My Adventure as a Crypto Bounty Hunter Part 2 (What happens after I track stolen funds)

Recently, I made a post about my experiences in the crypto space as a bounty hunter, and since then I received a lot of positive feedback and questions. And so, I decided to make a part 2 to further explain the processes involved in the recovery of unfortunate mistakes.

The post in question : https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/yezl4u/my_adventure_as_a_crypto_bounty_hunter_and_some/

First of all, it’s important to understand that, since all transactions are available to the public, no matter what you do to hide them you will never be 100% able to. Even if you use cross-chain services or multiple mixers, every bit of information will still be there to be processed.

That being said, after perpetrators try to hide away their transactions, usually funds end up in a KYC wallet (KYC means Know your customer, meaning an identifiable person on an exchange) to be cashed out – thus the need to request funds to be frozen.

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KICKING OFF THE PROCESS

Before the exchange freezes any funds, they usually require the victim to sign an NDA, so keep in mind that every process is different, and processes may vary between exchanges and/or countries.

Every reputable exchange requires an NDA, not only because every process is unique and should remain private, but also because they will provide the victim with the alleged user's private information. Thus, this agreement helps ensure that there aren’t breaches of privacy, which could happen if you were able to just go out there and denounce the person before authorities deliver their judgement.

To start off the process, the exchange needs to first check the information you provided. That means that there is no room for errors and the information needs to be concise - never speculate anything as it might prove to be a big mistake.

Since exchanges will provide you with private user's information and they value their customer base and privacy, any mistake found in the path leading to the KYC wallet will render the whole process worthless. I fully agree with how strict the process is since an innocent person's privacy could be breached if exchanges admit sloppiness and mistakes.

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PERSONAL REQUESTS

Aside from the NDA, it’s required that you provide your basic information such as photo, name, mailbox and contact information.

Going into this process, you should be aware that privacy goes out the window the second you join it. The bright side is that this step is pretty easy and takes about the same time as doing a KYC verification.

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LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUESTS

It’s also required that a competent law enforcement entity is on the case, meaning you need to have an assigned case and a written report where you detail how much and when it was stolen, alongside all the relevant details. Competent authorities can be local police or more specialized law enforcement agencies such as the FBI (on USA).

This part may prove itself to be hard for those without many means because these requirements have mandatory timeframes - and usually having a lawyer means it’s easier to comply with those timeframes. So, if you’re going on your own and contacting the law enforcement agencies, it may prove itself time consuming.

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FINAL REQUESTS

After the steps above, it’s required that you provide an official document with an official seal and a request to extend the freeze of the perpetrator’s bank account. Depending on whether the authority on the case is the local police or a more specialized law enforcement agency, - such as FBI - the time-frame on these requests can vary.

As previously said, without a lawyer these steps may be hard depending on whether you are lucky or not. From what I understand, there’s much paperwork to be filled and much administrative work to be done.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

My biggest tip for everyone is that, if you are going to recover your crypto via this method, gather everything first and organize your information so no time is wasted. Exchanges may give you 7 days or less to comply with requests before unfreezing the funds, so don’t waste your chance of recovery.

As always, to avoid these processes practice good safety measures and don't go lazy on them as they might cost you a lot!

TLTR: Process of recovery is lenghty, but mostly possible.

As always, Stay safe and freak the scammers.