Alvarium Wealth approached our Perth client as a professional opportunity: steady, “institutional” staking yields shown on a polished dashboard. The software was real; the returns were not. She funded the account with AU$76,500 in USDT and ETH.
81%
of the loss recovered (AU$62,000)
Why the number was high
The stablecoin and a share of the ETH were still identifiable at exchanges when our freeze requests arrived. A dashboard showing balances that never dip and never pause is a classic high-yield-fraud signal — the numbers are entries in a database, not assets you control.
When a withdrawal suddenly needs an “unlock,” “staking,” or “compliance” fee, stop. For more documented outcomes, see our case studies.