Scam evidence checklist: build a clear case file

Start with a one-page summary

Write the name used by the company or individual, the website address, your country, the approximate period involved, and how contact began. Summarize what you were offered and what happened when you asked for a withdrawal or repayment. Explain the reason for your concern in your own words.

List the payments you actually made and any money actually returned. Preserve the original currencies. If you also calculate a USD equivalent for your own notes, identify the exchange rate and date used. A conversion should not replace the amount shown on the original payment record.

Gather records by category

This checklist is a filing aid. An investigator, payment provider, or authority may ask for additional information. The FBI's cryptocurrency reporting guidance gives examples of transaction information that can help an official report.

Sources: FBI IC3: Guidance for cryptocurrency scam victims

Make a timeline someone else can follow

Use one row for each material event: an introduction, investment claim, payment, withdrawal request, or follow-up. Reference the document that supports that event. A row might say that a transfer was made on a particular date, with the statement saved as E-004. A separate row can record the message that asked you to make that transfer.

Use 'unknown' or 'approximately' where necessary. Avoid turning guesses into facts to make the timeline look complete. If two records appear inconsistent, note the discrepancy. Do not silently adjust an amount, date, sender, or address to make the records agree.

Worked example: link events to evidence

These invented entries illustrate filing decisions, not a client outcome. In the blank timeline download, give each event its own row and copy the matching evidence reference. If one document supports several events, reuse its reference instead of uploading multiple indistinguishable copies.

Keep an evidence-gap note beside an incomplete row: missing exchange export; requested from official support on [date]; response pending. Leave unknown references blank or marked unknown. Do not create a transaction hash or an exact date to fill the space.

Check the payment chain before adding totals

In the fictional example, the bank payment and the subsequent crypto withdrawal describe successive steps involving the same funds. Adding USD 2,400 to a USD estimate of that withdrawal would count those funds twice. Preserve both records, connect them in the timeline, and explain the relationship instead of summing every row.

Use separate lines for new money you contributed, movements between your own accounts, fees, money actually returned, and amounts merely displayed or demanded. Keep crypto quantities and original currencies visible. If the exchange history does not explain a difference, mark it unresolved; do not invent a conversion rate or assume the difference is a fee.

A useful handoff note is: these two records may concern the same funds; E-002 contains the conversion details; the final reported-loss figure needs review. This lets the reviewer resolve the calculation without losing the underlying history.

Keep originals and working copies separate

Give files descriptive names such as E-004_bank-transfer_2026-08-12.pdf. Keep the original download alongside any annotated or redacted copy. If you add arrows or explanations to a screenshot, label it as a working copy. In a short document index, describe where each file came from and when you obtained it.

Do not publish sensitive statements or identification documents in a public comment. Share relevant material through the intended private channel. Keep account passwords, one-time codes, seed phrases, and private keys out of your case file. Those credentials are not needed to describe a payment or record a public transaction reference.

Bring the records into your client area

Justice Point accepts PDF, JPG, PNG, TXT, and CSV files up to 15 MB each. Choose the correct case before uploading. Completed uploads are available in that private case, and you can attach a document to a message so the team knows which record you are discussing.

Start with the records that establish the payment and the conversation around it. Add further material as it becomes relevant. If the team requests a document you do not have, explain what is missing rather than creating a substitute. A clear record of a missing document is more useful than an unsupported reconstruction.