The browser-based crypto wallet provider MetaMask has announced that it will attempt to aid users who fall prey to crypto-related scams and phishing attacks in their quests to recoup lost or stolen assets.
In a press release, the wallet provider explained that it has teamed up with the UK-based firm Asset Reality, which specializes in investigating cases of stolen cryptoassets. The deal will see the latter handle individual cases, and the companies said their partnership represented “an industry-first approach in improving digital asset recovery.”
MetaMask claims to have 30 million monthly active users, and added that the arrangement would see Asset Reality provide MetaMask users support “globally.”
The firms explained that “traditional recovery uses civil litigation, and usually involves instructing a lawyer,” which was problematic in the absence of “special crypto processes,” with costs that “can be in excess of USD 75,000” and take long periods of time to complete.
But Asset Reality’s “offering,” it explained, “allows multiple victims of a scam operation to join forces and build a larger forensic investigation against a scam operation” – with the firm handling cases “free” of charge to MetaMask users.
However, the companies warned, “users may need to cover legal costs should they decide that the route of recovery makes economic sense.”
However, the firms claimed that in cases where “legal costs are too high,” they would “help them join forces with other victims as a group.”
The arrangement will also involve the blockchain analytics firm ConsenSys, which will be called upon to “pursue larger scale scam operations.”
The wallet provider will provide an interface whereby users can report on the nature of their losses, whereupon Asset Reality “will take over communication with the users, and will proactively keep users updated on the status of their cases.”
Dan Finlay, the co-founder of MetaMask, was quoted as stating:
“It’s really important that victims of hacks come forward, no matter how small. They could reveal or be the starting point of a wider investigation and create the opportunity to aggregate claims to commence potential legal action.”
Aidan Larkin, the CEO of Asset Reality, added that scam victims suffer both “emotionally and financially, and said:
“We see losses across the entire crypto ecosystem ranging from hundreds to millions of dollars in value.”
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