Is it normal to be asked for an advance fee on a withdrawal? I was approached out of the blue being told that I was supposed to receive a sudden windfall, someone opened an automatic trading account in my name, or offered to invest in a lucrative mining contract. A while later, I'm being told that there are now &quot;thousands of dollars&quot; waiting to be claimed by me.
However, when I try to withdraw the money, the operator asks me for an &quot;advance fee&quot; or an &quot;unlocking fee&quot; so that they can pay me out my money.
That sounds fishy, what is going on? What should I do?

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Related:

Someone else created a wallet for me to use. Is this a scam?
How do I recover from a cryptocurrency scam?
Never pay to receive a withdrawal. If they wanted to send you money, they could deduct the fees from the sum they claim you own in your account.
It's a common scam to be asked for money so that you withdraw your funds. In fact, if you pay, they'll find a different excuse and ask you again to pay them, while you in reality never had any money on their website.
Your account balance might show $10k, $100k, $100m but don't be fooled by their values displayed on their website. Never ever pay to withdraw any bitcoins.
Seek help from your local authorities.