This is a recovery scam. Recovery scammers will claim to be "experts" who can help scam victims recover their lost assets. Once someone contacts a recovery scammer, the scammer may try to prove their "legitimacy" by providing fake/photoshopped IDs, documents, or screenshots of their progress. If the client decides to continue with the recovery, the scammer will soon begin to claim that they cannot start recovering unless the client sends them money - a common excuse these scammers will give is that they need the money to purchase unique tools/equipment/programs/security keys before they can start recovering the assets. If the client decides to send money to the scammer, the scammer will either continue giving excuses so that they can try to convince the client to send them more money, or they'll immediately leave with the money and ghost the client (now victim).
If you're a scam victim (especially a recent one), keep in mind that nobody from WhatsApp or Telegram can recover anything you've lost - anyone who claims otherwise is lying and will try to scam you. For information on what steps you can take after being scammed, I recommend these resources:
- https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-do-if-you-were-scammed
- https://www.discover.com/online-banking/banking-topics/how-to-recover-from-being-scammed/amp/
- https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-to-do-if-you-have-been-scammed-online/
- https://www.wikihow.com/Recover-Money-from-a-Scammer
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