Freezing Funds with an Exchange Email
tactic
Core idea
The practical place to stop stolen crypto is a centralized exchange, because funds in a normal wallet are immutable. A single email from a government-issued law-enforcement address to an exchange can be enough to freeze an account. A private investigator can typically only secure a temporary freeze (about two weeks); a law-enforcement request makes it last indefinitely.
When to use
The moment stolen assets land at an exchange deposit address, while they are still there and before they are withdrawn.
Avoid when
Funds are still in an externally owned wallet or in a decentralized asset. There is no one to email, and the assets cannot be frozen until they reach an exchange.
Example
After a stolen NFT was sold and the ETH sent to OKEx, a freeze was obtained that held for about two weeks, giving the victim time to engage the French authorities to make it permanent.
Related
PI Response Priority: Freeze, Monitor, Predict, OSINT, Freezable vs Non-Freezable Crypto Assets