An investment that can't lose

If a trading site or app wants a fee, a tax, or one more deposit before it pays you, stop sending money. The FBI says people who pay still don’t get their money back.

If it’s happening now

They want a fee, tax, or deposit before you can withdraw. Don’t pay it, and don’t send anything else, whatever the reason.

A transfer for it is in progress. A wire, a crypto purchase, a retirement withdrawal, a loan. Call the bank, brokerage, or retirement plan on the number on your card or statement and ask them to cancel it. Just signed for a home equity loan or refinance? You can usually cancel within three business days of signing (Saturdays count), but only in writing. A call doesn’t count.

Someone is coming to pick up cash or gold. Don’t hand anything over. Call 911. No real investment firm sends a courier for cash.

They told you what to tell the bank. “It’s for a renovation.” “It’s for family.” Being coached to lie to your bank is part of the scam. Tell the teller what’s really going on.

It’s someone you love, and they’re sure it’s real. Don’t argue about the balance. Ask them to withdraw all of it to their bank without paying anything first. If a fee shows up, that’s your answer. Then call their bank together. Someone I love is being scammed right now.

They’re messaging you. Stop replying, but don’t block or delete anything yet. Screenshot the chat, their usernames, the platform’s web address, and your deposits. Save evidence without spiraling.

They’re on your computer. Hold the power button until it shuts off. Someone is on the line or on my screen right now.

What to say

• Please cancel the transfer I asked for today. I think the money's going to a scam.

• I sent money to an investment site that turned out to be a scam. The transfers went out on [dates]. Can you try to recall them and flag the accounts they went to? I need a case number.

• Can you send me that decision in writing, with what you based it on?

• Before you put in anything else, can you ask them to send your whole balance to your bank? If they want a fee first, don't pay it. Then let's call your bank together.

If something already left your hands

Call your bank or the payment company first, on the number on your card or in its app. Ask for a case number.

You sent money to the platform

Ask the bank to recall every transfer it can and flag the accounts the money went to. For a wire or crypto, file at ic3.gov at the same time. IC3 can sometimes help freeze a transfer, and the FBI says time is of the essence. Include the platform’s name and web address, every username and phone number, and the accounts, wallet addresses, and transaction IDs you sent to.

You sent the money yourself, so the bank may treat it as authorized and may not refund it. Ask anyway. If it says no, ask for the decision in writing, then file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Steps by payment type: bank transfer or wire, crypto or a Bitcoin ATM, cash or gold.

Then report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you’re 60 or older, or helping someone who is, the National Elder Fraud Hotline can help you file.

Tell whoever does your taxes. Retirement money you took out can count as income even though it was stolen, and IRS lawyers have said investment-scam losses may be deductible.

If the loss has you thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988, any time. Helping someone through it: Helping someone after a scam.

You gave them your ID, Social Security number, or logins

ID or Social Security number. Freeze your credit with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. It’s free. Steps: I gave out a code, password, or card number.

A password. Change it from a device you trust, and set up a passkey or an authenticator app.

They connected to your computer. Turn it off and use another device. Steps: I let someone control my computer.

You bought a stock the group told you to buy

The trade won’t be reversed. Don’t buy more on the group’s tips, and treat any promise to cover your losses as part of the pitch. If anyone else had your brokerage login, change it and call the brokerage. Report the group to the SEC and at ic3.gov.

Someone offers to get it back

Anyone who wants a fee to recover your money, including people who say they’re the FBI, IC3, the FTC, or a lawyer, is running a second scam. IC3 never contacts you for information or money, and doesn’t work with law firms or crypto-tracing services. Someone offers to get my money back.

The real FBI sometimes calls to warn people in these scams. It never asks for money, account numbers, or logins, and never offers to get your money back. To check a call, phone your local field office at the number on fbi.gov.

What it looks like

In June you took $1,000 out of this account to test it, and it reached your bank. You've put in $43,000 since. Today you asked to withdraw everything.

h5.ardenmkt-global.com/#/assets/withdraw

ARDEN GLOBAL MARKETS

Total assets (USDT)
84,316.52
Profit +41,316.52 (+96.08%)

Withdrawal: 84,316.52 USDT
Status: Under review

Dear customer, your withdrawal has been reviewed by the Risk Control Department. In accordance with international tax regulations, a 20% capital gains tax on your profit (8,263.30 USDT) must be paid before the funds can be released. The tax cannot be deducted from your account balance. Funds are released within 2 hours of payment.

Please contact Online Customer Service for the payment address.

What do you do?

• Pay the 8,263.30. The June withdrawal proved this platform pays out
• Ask customer service to take the tax out of your balance instead
• Stop sending money. Call your bank about the transfers and report it at ic3.gov

Show the answers

• Wrong move Pay the 8,263.30. The June withdrawal proved this platform pays out The FBI says these sites often let people take money out early, sometimes their whole deposit plus gains, so they'll put in more. The taxes and fees come at the end, and people who pay them still don't get their money back.
• Okay Ask customer service to take the tax out of your balance instead Safe as long as you send nothing. But the screen already says no, and whatever reason they give, the balance stays locked.
• Best move Stop sending money. Call your bank about the transfers and report it at ic3.gov The FBI and the SEC both describe this screen: profits you can see, and a fee, tax, or deposit before you can have them. The 84,316.52 is a number on their site. The $43,000 you sent is real, and your bank and the FBI need the details today.

A withdrawal that worked earlier proves nothing. If you have to send more money to get yours out, stop.

You asked the assistant in your WhatsApp investing group whether the trading app is regulated.

WhatsApp Emily | Assistant to Prof. Whitcomb

Today 10:14 AM

Before I add more, is this platform regulated? My son keeps asking.

Of course, it's smart to be careful. Our partner firm is registered with the U.S. SEC.

[Photo] CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Halvorsen Teague Capital Management LLC. SEC RIA permission granted.

You can verify it yourself on the SEC's official website, Investor.gov. Just search our firm name.

You search Investor.gov yourself. The firm is there, listed as an exempt reporting adviser. What do you do?

• Go ahead. The SEC's own website lists the firm
• Ask Emily for the firm's office number and call to confirm
• Search the firm's name, the app, and the web address for scam reports
• Don't send anything else, and report the certificate to the SEC

Show the answers

• Wrong move Go ahead. The SEC's own website lists the firm Listed isn't registered. The SEC says an exempt reporting adviser isn't registered with it, isn't allowed to advise individual investors directly, and that scammers file as one so they show up in this search.
• Wrong move Ask Emily for the firm's office number and call to confirm A number from the chat reaches the people in the chat.
• Okay Search the firm's name, the app, and the web address for scam reports Worth doing. The FBI suggests searching more than the name. But a new site may have no reports yet, so finding nothing proves nothing.
• Best move Don't send anything else, and report the certificate to the SEC The SEC doesn't issue certificates to advisers. In August 2026 it warned about this exact setup: a filing that shows up in its search, plus a certificate saying "SEC RIA permission" was granted.

Showing up on Investor.gov isn't the same as being registered. An exempt reporting adviser can't advise you directly, and the SEC doesn't issue certificates.

You've been trading for two months on an app a friend you met online recommended. Your balance shows $61,000.

(602) 555-0118

Incoming call · 4:32 PM

1. Caller Hi, this is Special Agent Karen Ruiz with the FBI in Phoenix. Is now an okay time?
2. Caller We have reason to believe you've been sending money to a cryptocurrency platform called Tollvane Markets. It's a scam. The balance you see there isn't real.
3. Caller I'm not asking you for money or for any account information. Please stop sending money to it, and file a complaint at ic3.gov.
4. Caller I can give you a way to confirm I'm with the FBI, or you can call our Phoenix office yourself.

Your friend has never asked you for money, and the app shows your trades as they happen. What do you do?

• Hang up, block the number, and keep trading. Scammers pretend to be the FBI
• Tell your friend about the call and ask what she thinks
• Stop sending money, then call the Phoenix field office at the number on fbi.gov and ask for her

Show the answers

• Wrong move Hang up, block the number, and keep trading. Scammers pretend to be the FBI Hanging up is fine. Ignoring the warning isn't. The FBI calls people who don't yet know they're being scammed: by December 2025, Operation Level Up had notified 8,103 victims, and 77% had no idea.
• Wrong move Tell your friend about the call and ask what she thinks The FBI says that when people mention its call, the person they're investing with coaches them on what to say, or tells them not to answer.
• Best move Stop sending money, then call the Phoenix field office at the number on fbi.gov and ask for her That settles it either way. A real agent won't ask for money, account numbers, or logins, and won't hand you to anyone else. Not sending more costs you nothing while you check.

The real FBI does call people in the middle of these scams. It never asks for money or account details. Check by calling the field office yourself.

What they’ll ask for

Each of these is part of the scam. The move is the same: stop sending money.

“Join my investing group.” “Download this app. It’s in the App Store.” Being in the App Store or Google Play doesn’t make an app, or its balance, real. The “members” posting gains are often the scammers, and the famous investor’s video in the ad may be faked.

“The tax can’t come out of your balance. Pay it first.” Tax on investment gains goes to the IRS. Nothing you pay a platform releases the money.

“Your account is frozen for an SEC review. Pay to unfreeze it.” “It’s about to be frozen. Pay now to take your money out first.” The SEC warns about both. Don’t pay either.

“Take a loan from the platform.” “Use your 401(k).” “Borrow against the house.” The FBI says these platforms offer loans to get people to put in more.

“Wire it to this account.” “Put ‘furniture’ in the memo.” A wire to a person, to a company other than the one you’re investing with, or with a note saying it’s for something else is on the SEC’s warning list. Don’t send it.

“Put cash in this Bitcoin ATM and scan the code I send you.” The code is the scammer’s crypto wallet. No real firm tells you to deposit through a Bitcoin ATM.

“Withdraw cash. A courier will pick it up and show you this serial number.” The serial number only proves the courier works for them.

“Don’t tell your family or your financial advisor. They won’t understand.” The FBI lists this as a sign. Tell one of them today.

“Buy this stock now, before the announcement.” The people behind the group already hold the stock. Over weeks or months, members’ buying pushes the price up. Then they sell and it collapses. Don’t buy on a group tip.

Checking a firm yourself

Before any money moves:

1. Search the firm’s exact name at Investor.gov (“Check Out Your Investment Professional”) or BrokerCheck. For forex or futures accounts, including gold futures, use NFA BASIC, linked from cftc.gov/check.
2. Not listed? Don’t send money.
3. Listed as an “exempt reporting adviser,” or they sent an “SEC certificate”? Stop. Those advisers can’t give advice to individual investors, and the SEC doesn’t issue certificates.
4. Listed as anything else? Scammers borrow real firms’ names. In the Investor.gov search box, pick Firm from the drop-down and type the name. Click the firm, then Get Details, then Relationship Summary. Contact the firm only through the phone number or website shown there, and ask whether the person and the app are theirs.

A crypto trading app may not be in these databases at all, so a search can’t vouch for it. If someone you met online picked it, stop.

Your state securities regulator can also look into a firm or an offer. Older, with the money in a brokerage account? FINRA’s helpline will talk it through.