Operator on file: VTR Trade — see the full IntelliCtech scam-broker dossier.
This case is a warning we repeat often: the second scam. A client who had already lost funds to VTR Trade was contacted weeks later by a “fund recovery agency” promising to force a refund — for an up-front fee. It was a fresh fraud aimed at a known victim.
How it unfolded
The “agency” claimed a contact at a blockchain-analytics firm and asked for an “activation fee,” then a “compliance fee,” payable in gift cards and stablecoins. Each payment promised the recovery was nearly complete. When a third fee was requested, the client searched the company name, found warnings, and reached out to us instead of paying again.
What we did
Two facts made it recoverable: the fees were recent, and they had gone out on traceable rails — retail gift cards and a stablecoin transfer to an identifiable exchange, not a mixer. We had the client report the gift-card serials immediately (several still held balances and were frozen) and traced the stablecoin fee to its deposit address for a freeze backed by a fraud report.
The outcome
Frozen card balances plus the exchange return recovered roughly 88% of the fees — and, just as important, stopped the bleeding before a fourth payment. Recovery-scam fees are often sent very recently on traceable rails, which is exactly when a freeze works.
“I had already lost once, so the idea someone could just get it back felt like a lifeline. It was the same kind of people coming back for the rest. I am grateful I stopped and asked first.”
— Verified client, small-business owner
Client details are anonymised at the client’s request; the broker is documented in our public directory. We never ask for an up-front wallet payment to recover funds.
Think you have been targeted? IntelliCtech traces stolen crypto on-chain and helps victims pursue recovery. Submit your case for a free review, browse our recovery case studies, or search the Blacklisted Brokers database.