In short
Boiler room fraud is the high-pressure selling of worthless or non-existent investments, often by phone; investigating boiler room fraud starts with the question of where your money actually went. Not every pushy caller is a fraudster, but if you recognise the pattern, let Paucitas, an independent firm of experts, follow the payment route and set it out in a report that anyone can follow step by step. Ring us any time, day or night, or fill in the contact form; the first conversation is free.
Paucitas is an independent expert firm in the Netherlands that investigates investment fraud and crypto fraud, establishes the origin and legitimacy of crypto assets and prepares expert reports for legal proceedings and compliance.
On this page
- What is boiler room fraud and how do you recognise it?
- Who investigates boiler room fraud?
- How does an investigation into boiler room fraud with crypto payments work?
- I have been approached by a boiler room, what can I do?
- Why does a boiler room investigation start with the payment?
- How long after the payment can boiler room fraud still be investigated?
- What can a boiler room investigation not do?
- Frequently asked questions
- What can you do now?
What is boiler room fraud and how do you recognise it?
A boiler room is a group of salespeople working from a call centre who push investments that do not exist or are worth nothing. They call again and again, apply pressure and promise high returns. These days it is often about crypto: a new coin, a trading platform or an “exclusive” opportunity. Not every caller with an investment offer is a fraudster, but a few signs keep coming back.
Signs that may point to a boiler room
- You are cold called, often several times, by someone posing as an adviser or broker.
- There is a rush: “today only”, “the price goes up tomorrow”, “only a few places left”.
- The promised return is high and certain, without it being clear where it comes from.
- You have to pay to a crypto address or a foreign account, not through a firm you know.
- After a first deposit you are asked for more, for “tax”, “release fees” or a bigger position.
- After a while a second party calls, promising to get your money back for a fee paid up front.
Recognising a few of these points is not proof, but it is a reason to be careful and pay nothing more. You can check whether a firm is authorised or registered with the FCA Firm Checker and whether the FCA has warned about it on the FCA Warning List.
See also the terms boiler room and fake crypto platform, and the blog how to recognise aggressive crypto sales tactics.
Who investigates boiler room fraud?
Paucitas investigates boiler room cases on the facts and independently. We reconstruct on the blockchain which addresses your money went to and where the trail visibly ends. We record our findings in a report that the police, your bank or a court can use. Paucitas does all tracing itself, without tracing tools.
What Paucitas does and does not do
Paucitas is an independent firm of experts based in the Netherlands that investigates investment fraud and crypto fraud, in hundreds of cases a year, including for clients in the UK. We work out what happened to your money: the transactions, the route, the platforms involved and the timeline. We do not give a view on guilt or liability and we do not promise that your money will come back. What we do give you is clarity, and a file that an authority can work with. Sometimes it turns out not to be a scam at all, but an investment that went badly; that is also worth knowing.
How does an investigation into boiler room fraud with crypto payments work?
If you paid in crypto, we follow those transactions on the blockchain. We map out intermediate addresses, mixers and exchanges and describe the route on the facts. That gives a file an authority can work with, without us giving a view on guilt or liability.
The investigation step by step
- Free intake: you tell us what happened and which payments you made.
- You send what you have: transaction IDs, addresses, bank statements, emails, details of the platform.
- We follow every payment on the blockchain, step by step, to where the trail visibly ends.
- We record which exchanges or services the money reached, as far as that can be established.
- You receive a report with the route, the timeline and the limitations, explained in plain English.
- With that report you can report the fraud or inform your bank and solicitor; we explain it where that helps.
Further reading: the blog how a payment is followed from an address to an exchange.
I have been approached by a boiler room, what can I do?
Stop any further payments and keep everything: call details, emails, the platform and the transaction hashes. Then have someone check whether the flow of money can still be followed. The sooner that starts, the better the chance the route stays recognisable. With the Paucitas report you can then report the fraud, and we guide you through the steps after that.
What you can record now
- Phone numbers, names and times of the calls, as well as you can remember them.
- Emails, chat messages and any contracts or “account statements” from the platform.
- The web address of the platform, with screenshots of your account.
- Every payment: date, amount, address or account and, for crypto, the transaction ID.
- Bank statements showing how you bought or sent the crypto.
Does someone call later promising to get your money back if you pay first? That is often a second round of the same scam. Do not pay, and let us know.
Further reading: the blogs the checklist investors use to recognise a boiler room and how to secure evidence while you still can.
Why does a boiler room investigation start with the payment?
With boiler room fraud the sales side is rarely the place to start. Phone numbers change, websites disappear and names are made up. The payment stays put. If you paid in crypto, you hold a set of fixed details: addresses, amounts and moments that can no longer be changed.
Why the pattern matters
What often stands out is the repetition. Boiler rooms work from a script and with fixed addresses that several victims have used. When your route leads to such addresses, that says something about the size of the operation and about which authority can act on it. That is why we record not only your own payments, but also the pattern around them.
If the money reaches an exchange that is supervised, that gives the police something to work with. Paucitas does not establish who an address belongs to; that is for the authorities with the powers to do so.
Further reading: the case study crypto followed through a mixer to its end point.
How long after the payment can boiler room fraud still be investigated?
Transactions on the blockchain stay there, so payments from years ago can still be checked. What does fade over time is everything around them: screenshots, messages and data held by platforms. Recording things quickly therefore widens what can be investigated, but coming forward late does not rule out an investigation.
Why acting quickly still helps
The shorter the time since the payment, the better the chance that money is still at a recognisable address or with an exchange. An exchange can keep data or freeze an account at the request of the police; that only works if a report is made quickly. Your own memory and records are also still fresh. If the payment was long ago, an investigation is still worthwhile to get clarity and to back up a report to the police.
What can a boiler room investigation not do?
An investigation records the route of your money; next steps lie with the authorities or the court. Paucitas does not promise that your money will come back. Anyone who does promise that is a warning sign in themselves.
Being honest about what is achievable
Sometimes the trail ends at an exchange that can provide information to the police. Sometimes the money has been spread through many steps and only the first part of the route can be established. In every case the report states what has and has not been established. That way you know where you stand, and a solicitor or the police can judge which step makes sense.
See also: the blog what recovering stolen crypto realistically involves.
Frequently asked questions
What is boiler room fraud?
The aggressive, often phone-based selling of investments that do not exist or are worth nothing. Typical features are repeated calls, time pressure, high promised returns and payment to a crypto address or a foreign account.
Can I still do anything if I have already paid?
Yes. Stop any further payments and keep all your records. Paucitas can follow and record the payment route, so you can report the fraud with a well-supported file or inform your bank and solicitor.
Can I get my money back after boiler room fraud?
That depends on your situation. If you still have access to your own wallet or account holding funds, there may still be options. If everything has been sent to the fraudsters, the picture is different. That cannot be judged from a distance. Paucitas first looks at your situation and tells you honestly what is and is not possible. Be careful with anyone who promises in advance that your money will come back. In doubt? Contact Paucitas and you will know where you stand.
How long does an investigation take and what does it cost?
From the same day to around two weeks, depending on the number of payments and networks. Every investigation is tailored: you receive a bespoke quote in advance, which we go through together.
What can you do now?
Have you been approached by a pushy salesperson, or have you already paid? It happens to many people, careful ones included. Do get in touch; we listen, look honestly at your situation and tell you what can still be established.
Ring us any time, day or night, on +31 20 244 5774, fill in the contact form (you will hear from us within 1 to 3 hours) or email us (reply within 24 hours, usually the same day). The intake is free and without obligation; you receive a bespoke quote in advance.
Which pages belong to this topic?
- Crypto fraud investigation, the wider topic this is part of.
- Boiler room, what this selling method involves.
- Fake crypto platform, how to recognise a fraudulent platform.
Short answers to specific questions
Short answers to specific questions are in the questions and answers overview; you will find what terms mean in the glossary.
Further reading in the knowledge base
Your own situation
If you are reading this, you probably have a question about your own situation. That is exactly what Paucitas does.
The first step is contact by phone. You can book that call by phone or through the contact form, so you do not have to wait. In the call we look together at what can factually be established in your case and what Paucitas can examine for you.