I Lost $640,000 in a Romance-Crypto Scam & How I Slowly Found My Way Back

My name is Linda. I am 59 and am living in Colorado, and frankly speaking, life has been a lot quieter since my husband died and the kids left. With a dating application, I entered with the hopes of finding someone to share my experience of the feeling of having to start over in my late 50s. That’s where I met “Daniel.”

He informed me that he was an overseas civil engineer. Soft-spoken, gentle, and patient. We chatted each day, even video-called, or at least I supposed him to be. I later learned scammers use deepfake techniques and stolen videos, something I wish I had known earlier. I now understand more after reading this expert's romance scams guide, but back then, I had no idea these scams were so sophisticated.

A few months into talking, he told me his crypto wallet had been “temporarily frozen due to international compliance issues.” He sounded embarrassed, panicked even. He said he just needed a short-term transfer to keep his project from collapsing. I remember him saying, “You’re the only one I trust.”

And I believed him. I sent a few thousand first. Then more. I’d never used crypto before, but he explained every step like he was helping me. Before I knew it, I’d sent $640,000 to my retirement, my savings, everything meant to keep me safe in the future.

And then, he disappeared. No calls. No replies. His profile is gone. His phone number is out of service. I felt physically and mentally sick. I kept wondering things like, “Is it even possible to recover crypto from a romance scam?” or “Can I get my money back from a crypto scam?” Crypto tracing tools were not available to local police. Each day was a torture of believing the wrong man. Reading about stories like mine helped me become less stupid since scam victims are not stupid. Fraudsters are simply very talented.

I came across and reached out to a romance scam recovery service, expecting nothing. But the moment they spoke to me, I felt… heard. They didn’t make me feel ashamed. They simply asked for screenshots, wallet addresses, transaction history, and every detail I had.

Their blockchain forensics team began tracing the stolen crypto through mixers, cross-chain bridges, and wallets I could barely pronounce. Several weeks afterward, I got an email that they had reimbursed $603,450. I wept long in relief, grief, and at the end, a little hope.

They are still trying to trace out more of it, but, after all, I am not the only one walking through it this time. If you’re asking yourself, “How do I recover money from a crypto romance scam?” or “Is crypto recovery even possible?” don’t give up. Global Financial Recovery gave me a second chance. They can help you fight back, too.