What to do when an exchange asks for a selfie with your ID to release a stuck swap

05 September 2026

Stop. Do not send the selfie. Do not send your ID. The swap is not coming back regardless of what you do next.

A legitimate exchange never needs your photo ID to complete an automated swap. The swap was designed to work without identity verification. If it is stuck, and the site suddenly demands a selfie with your ID to "release" it, the site is either compromised or was never a real swap service. The request is a fishing tactic. Your funds are already gone.

Here is why this happens, and what you should actually do.

Why the request appears

The site may claim that compliance or anti-fraud checks require you to "verify ownership" of the deposit address. This is false. A real swap service processes deposits by matching them to an order using the blockchain transaction ID - not by who owns the sending wallet. No legitimate swap site needs to see your face or your government ID to do that.

The request is a last attempt to extract more value from you. The site already has your crypto. It cannot release it because it either never intended to, or the swap failed internally and they have no mechanism to refund. Asking for a selfie with your ID is a way to make you believe the problem is solvable on your end, so you keep engaging. The real goal is either identity theft or a secondary scam - like a fake "verification fee" that follows.

What you should do

Do not comply. Sending a selfie with your ID gives a stranger a high-quality forgery tool. That image can be used to open accounts in your name, apply for credit, or bypass KYC on other services. The risk to you is far larger than the value of the stuck swap.

Accept the loss. This is the hard part. The swap is not coming back. Every minute you spend negotiating, emailing, or arguing is time you could use to secure your other accounts. Treat the deposited amount as gone.

Document everything you have. Screenshot the swap page, the transaction on the block explorer, the URL, and any messages from the site. Save these in a folder. You may need them if you report the site to a regulator or a blockchain analytics firm, but do not expect recovery.

Check your other wallets and exchanges. If you used a password or API key on that swap site, change it immediately. If you connected a wallet, revoke approvals. The site may have harvested more than just the swap deposit.

What not to do

• Do not send a "smaller" selfie or a cropped ID. The scammer can still use it.
• Do not offer to send a different document. They want your face and your ID together.
• Do not pay a "release fee" or "verification deposit". That is a second theft.
• Do not share the request on social media hoping the site will fix it. The site is not watching.

When is this request legitimate?

Almost never, for a swap. The one edge case is a regulated exchange that requires KYC before you deposit, not after. If you used a site that explicitly said "no KYC" and later demands ID, it is a scam. If the site is a registered, regulated platform that always requires ID, you should have been asked before you sent funds - not after the swap stuck.

If you are unsure, read the hub page "Swapping crypto safely" for the checks you should make before sending funds to any exchange address. That page covers how to verify a site's operating model before you trust it with your deposit. But in this moment, with the selfie request already in front of you, the answer is simple: stop, do not send, and walk away.

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