Check a USDT address
USDT is a token that exists on several blockchains, so the same name can mean very different networks. Paste the wallet address and we read the network it belongs to, show the USDT balance and recent transfers, and on TRON and Ethereum ask Tether's own contract whether the address has been blocklisted (on Solana we read whether the token can freeze accounts). A result is a fact with a confidence grade, never a verdict that an address is a scam or is safe.
- USDT on TRON, Ethereum and Solana
- Asks Tether's contract about a freeze
- Spots fake look-alike USDT tokens
- Free, no sign-up
I sent money to a scammer
Paste the address you sent to (your wallet or exchange shows it in the transaction details) or the transaction ID. You will see where the money is now, whether it can be frozen, and what to tell the police.
I am an investigator
Check addresses and transactions, trace a few hops forward or backward, and export a hop table, a report with a request manifest, and the freeze and disclosure letters from the handbook.
I have a message or a screenshot's text
Paste the whole chat, e-mail or statement. We list every wallet address and transaction ID in it with its position, flag any that fail their checksum (a typo), and you pick which to check.
The first hour: six questions, in order
- 1Is the money still sitting in an address you can see?
Note the balance and the time (UTC) and watch the address. Prepare freeze requests before you finish tracing. - 2Is any of it in a token its issuer controls (USDT, USDC, PYUSD, USDP, PAXG, XAUt, RLUSD, EURC)?
Send a freeze request to the issuer with the exact chain, token contract, address and your legal basis. Issuers can block a token even in a self-held wallet. - 3Did it reach a deposit address at a crypto exchange?
Send preservation, freeze and disclosure requests to that exchange through its law-enforcement channel. Not through customer support. - 4In India: is money still in the banking system?
Call 1930 and file at cybercrime.gov.in at once so banks can be alerted before the money moves on. - 5Is there a phone, a seed phrase, a hardware wallet or an exchange app within reach?
Follow the first-response rules: isolate, do not switch off, do not guess codes, and move assets only into a wallet the agency controls, under authority. - 6Is someone now contacting the victim as a 'recovery agent' or an 'official' asking for a fee?
Warn them. Real police and regulators never charge a fee to recover money, and 'recovery' contacts are a second scam.
How we grade what we tell you
- C1Confirmed. A fact recorded on-chain or in an official record: a transaction, a block, an issuer freeze event, a record produced under legal process.
- C2Strong. Several independent methods agree, for example common-input plus timing plus amount match, or two analytics tools plus exchange confirmation.
- C3Moderate. One reliable heuristic or one reputable label, such as a change-address guess alone.
- C4Lead. An unverified signal: a community report, a risk score, a pattern flag. Never present it as fact.
What a USDT (Tether) address looks like
Knowing the network matters: the same coin name can sit on different blockchains, and money sent on the wrong one may be lost.
| Network | How to recognise it |
|---|---|
| TRON (USDT-TRC20) | Starts with T, 34 characters. Often requested by scammers because transfers are cheap. |
| Ethereum (USDT-ERC20) | Starts with 0x, 42 characters. A normal wallet address is the same on every EVM network, but a smart-contract wallet may not exist at that address on another network. |
| BNB Smart Chain ("USDT" BEP-20) | Also starts with 0x, 42 characters, so you cannot tell it from an Ethereum address by looking. The USDT on BNB Chain is Binance-Peg BSC-USD, issued by Binance, not by Tether. |
| Solana | 32 to 44 letters and digits, no 0x. There is no checksum, so a mistyped address looks valid. |
How scammers use USDT (Tether)
Patterns seen in scam and fraud cases. A pattern describes how crimes are run, not any one address: busy, legitimate wallets can look similar.
- Investment and romance scams ask for USDT because it holds a steady dollar value and moves in minutes.
- Victims are told to pick the cheapest network (often TRON), then payments are split across many addresses within hours.
- Fake tokens named USDT are sent to wallets so a victim believes a payment arrived. Only the issuer's real contract counts.
- Address poisoning: a look-alike address is planted in your history in the hope you copy it next time.
Can USDT (Tether) be frozen or recovered?
Yes, in some cases
Tether can blocklist an address in its own contract on Ethereum and TRON, which stops that address moving USDT. It does this for law-enforcement requests and court orders, and under its own sanctions policy, not because a victim asks, and only while the money is still in USDT in that address. On Solana the issuer can freeze a token account through the token's freeze authority. USDT on BNB Chain is issued by Binance, so a freeze request for it goes to Binance through the police. Once funds are swapped to another coin, sent to a wallet that is not blocklisted, or cashed out, the freeze no longer helps. Speed is the deciding factor.
Nobody on this site can recover money, and anyone who offers to recover it for a fee is running a second scam. Report to the police first; the investigator workspace prepares the request letters and evidence file an investigator needs.
What we check
Every result is a fact with a confidence grade, from C1 (confirmed on the chain) to C4 (a lead).
- Which network the address belongs to, and whether the same address holds funds on other networks.
- USDT balance and the most recent transfers, in UTC, with the explorer used.
- On TRON and Ethereum, whether Tether's own contract lists the address as blocklisted, at a stated block; on Solana, whether the token has a freeze authority.
- Whether a token calling itself USDT is Tether's real contract or an impostor.
- Matches against the OFAC sanctions list and addresses law enforcement has published.
- Pattern flags such as collection addresses and address poisoning, shown as leads.
For investigators
- A freeze request to Tether goes through its law-enforcement channel and needs a legal basis; a freeze applies to that token on that chain only.
- Record the transaction ID, UTC time, network and the exact receiving address. Copy addresses from the explorer, not from a screenshot.
- On TRON, an account is activated when it first receives TRX or a TRC-10 token, or when another account creates it. Receiving USDT alone does not activate it. The address that activated it is a useful linking clue.
We do not say who owns an address, and we do not call an address a scam or safe: a blockchain shows value moving, not identity. Confirm any figure you rely on on a second source before it goes in a complaint. Public explorers for this network: Tronscan (TRON (USDT-TRC20)), Etherscan (Ethereum (USDT-ERC20)), BscScan (BNB Smart Chain), Solscan (Solana).
Questions people ask
Can Tether freeze my USDT if I sent it to a scammer?
Possibly, but not on your request alone. Tether can blocklist an address when law enforcement or a court asks, and under its own sanctions policy, and it only works while the USDT is still in that address. Report to the police immediately with the transaction ID, the network and the receiving address; the faster that reaches Tether, the better the chance.
How do I know if my USDT is TRC-20, ERC-20 or BEP-20?
Look at the address and at the app. A TRON address starts with T. An address starting with 0x could be Ethereum or another EVM network such as BNB Chain, and only the network chosen at the time of sending decides which. (USDT on BNB Chain is issued by Binance, not Tether.) Your wallet or exchange withdrawal screen shows the network. Paste the address here and we show where it holds funds.
Does this tell me if an address is a scam?
No. A blockchain shows value moving between addresses, not who controls them. We show facts: balance, activity, issuer freeze status and list matches, each with a confidence grade. Treat patterns as leads for the police, not as proof.
I received USDT that I did not expect. Is it real?
It may be a fake token that only uses the name USDT. We compare a token with Tether's real contract on each network. Do not interact with an unexpected token or any link in its name.
Can you recover my USDT?
No. Nobody on this site can recover money, and anyone who offers recovery for a fee is running a second scam. Police, an exchange or an issuer can act on a proper request, which is what the Request letters section helps prepare.