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How to Spot Investment & Crypto Scams

Trading scams are designed to look exactly like real platforms. Here is how to spot trading scams by the warning signs that give them away, and what to do if you have been targeted.

By the VividPip editorial team. Updated 26 September 2026. How we write our guides

Phone showing a verification screen with a shield icon

In short

  • Real investments never guarantee returns. Anyone who promises them is lying.
  • Many scams use convincing fake trading websites and apps that show profits that do not exist.
  • Demands for a fee or 'tax' before you can withdraw are a classic sign of fraud.
  • If you have been scammed, stop paying, keep records and report it. Beware of 'recovery' services that contact you.

How modern trading scams work

The most damaging scams today do not look like scams. Victims are shown a professional website or app with live-looking charts, an account balance and a support chat. The "platform" is controlled by the criminals. Deposits go straight to them, and the profits on screen are just numbers they type in.

A common version, sometimes called pig butchering, starts with a friendly stranger on social media, a messaging app, a dating site or a "wrong number" text. Over weeks they build trust, then mention how much they earn trading forex, gold or crypto and offer to show you how. Small early withdrawals may even work, to build confidence. Then the requests to deposit more begin.

Digital padlock made of circuits protecting a crypto coin

Warning signs

  • Guaranteed or unusually high returns, such as a fixed percentage every day or week.
  • Someone you met online guiding your trades, or a "mentor" who tells you exactly when to buy.
  • Pressure and urgency: a special window that closes today, or a bonus that expires.
  • Payment in crypto only, often USDT, or to a personal bank account.
  • Fees to withdraw: you are told to pay tax, a verification fee, an anti-money-laundering deposit or a "release fee" before you can take money out.
  • A platform you cannot find on any regulator's register, or one claiming a licence that does not match the official register.
  • Requests for remote access to your computer or phone, or for your crypto recovery phrase.
  • Celebrity endorsements in adverts. These are almost always fake.
If you are asked to pay money in order to withdraw your own money, stop. This is one of the most reliable signs of fraud.

How to check a platform

  1. Search the firm on your regulator's register by typing the regulator's address yourself. See how to check a broker for a list.
  2. Compare the website address, phone number and email on the register with the ones you were given. Clone firms copy real companies' details.
  3. Check your regulator's warning list. The FCA, for example, publishes a warning list of unauthorised firms.
  4. Search the platform's name with words like "scam" or "withdrawal problem", but remember fraudsters also post fake positive reviews.
  5. Ask someone you trust, who has nothing to gain, to look at it with you before you pay anything.
Classical central bank building facade with subtle financial chart overlays

Recovery scams

After people lose money, they are often contacted by someone claiming to be a lawyer, investigator or government agency who can get the money back for a fee. These "recovery" services are very often run by the same criminals, or by others who buy lists of victims. Legitimate law enforcement does not charge fees to recover stolen funds.

If you think you have been scammed

  1. Stop sending money, even if you are told it is the only way to unlock your balance.
  2. Contact your bank or payment provider immediately; they may be able to stop or reverse some payments.
  3. Keep records: screenshots, website addresses, wallet addresses, transaction IDs and messages.
  4. Report it. In the US, report to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) and the FTC. In the UK, report to your national fraud reporting service and the FCA. Elsewhere, contact your police and financial regulator.
  5. Change passwords and secure any accounts you shared access to.

Scams affect careful, intelligent people every day. Reporting helps authorities trace the networks behind them and warn others.

About this site

VividPip is an educational website only. We do not offer accounts, trading or investment services, and we will never contact you to ask for money. See about us.

Frequently asked questions

How can I tell if a trading platform is fake?

Check whether it is authorised by your country's financial regulator, compare its contact details with the official register, and be alarmed by guaranteed returns, pressure to deposit more, or fees to withdraw.

Can I get my money back from a crypto scam?

Sometimes, if you act quickly through your bank or payment provider, or if law enforcement traces the funds. Be very wary of anyone who contacts you offering to recover money for a fee.

Why do scammers ask for USDT?

Because crypto transfers are fast, work across borders and are very difficult to reverse once sent.

Sources

  • FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
  • FTC: report fraud
  • FCA ScamSmart and warning list

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