Investment scam recovery

Investments are a very common type of fraud that comes in many forms. The most common type of fraudulent investment is when someone reaches out to you, claiming to be a regulated broker, financial advisor, fund manager, or financial service provider before demanding you transfer a large sum of money. In reality, this company doesn’t exist, meaning you are transferring money directly to them.  

More specifically, these are:

• Boiler room fraud
• Financial mis-selling
• Ponzi schemes (also known as pyramid schemes)
• Pension scams
• Binary scams
• Land banking fraud

These schemes are set up and designed to specifically make a financial gain at the expense of the investor. As mentioned, victims will typically be contacted out of the blue and the schemes put forward are very sophisticated. They often involve elaborate advertising campaigns or professional websites, solely designed to deceive.

There are some forms of scam which are more susceptible to fraud than other types, and these tend to be unregulated schemes, such as cryptocurrency or wine and fine art investments. 

We understand that realising you have fallen victim to fraud can be both shocking and upsetting. Once you know that it has happened, many victims feel like they should have spotted the signs earlier, but it’s important to understand that these schemes are highly sophisticated and trick even the most experienced of investors. 

There are many signs of fraudulent schemes that you must be aware of. We live in a digital age where scammers are rife and have become increasingly common with the use of artificial intelligence, impersonating celebrities and tempting victims into investing. 

The most common signs of a scam include the promise of large returns on your investment that sounds too good to be true and can be described as being once-in-a-lifetime, contacting you out of nowhere and pushy tactics.

It is worth mentioning that even if a company is on the list of the FCA, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are transferring money to that firm. It is one of the many tactics that fraudsters use to trick you into parting with your cash. 

Another common sign you’ve fallen victim is when the scammer gives you short deadlines. For example, the scammer will say you need to invest before a specific date or time before you miss it to get the most profit and/or best rates. They will also say that you will get your returns relatively quickly. If any of these are mentioned then it should be avoided.

Avoiding fraudulent schemes is easier said than done. There have been many cases which we have dealt with where the victim did not know that these things even exist. That is why it is important for us to not only help you retrieve most of the money which you have lost, but also educate you on the signs so you can avoid falling victim again in the future. Understanding and being able to recognise some of the signs as mentioned above can help keep you protected when trading online.

Scammers will use many different means to try and dupe you. One of the most common ways is through social media, including platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X, particularly with cryptocurrency scams. Scammers will set up very convincing social profiles, even going as far as to follow similar accounts or luxury brands.

Another way in which scammers will target victims is through sophisticated social media adverts or highly professional looking websites, which will often be duplicated from verified and trusted websites. By impersonating this level of authority, they can then much more effectively trick and persuade people into believing that they are genuine brokers.

Cases such as these can be both a civil and criminal matter, depending on the offence. A number of scams involve false representation, which can be both investigated and prosecuted, depending on the individual or business impersonated, by a range of different authorities. Our team of solicitors can help you pursue financial recovery and will handle all of the paperwork for you. 

Many victims believe that their banks will refund them their money once they spot the fraud. In some cases, the banks will give the money back, but this typically only happens with very specific circumstances, such as authorised push payment (also known as APP fraud) which is where scammers will ask you to make a bank transfer. Banks can refuse refunds where they believe that the individual hadn’t been careful when investing, which is why a number of our clients then come to us for help, as we can help in many more cases than the banks can.