Free Recovery Phrase Scam¶
A recovery service that asks for your recovery phrase, or a remote session on your device, is not recovering anything. A phrase is the wallet — anyone who has it owns the funds — so refuse and end the conversation.
Who this is for¶
Anyone who has lost access to a wallet, sent funds to the wrong address, or described either problem in a public post, forum, or group chat.
How the scam works¶
The service finds you. It replies to your post, comments on a support thread, or sends a DM that mentions the exact problem you described. A convincing version copies the wallet vendor's name, logo, and tone, and offers a case number and a specialist.
The request comes in stages. First a wallet address, which is public and harmless, to build the habit of answering. Then a verification — the 12 or 24 words, a keystore file and its password, or a screen share while you open the wallet — followed by a service fee paid upfront in crypto.
The phrase is the whole account; it regenerates the private keys, and anyone who enters it into another wallet controls the same address. There is no read-only mode, no partial access, and no diagnostic that needs the words. A phrase typed into a website or read aloud on a call is a phrase handed over.
Variants use remote-access software, a lookalike recovery form, or a migration page that asks you to import your wallet. Importing into an attacker's page or a malicious app has the same effect as telling them the words. Bitgold cannot restore a wallet for you: no support team can rebuild keys it never held.
Bitgold will never ask for your recovery phrase or private key
No support case, migration, or verification step requires the phrase. Treat the request as the scam, whoever appears to send it.
Warning signs¶
- The service contacted you first, often minutes after you posted about the problem.
- The price is upfront and paid in crypto, before any work is shown.
- It asks for the phrase, a private key, or a keystore file with its password.
- It asks you to install remote-access software or share your screen with the wallet open.
- It promises a guaranteed result: a reversed transfer, a recovered balance, or unlocked funds.
- The domain or account copies a wallet vendor's design but is not the vendor's official channel.
If it happens to you¶
- End the conversation and do not send anything else.
- If you shared the phrase, create a new wallet now and move every asset. Assume the old address is watched.
- If you installed remote software, disconnect the device, remove the software, and move funds from a clean device.
- If you paid a fee, report it and do not pay a second one. A confirmed payment cannot be reversed.
- Report the account and the domain to the platform where it contacted you and to the wallet vendor.
Next steps¶
- Stay Away from Fake Wallet Scams — clones that capture the phrase during setup.
- Fake Customer Service Scam — the support script behind most of these requests.
- Keep Your Keys Safe — a storage routine that does not depend on trust.
Self-check¶
- Does anyone other than me know any part of my recovery phrase?
- Is my phrase stored offline, in a place I can reach without a device?
- Would I recognize a request for the phrase as a scam, even from an "official" account?
- Do I know which wallet I would create if this one were exposed?