Investigation note / 26.08.2026
Unregulated ‘recovery agents’ often contact victims on messaging apps and ask for seed phrases, remote access or a further payment. A regulated practice does none of those things.
After a digital-asset loss, a second fraud is common: someone offers to ‘recover’ the funds if you pay a fee, share a seed phrase, or grant remote access. That is not legal work. A regulated solicitors’ practice will not ask for those things.
Impersonation often happens on Telegram, WhatsApp or lookalike email domains. The message may use a firm’s name, a lawyer’s photograph, or the language of tracing and freezing. Genuine contact from Edison Law can be checked on this website and on the Fraud warning page. We do not begin instructions on messaging apps, and we do not ask for private keys, seed phrases, 2FA codes or remote control of a device.
If an unexpected recovery offer arrives, stop the conversation. Do not pay. Do not share credentials. Keep screenshots of the profile, usernames, payment requests, links and any wallet addresses used. Those records may later support a report or a civil file. Confirm any supposed solicitor against the public SRA record and a known contact channel, not the number in the same message.
A solicitor can assess whether tracing, preservation, disclosure or proceedings are realistic on the original loss. That is a scoped instruction with a written charging basis. It is not a promise to reverse a blockchain transfer. Anyone who guarantees recovery, or who needs your seed phrase to ‘unlock’ funds, is not offering a legal service you should use.
This note cannot identify every impersonation. If you are unsure whether a message is from Edison Law, use the contact form on this site or a number or address you already hold. See also the Fraud warning page.
Disclaimer
This note is general information about method. It is not advice on a specific matter and it does not describe a client result.
Reviewed by Priya Raman, Compliance Officer for Legal Practice, on 15 June 2026. Next review due 15 June 2027. This page is general information about the law of England and Wales and is not advice on your situation.