Skip to content

What to do if you have been scammed

We understand how devastating it can be to fall victim to a scam. It's unfortunate that there are individuals out there looking to exploit innocent users.

This guide will provide you with instructions on what to do after being scammed, to help safeguard your funds now and in the future.

Move any remaining funds immediately

If your wallet seed has only been recently compromised, it is possible that the scammers may not yet have been able to steal your funds. This is even more likely if your wallet is an XMR wallet; scammers will need time to wait for the wallet to synchronize.

If you recently lost control of your seed, and your wallet still shows a balance, you should follow these steps IMMEDIATELY.

  1. Tap the menu at the top right, then select Wallets.
  2. Choose Create New Wallet.
  3. Select the relevant currency - Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Monero (do for each asset type).
  4. Choose a wallet name (it can be any name, so long as you don't confuse it with another wallet). Then, select Create Wallet. Make sure to save your new wallet's seed in a secure place.
  5. Return to the Wallets screen, then return to the compromised wallet.
  6. Tap the Send button at the bottom of the home screen.
  7. Click the address book icon, then select the new wallet name that you have just created.
  8. Press the ALL button next to the amount to send.
  9. Tap on the large Send button near the bottom of the screen.

If you were able to successfully complete these steps, your funds should be safe in the new wallet for now!

Stop using the compromised wallet

It is important to immediately stop using the compromised wallet.

Under no circumstances should you send any additional funds to the compromised wallet. Scammers may attempt to deceive you with promises of assistance or recovery, but remember that they are only trying to exploit you further.

Create a new wallet

To continue using Cake Wallet safely, you'll need to create a new wallet. You can follow the instructions here for a detailed tutorial. Otherwise:

  1. Tap the menu at the top right, then select Wallets.
  2. Choose Create New Wallet.
  3. Select the relevant currency.
  4. Choose a wallet name (it can be any name). Then, select Create Wallet. Make sure to save your new wallet's seed in a secure place.

Report the scam

To contribute to the prevention of future scams and aid in the investigation, it is important to make a formal report to the authorities.

If you are able, contact your local law enforcement agency and provide them with all the relevant details of the scam, including any communication you had with the scammers. Be sure to include any transactions sent to them and the amouunts that you transferred.

If the crime happened over the internet, we strongly recommend filing a complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). The IC3 received 20,781 crime reports resulting in $1,349,090,833 in losses related to cryptocurrency wallets in 2022 alone.

You can also report scams to us by contacting us at support@cakewallet.com. The more we learn about how people fall victim to scammers, the better we can design the wallet software to provide user warnings where necessary.

Delete the affected wallet

After reporting the scam, we recommend deleting the compromised wallet (but retain the seed!), to make sure that you won't accidentally send funds to it again. To do so:

  1. Tap the menu at the top right, then select Wallets.
  2. Find the compromised wallet in the list of wallets.
  3. Swipe left on the compromised wallet.
  4. Select Delete.

Note that you can only delete wallets that are not currently selected, so select a different wallet first to be able to delete a particular wallet.

Safeguard your seed

Please take extra precautions to safeguard your new wallet seed.

The best way to do this is to write it down on a piece of paper and store it in a secure location, such as a safe or lockbox. If these are unavailable, it's also generally safe to store it digitally in a password manager as long as your devices are secure.

Never share your seed with anyone, including support staff. Remember that the seed phrase controls your funds, and anyone who can see it has full control over your wallet. Stay safe!

Consider enabling Cake 2FA

Cake 2FA is an optional feature to provide more security on your local wallet. It will not prevent scammers from using the seeds that you give to them, but it will help prevent basic in-person thefts. If you enable Cake 2FA, make sure to have safe copies of your seed phrase, in case you lose access to your 2FA device!

Verify who you are speaking to

In the future, when speaking to support staff from Cake Labs - or any company - please do your best to verify their identity. Never trust someone who messages you first and claims to offer you support - this is almost always a scam.

These are our official support channels:

Please feel free to ask our support staff if you need any further help!