A common sequel to an investment or romance-to-trading scam is the paperwork ladder. Someone shows you a swollen Bitcoin balance, then explains that United States tax letters, audits, overseas conversion, and finally an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) fee must be paid before the money can land in a real bank. Victims report being walked from country to country on PDF letterhead until the extra payments dwarf the original loss — sometimes into six figures of new debt.
An ITIN is a real Internal Revenue Service (IRS) identifier for people who need a US taxpayer number but cannot get a Social Security number. It is not a magic key that unlocks crypto sitting with strangers, and genuine tax authorities do not collect “release” fees through a recovery agent’s wallet. Official-looking tax stationery is easy to forge; treat any demand to pre-pay tax, conversion or “compliance” into a private wallet as a hard stop.
If you are on this ladder: stop new payments immediately; keep every letter and chat; tell your bank if cards or transfers were involved; and report through ordinary fraud and tax-scam channels. Do not hire a second “specialist” who promises to finish the ITIN step for one more deposit.
If this matches something you have seen, start at Get help. Paid clawback offers belong under Fake recovery.
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.