Crypto investment scams are the largest single loss category in ASIC’s investor warning data. Anonymous Telegram “advisors”, fake exchanges, pig-butchering relationship scams and rug-pull tokens all share one feature: most are run by anonymous offshore operators who are effectively untouchable.
This is the most important article in our scam-recovery series for one reason: we will not pretend a Letter of Demand can recover money from an anonymous offshore scammer. It cannot. But there is a narrower scenario where it absolutely works.
The legal context
If the scheme was promoted, sold or operated by an identifiable Australian — a registered company, a person with an AFSL or pretending to have one, a financial influencer with a public footprint — multiple Australian regimes apply. ASIC enforces the Corporations Act and ASIC Act prohibitions on misleading conduct and unlicensed financial services. The Australian Consumer Law applies to non-financial-product representations. Common-law deceit applies in any event.
Lodge a report with ASIC’s misconduct portal and Scamwatch. Cybercrime referrals go through ReportCyber.
Realistic outcomes
Be honest with yourself: if you sent crypto to a wallet given to you by an anonymous Telegram contact, the money is gone. No letter of demand reaches a person you cannot name and serve. ASIC and AFP can act against the scheme infrastructure but rarely recover individual funds.
If, however, the promoter is an Australian — including the growing number of unlicensed “crypto coaches” and influencers operating without an AFSL — a Letter of Demand and follow-on action through AFCA or the Federal Court is genuine recovery path.
The document approach
The letter should set out the representations made, the payments, the absence of any AFSL, and the relevant statutory provisions. It should demand a refund within 14 days and flag the parallel ASIC referral.
What Claim Done delivers ($79)
A flat $79 produces a Letter of Demand citing the correct provisions, in your name, ready to send. We will tell you honestly if your scenario is one where a letter is unlikely to help.
What to expect after
Report to ASIC, Scamwatch and ReportCyber regardless of recovery prospects — your report contributes to enforcement action against the scheme. If you used a credit card, lodge a chargeback. If you sent crypto from a regulated Australian exchange, report it there too.