and type of cryptocurrency, date and time, and the transaction ID or hash. The linked source explains its own reporting process. A record prepared for an adviser is a separate exercise and does not mean a law-enforcement report has been filed for you.
A useful index assigns each item a simple reference and records where it came from. If two screenshots appear to describe the same transaction, note that possible duplication. Preserve discrepancies and incomplete details; a polished spreadsheet should not make uncertain information look verified.
Explain who instructed the payment
A transaction record may connect addresses and an amount, but it does not explain the entire conversation that led to a transfer. Keep the instruction, the claimed identity of the sender, any account name and the terms or representations you relied on. Preserve the surrounding messages in order.
Separate the identity used online from any person or entity established by independent records. An adviser name, profile photograph, website or recipient label can be a lead without being a verified identity. State which information is directly recorded, which was claimed by a contact and which is your own inference.
An illustrative evidence note might pair 'message requesting payment' with 'confirmation of the transfer made afterwards'. The connection is explained rather than assumed. No private key, password, recovery phrase or account access is required to describe that sequence in an initial inquiry.
Include the account context
Retain the relevant exchange or platform terms, available account history and support correspondence. Keep a displayed balance separate from source transaction records and note the date of the screen. An account restriction, a deposit and a transaction instruction may involve different parties or different questions.
If the records are incomplete, describe what remains available and how the gap arose. Do not submit an unexplained selection of images and expect the reader to infer the full chronology. A short timeline can point to the supporting items while keeping missing dates or uncertain amounts clearly marked.
The assessment can identify questions for legal analysis and any need for separate technical expertise. It does not imply access to a wallet, the ability to identify every address holder or control over assets. Any specialist work would need an appropriate provider, a defined task and separately agreed responsibilities.
Keep access credentials out of the inquiry
Use a concise account and describe the records available before sending a sensitive document set. Agree an appropriate channel and the required material. This website's first-inquiry form does not ask for wallet access, a recovery phrase, a private key or a password, and those items should not be placed in the case summary.
The FBI also cautions victims about people claiming they can recover lost cryptocurrency. A request for another payment or account access should not be accepted as proof that a service is genuine. Verify unexpected contact changes independently and distinguish public reporting resources from a firm's own contact details.
Before an engagement, ask which questions are within professional scope, who would handle them and which costs are proposed. No transaction identifier or initial discussion establishes a guaranteed legal route or result. Your aim at this stage is an accurate, safe and understandable record of the issue.
Public information
FBI guidance on information to include in a cryptocurrency fraud report.
About this guide
This article provides general information rather than legal advice for a particular matter. An inquiry does not establish an attorney–client relationship.
