09-30-2026 
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TL;DR: Digital currency investigations can trace digital-asset transactions, but blockchain evidence must be combined with OSINT and other sources to establish context and attribution. Token Recovery says digital currency fraud is becoming more professionalized, with AI-enabled scams, cross-chain movement, and human manipulation creating new challenges.
Key Takeaways:
- Blockchain transactions can provide a detailed trail of where digital currency moves, but wallet addresses do not automatically identify individuals.
- Token Recovery combined blockchain forensics with OSINT to investigate digital currency addresses and potential links to exchanges and other services.
- Digital currency fraud is becoming more professionalized, with AI deepfakes, phishing, wallet-draining and investment scams increasingly operating at scale.
- Token Recovery has expanded into cross-chain tracing, wallet monitoring, fraud investigations, compliance support and court-ready reporting.
- Preventing digital currency fraud requires slowing down transactions, protecting credentials, verifying counterparties and maintaining strong organizational security controls.
I was watching a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary about Tommy Robinson, one of the U.K.’s more controversial political figures with over 2 million followers on X. While he has a huge number of die-hard supporters who are happy to donate money to his causes, there are always two sides to every story.
My attention was piqued towards the end when reporter Matt Shea—certainly not a die-hard supporter—started talking about Robinson’s call for digital currency donations and where the funds were actually going. Token Recovery, a company I have worked closely with for some years now, was brought in to analyze the transaction trail from digital currency donations to Robinson’s wallet and the spending from that same wallet.
The main message here is that digital currency payments are much more traceable than most people think. Sending transactions in crypto is not anonymous, and companies like Token Recovery can help immensely with digital currency-related fraud. To provide more information on how Token Recovery operates and exactly what they can do to help combat fraud as it balloons in sophistication, I spoke with Scott Pounder, Head of Token Recovery.
Becky Liggero: Thank you so much for joining me today, Scott. Can you tell me how you got involved in the Tommy Robinson case and what you uncovered?
Scott Pounder: So the production company reached out to Matt Green as a Legal Expert in Crypto and asked him for a recommendation for a quality Blockchain Forensic Company. He recommended us. Hardcash Productions brought Token Recovery in to independently test the cryptocurrency evidence behind its investigation.
Our job wasn’t to make political or criminal judgments; it was to follow the blockchain. We identified cryptocurrency addresses that had publicly been advertised for donations and traced activity from those wallets. One particularly interesting transaction involved 0.92 Bitcoin moving from a donation address through an intermediary address, with funds subsequently reaching addresses attributed by blockchain-analysis providers to online gambling services.
The important thing with blockchain forensics is not to overstate what the technology tells you. A blockchain can give you an exceptionally strong transaction trail, but an address isn’t automatically a person. In this case, the intermediary could have represented a payment or peer-to-peer service, so our analysis couldn’t establish simply from the blockchain that Tommy Robinson personally gambled those funds. What we could do was establish where the cryptocurrency traveled and identify the questions that needed answering. That analysis ultimately informed the investigation shown in Channel 4’s Dispatches.
Becky Liggero: During the documentary, Green talks about the use of “open source intelligence”—how did you use it to complete your report for Green?
Scott Pounder: Open-source intelligence, or OSINT, is the disciplined collection, verification, and analysis of information that is lawfully available from public sources. In a crypto investigation, it is particularly useful because the blockchain can show you where funds moved, but it does not automatically tell you who sits behind a wallet or what the wider context of a transaction is. OSINT helps us bridge that gap by examining sources such as websites and archived pages, social media material, corporate and public records, and other publicly available digital footprints, while documenting where the information came from and testing it against other evidence.
For the report commissioned, we combined that off-chain research with blockchain forensics. Hardcash Productions provided wallet addresses, and we independently reviewed and developed those leads. We looked at the public material connecting cryptocurrency addresses to the entities being investigated and then used specialist blockchain analytics tools to trace transactions, identify wallet clusters, and assess possible links to exchanges and other services.
Crucially, we treated OSINT and blockchain analytics as complementary evidence rather than assuming that either source proved identity on its own. Where attribution was uncertain or a credible alternative explanation existed, we documented that limitation. The aim was to turn a collection of public information and on-chain transactions into a structured, reproducible, and defensible intelligence picture that the production team could properly assess.
Becky Liggero: So interesting! Thank you for the explanation. Seeing as you are right in the thick of it, where are you seeing the latest developments in crypto fraud?
Scott Pounder: The biggest development is that crypto fraud is becoming more professionalized and increasingly intertwined with mainstream financial crime. We are seeing investment and so-called pig-butchering scams operating at an industrial scale, alongside impersonation fraud, phishing, and wallet-draining attacks.
AI is accelerating that trend: deepfakes, voice cloning, synthetic identities, and automated social engineering make it much easier for criminals to create convincing approaches at scale. Chainalysis reported a 1,400% year-on-year increase in impersonation scams in its 2026 research and found AI-enabled scams were significantly more profitable than traditional scams. At the same time, criminals are getting better at moving proceeds through chains, bridges, mixers, and other services, so investigators increasingly need to follow both the money and the broader digital footprint associated with it.
What is particularly important is that the weak point is not always the blockchain technology itself. Frequently, it is the person, the process, or the credentials associated with it: somebody is manipulated into authorizing a transaction, revealing a seed phrase, or believing they are dealing with an exchange, adviser, or trusted contact. Once the transaction is authorized, the blockchain can work exactly as designed while the victim still loses the asset.
Becky Liggero: Love the term “pig-butchering,” I had to look that one up! I also love your point on human manipulation—so true. How is Token Recovery expanding its services in response to these developments in crypto fraud?
Scott Pounder: We have deliberately expanded from being seen purely as a recovery business into a full digital-asset investigations and forensic practice. Our work now covers advanced cross-chain tracing, OSINT, source and destination-of-funds analysis, wallet monitoring, freezing support, expert witness work, and court-ready reporting. We also work alongside lawyers, exchanges, custodians, and law enforcement because identifying where an asset has gone is only one part of a successful recovery strategy; the evidence has to be usable, and somebody ultimately has to act on it.
We are also moving further into prevention and institutional work. That includes corporate fraud investigations, counterparty and wallet risk assessments, digital asset due diligence, compliance support, and training for legal, AML, and enforcement teams. Alongside that, Token Academy is focused on building practical investigative and risk-awareness capability. The direction of travel is really from reacting to theft after it happens towards helping organizations identify risk earlier, while retaining the forensic capability to respond quickly when something does go wrong.
Becky Liggero: For sure, prevention and reacting quickly are key. Do you have any quick tips to prevent crypto/digital asset fraud in the first place?
Scott Pounder: The first rule is to slow the process down. Fraudsters are very good at creating urgency, authority, or fear, so never let somebody pressure you into moving digital assets, changing security settings, or revealing credentials.
Independently verify who you are dealing with using contact details you have sourced yourself, rather than links or numbers provided in a message. Never share a seed phrase or private key, and be extremely cautious about signing wallet approvals or connecting a wallet to an unfamiliar website.
For businesses, prevention is as much about process as technology. Use strong access controls and multifactor authentication; separate duties for significant transactions; tightly control private-key access; verify changes to payment or withdrawal instructions through a second channel; and have a clear incident-response plan. Before making a significant investment or payment, check both sides of the proposition: not only the wallet and transaction history, but the company, website, and people behind it. If something does go wrong, preserve the evidence and act quickly. The earlier the investigators, exchanges, lawyers, or law enforcement can be engaged, the greater the opportunity to identify an intervention point before the funds move again.
Becky Liggero: Thank you so much for that, very useful. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Scott Pounder: I think the wider message is that cryptocurrency itself should not automatically be equated with crime. The overwhelming majority of activity is legitimate, and one advantage for investigators is that public blockchains can preserve a detailed transaction trail long after funds have moved. But that transparency has to be interpreted carefully. Good blockchain forensics is not about drawing a colorful graph and declaring that an address belongs to somebody; it is about combining on-chain evidence, OSINT, corroboration, and investigative judgment, documenting the limitations, and producing conclusions that can withstand scrutiny.
As criminals become more sophisticated, the response must also become more joined-up. Investigators, exchanges, banks, lawyers, regulators, and law enforcement all hold different pieces of the puzzle. The cases with the best prospects are generally the ones where those pieces are brought together quickly, and the evidence is translated into practical action.
Becky Liggero: What a great message to leave us with. Thank you so much, Scott. We at CoinGeek are huge fans of your work—keep it up!
FAQs:
Are crypto transactions really anonymous?
No. Public blockchains can preserve detailed records of transactions and show where funds move. However, a blockchain address does not automatically reveal the person behind it.
How do crypto investigators trace stolen funds?
Investigators follow transactions from known wallet addresses using blockchain-analysis tools. They can identify transaction paths, wallet clusters and potential connections to exchanges or other services.
What is OSINT in crypto investigations?
OSINT, or open-source intelligence, is the collection and analysis of information legally available from public sources. In crypto investigations, it can include websites, archived pages, social media, corporate records, and other digital footprints.
How is AI being used in crypto fraud?
AI is helping fraudsters create more convincing scams at scale through deepfakes, voice cloning, synthetic identities, and automated social engineering.
What is pig-butchering crypto fraud?
Pig-butchering is a type of investment scam in which victims are manipulated into sending money or digital assets to fraudulent schemes.
How can I protect myself from crypto fraud?
Slow down when someone creates urgency, fear, or pressure to move digital assets. Independently verify contacts, never share seed phrases or private keys, and be cautious about wallet approvals and unfamiliar websites.
What should I do if crypto is stolen?
Preserve transaction records and other evidence and act quickly. Investigators, exchanges, lawyers, or law enforcement may be able to identify intervention points before funds move further.
What is Token Recovery, and how does it work?
Token Recovery is a global digital-asset investigations firm specializing in blockchain forensics, asset tracing, and recovery.
Watch: Can Blockchain Recover Stolen Crypto? BSV Says Yes
