Cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed. What can sometimes happen is that a regulated exchange freezes an account before the funds are withdrawn or converted. That depends on the destination being an exchange, on the exchange being one that responds, and on the request arriving very quickly.
Step one: find out where it went
Put the transaction hash into a public block explorer and follow the destination address. Explorers and analytics tools often label addresses belonging to major exchanges. If the funds sit in a private wallet, there is no intermediary to ask. If they reached a labelled exchange deposit address, there is.
Step two: make a request the exchange can act on
Include the transaction hash or hashes, the exact timestamps, the destination address, the asset and amount, and a one-paragraph factual account of the fraud. Exchanges receive many vague emails; a precise one with hashes is materially more likely to be actioned.
Be realistic: most exchanges will not freeze an account on a member of the public's word alone. What they will often do is preserve records and act promptly when law enforcement follows up. That is why the police report should be filed in parallel, not afterwards.
Step three: give law enforcement the same package
- The transaction hashes and destination addresses, as text rather than images.
- The exchange you believe received the funds.
- How the payment was induced — the platform, the messages, the profile.
- Any KYC details the counterparty gave you, however likely they are to be false.
What to be careful of afterwards
Anyone contacting you offering to trace or recover cryptocurrency for an upfront fee should be treated as a second fraud, particularly if they approach you rather than the other way round. Victim lists circulate, and recovery fraud specifically targets people who have already lost crypto. Legitimate tracing firms are engaged through law enforcement or a lawyer, and do not cold-message people.