Crypto Scam Investigations: Tracing the Money Trail

Learn how to recognize and investigate cryptocurrency scams using open source intelligence techniques. This course takes you through the entire investigative process, starting with understanding how scams operate and setting up a secure environment, then moving into discovering leads, tracing transactions, visualizing money flows, documenting your findings, and reporting to the right authorities.

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Responsible	F1NDX
Last Update	08/15/2026
Completion Time	3 hours 20 minutes
Members	7

Course
Reviews (1)

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Introduction

2Lessons · 5 min
- Introduction to the Course
- Intelligence for Good (I4G) Partnership
Module 1: Understanding Crypto Scams

4Lessons · 25 min
- Understanding Crypto Scams
- Types of Crypto Scams
- Case File: The $92 Million Scam Network
- Module 1 Quiz
  
  10 xp
Module 2: Preparing for Investigation

6Lessons · 35 min
- Preparing for Investigation
- Toolkit Preparation
- Virtual Machine (VM) Setup
- Pre-Investigation Checklist
- Affiliate: Proton VPN
- Module 2 Quiz
  
  10 xp
Module 3: Discovery and Reconnaisance

6Lessons · 35 min
- Disclaimer ⚠️
- Target Discovery
- Scanning the Site
- Finding Related Domains
- Whois and Who's Behind It
- Module 3 Quiz
  
  10 xp
Module 4: Running the Investigation

6Lessons · 30 min
- Building a Sockpuppet
- Understanding KYC
- Collecting the Wallets
- Pivoting in Investigations
- Reading a Single Transaction
- Module 4 Quiz
  
  10 xp
Module 5: Tracing and Visualization

5Lessons · 30 min
- Visualization Tools
  
  New
- Reading the Graph
  
  New
- Challenges in Crypto Investigations
  
  New
- Extra Reading: Mixers, Chain-Hopping, and Nested Services
  
  New
- Module 5 Quiz
  
  New 10 xp
Module 6: Documentation and Mapping

2Lessons · 10 min
- Utilizing Obsidian
  
  New
- Manage Collected Data with Dropbox
  
  New
Module 7: Reporting and Escalation

2Lessons · 10 min
- Reporting via ic3.gov
  
  New
- Sponsored: Reporting via Scambusters University
  
  New
Epilogue & Exam

3Lessons · 20 min
- Epilogue
- Resources & Extra Reads
- Crypto Scam Investigations: Tracing the Money Trail Certification
  
  New