AST Pro, a crypto trading/investment app, is a scam!

AST Pro—or Ast.pro—is a crypto trading/investment app that multiple scam-tracking sites flag as a SCAM. 

It shows fake profits on a polished platform, lets you withdraw small amounts at first to build trust, then hits you with “taxes” or “fees” you have to pay before you can pull out the rest—classic advance-fee scam. Once you pay, the money’s usually gone and withdrawals get blocked.

Reddit users and review sites say it’s tied to pig-butchering style fraud, where they lure people in with promises of easy stock or crypto gains. No legitimate regulation, no real company behind it that anyone can verify.

If they got you, contact your bank or payment provider immediately for a chargeback—speed matters.

What you can do

Contacting the FBI is exactly the right move for something like this. They have a whole team tracking crypto investment scams through their Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

The more people who report AST Pro or Ast.pro, the better the chance it gets on their radar for a bigger investigation.

Hiring a private investigator can be tricker trickier. A legit one who specializes in blockchain forensics might be able to trace where the funds went on the blockchain, but actually getting money back from these overseas scam operations is rare.

Be careful there too—lots of fake “recovery” services out there that are just scammers preying on victims a second time.

Best steps right away

Report to the FBI immediately at ic3.gov — that’s their main hub for crypto scams. Include any wallet addresses, transaction IDs, screenshots, and chat logs. It helps them track these operations even if individual recovery is tough.
Also file at ReportFraud.ftc.gov — quick and adds to the federal picture.
Contact the bank or payment provider ASAP for a chargeback if it was through a card or traceable method.

Important warning

Avoid any “recovery” companies, hackers, or PIs promising to get the money back for an upfront fee. Those are usually secondary scams. Real recovery through authorities is rare with these overseas crypto ops.

Document everything — messages, transactions, the app — and stop all contact with them. Want me to pull up the exact reporting pages or anything else specific?

What are the odds you’ll get your money back

Very low odds, honestly. For most people scammed by AST Pro or similar pig-butchering ops, the money’s gone and doesn’t come back. These scams are built to move funds fast through crypto wallets that are hard to trace or seize.

The FBI and law enforcement do recover funds in some big cases—there are rare wins where they seize wallets and return money—but for the average victim, it’s a tiny percentage.

Reporting helps investigations and can prevent others from getting hit, but expecting your friend’s money back isn’t realistic.

The private investigator might trace the blockchain, but actually clawing it back from overseas scammers is a long shot.

Focus on documenting everything and avoiding recovery scams that promise miracles for an upfront fee.

Here’s how to actually help shut the site down

Report the exa• Report the exact URL (ast.pro) to ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov — include screenshots, wallet addresses, and everything. The more reports they get, the higher priority it becomes.
Submit the site to Google Safe Browsing so it gets flagged in searches and browsers.
Report the domain and addresses to Chainabuse.com — they track crypto scams and help lawct URL (ast.pro) to ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov — include screenshots, wallet addresses, and everything. The more reports they get, the higher priority it becomes.
Submit the site to Google Safe Browsing so it gets flagged in searches and browsers.
Report the domain and addresses to Chainabuse.com — they track crypto scams and help law enforcement move faster.

Realistically, these sites pop back up fast because the scammers are overseas.

The best way to slow them is flooding authorities with reports so they can pressure registrars or seize wallets. Individual victims reporting helps build that pressure.