A pattern shows up again and again in victim reports: you click from a glowing “trading group” article into Telegram, meet an assistant, deposit a small test, then a warm curator arrives. Next comes an email that looks like it came from a big exchange — OKX is a frequent costume — promising a 100% bonus if you fund more. After that, the account is “blocked” until another transfer clears it. Names of channels rotate (Ghost, Slash, Ninja-flavoured handles, copy-trade bots); the ladder does not.
OKX, like other major venues, will not cold-pitch you inside a random Telegram room with a mystery sub-account. Open the exchange only via a bookmark you created yourself, enable withdrawal whitelist, and treat any bonus that requires sending crypto to a chat partner as hostile. If you already paid a “unblock” fee, stop — that invoice series does not end on its own.
If something similar lands in your inbox, start at Get help. If the next pitch is “we can get the money back”, read Fake recovery first.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Details change. If you have lost money, contact your bank or card issuer and use the routes on the help pages.