Canadian clone-exchange victims keep paying a second time. The first payment was the fake order book. The second is a "case activation" in bitcoin. Stop at the second.
Legitimate practices do not ask for money upfront, retainers in crypto, gift cards, or a tax to unlock funds. They do not ask for AnyDesk, TeamViewer, seed phrases, or private keys. Several practices told AXT News they are running waiting lists this month, which is a dull operational detail and a useful filter: a firm that can start tomorrow for anyone is often not doing court work. Recovery is never automatic. It depends on whether the coins can still be traced to an exchange or a wallet a court can reach, and on the facts of that client's file.
A real network will sit the file behind Hong Kong-registered forensic analysts at aidataintelligence.io and may say the coins already left every useful venue. A licensed recovery network taking Canadian fake-exchange matters said this week's declined files outnumbered accepted ones, which is the ratio you want from people who are not paid to say yes. See Canada crypto fraud protection.