Online trading scams and losses
Have you fallen victim to an online trading scam? Get in touch and take the first step to recovering what’s rightfully yours.
Online trading scam service summary
What are online trading scams?
-
Online investment and trading scams
-
How can WRS help?
-
What should you look out for?
Other trading scams
There are certain trading scams to be aware of. Scammers often promise high returns and profits from trading in the foreign exchange market, also known as Forex trading. This is a legitimate market used for trading different international currencies, so it can be difficult to spot scams. Just remember, if it looks too good to be true, there’s a high possibility that it’s a scam.
How we can help recover money from online trading scams
Understanding your case
Confidential advice
Fast action
Start your claim
WRS are here to support you
Why WRS?
Supporting you is our priority. That’s why we provide personalised plans and care around the clock to our clients.
-
Personalised plans
-
Care around the clock
-
Regulated and reputable
Meet the specialists by your side
Recovering over £40,000,000 for clients like you
Over the past 3 years, we’ve recovered more than £40,000,000 for our clients. It’s thanks to our team of solicitors and recovery claim specialists who trace and recover the investments you’ve lost from scams. Plus, we offer a no-win, no-fee service. You won’t pay a thing unless we recover your money.
-
Josh Chinn
Co-founder and Solicitor
Josh is a fully qualified solicitor who graduated from the University of Liverpool with a 2:1 in his LLB degree. He has recently been shortlisted as Young Lawyer of the Year 2024 as well as being shortlisted in two categories in the North West Leadership Awards.
View biography -
David Jones
Director & Owner
David is consistently ranked in the Legal 500 for his tenacious problem solving and business acumen. Having been called to the Bar in 2006 and following a stint as an in-house lawyer in London David cross-qualified as a Solicitor in 2009.
View biography -
Richard Irving
Co-founder & Head of Operations
Richard is one of the co-founders of Wealth Recovery Solicitors, Having an extensive background in residential property , He has developed and owns companies that have covered all aspects of property from land acquisition through planning and development right through to sales and building portfolios.
View biography -
Aaron Levin
Chief Operating Officer
Aaron has vast experience in the COO role, with a background in different areas such as the medical industry and hospitality.
View biography -
Nick Johnson
Head of Compliance
A proud past President of the Manchester Law Society, as well as a former Managing Partner of Glaisyers Solicitors & Chairman of the Board Corpus Christi Catholic Academy Trust, Nick brings with him a wealth of experience in his role as Head of Compliance.
View biography -
Avi Chinn
Head of First Response
Avi has a successful background in sales and marketing and has worked across a range of sectors from tech to marketing, including working for global leading tech firms such as Google.
View biography -
Joseph Chinn
First response team
Joseph joins WRS as part of the first response team, Joe is responsible for dealing with new enquiries and is tasked with the important role in helping clients really find out where their hard earned money has gone and discuss with them a potential gameplan and what WRS can do to help them out of an awful situation
View biography -
Jonathan Franks
First response team
Jonathan brings a unique blend of expertise in banking and finance to his role at WRS as part of the first response team.
View biography -
Sarah Walker
First response team
Sarah graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a 2:1 LLB Law Degree and went on to work in Criminal Law.
View biography -
Liam Ben Ari
Head of Crypto Investigations
Joining WRS’s Cryptocurrency Investigation team, Liam has always had a keen interest in the Metaverse, in particular NFTs.
View biography -
Ben Walton
Paralegal
Ben graduated with an 1st Class LLB Law Degree from the University of Durham in 2024.
View biography -
Ellie Barnes
Paralegal
Ellie graduated with First Class Honors in Law from the University of Leeds and is set to begin her SQE studies next year.
View biography -
Luke Caldwell
Paralegal
Luke graduated from Liverpool University with a 2:1 in Law and went on to work at firm working in Civil Litigation, specialising in Credit Hire.
View biography -
Eleanor Taylor
HR
Eleanor is a HR specialist who brings with her a wealth of experience in HR and people management.
View biography -
Sophie Grundy
Paralegal
Sophie joins WRS, after spending the initial stages of her legal career at a well known firm in Liverpool.
View biography -
Daniel Barlow
Paralegal
Daniel graduated from Lancaster University with a 2:1 degree in Law, and has since gone onto complete the first part of his Solicitors Qualifying Exam in 2023.
View biography -
Jake Davies
Legal Admin
Jake has recently joined the WRS team as a legal admin to help boost efficiency across all departments.
View biography -
Hannah Daw
Paralegal
Hannah completed her degree at the University of Durham, achieving a 2:1 in her LLB programme.
View biography -
Abigail Hurley
Paralegal
Abigail graduated with a first class BA Honours degree in English Literature at Newcastle University before going on to attain her Master of Laws in Manchester.
View biography -
Hafsa Khan
Trainee Solicitor
Hafsa completed her Law LLB Degree at the University of Nottingham, achieving a 2.1 before completing her LPC LLM in Manchester.
View biography -
Nic Roe
Solicitor
Nic joined WRS in August 2021, and after impressing with his fee earning and excellent results for clients was rewarded with a training contract in February 2023. Nic continues to run his own case load and help those who have been a victim of a scam get their money back.
View biography -
Grace Sloan
Solicitor
Grace is a fully qualified solicitor and holds a masters in Banking Law.
View biography -
Holly Chase
Crypto Trace Investigator
Holly has always had an interest in cryptocurrency and previously worked at a global cryptocurrency exchange based in Vancouver.
View biography -
Thomas Blanchfield
Consultant
Thomas is an accountant by trade and has held numerous senior positions in several large law firms, most recently as Finance Director.
View biography -
Mark Montaldo
Consultant Solicitor
Mark is a solicitor with 15 years of experience in ligitation and dispute resolution. During the early years of his career, he dealt with complex personal injury matters, with a focus on multi-jurisdictional litigation.
View biography
Frequently asked questions
-
Are banks responsible for refunding money lost in trading scams?
Depending on the exact scenario of the online trading scam you’ve been involved with, your bank or building society will likely be responsible in some way for reimbursing you. In the case that you have been convinced by a scammer to make an authorised payment of some kind, a bank may not technically be liable, however may conduct a further investigation that could result in you getting your money back. Some newer financial institutions, like Revolut, do not hold a UK banking licence, so hold no responsibility to help you if you’ve been involved in a trading scam through Revolut.
-
Common signs of trading scams
Knowing what to look out for when it comes to online trading scams is important to make good investments and to trade safely. If anyone requests that you send them sensitive information, bank details or to transfer money, you should be very cautious. Legitimate trading companies will not do this, nor will legitimate brokers. You should be especially careful if there is any sense of urgency in the request that is being made.
If you are approached out of the blue with investment opportunities, or text messages or emails asking you to make a payment, be wary. Offers that seem too good to be true, or if any kind of emotional manipulation or fear tactics are used, it’s likely to be an online trading scam.
As soon as you have any suspicion that something may not be legitimate, you should check whether the trading company is legitimate, stop any communication with the person and report the suspected online trading scam.
-
Examples of trading scams
Some common examples of trading scams include:
Cryptocurrency scams – the number of online trading scams taking place within this industry is staggering, despite improvements being made to regulation.
Investment scams – scammers will approach victims with “fantastic” investment opportunities, often with an element of rushing them to make a decision
Forex scams – someone posing as a legitimate figure in the foreign exchange market in order to build trust and ultimately steal sensitive information, bank details or money
Pump and Dump scams – a group of trading scammers artificially inflating the value of an investment, then simultaneously withdrawing their money to leave the investment worthless -
How to check if a trading coming is legitimate?
To check whether a trading company is legitimate to help you avoid being involved in an online trading scam, you should use the Trading Standards council department who will have a list of approved traders or trading websites. You should also have a list of questions to ask them, and if they aren’t providing clear and thorough information, or they can’t provide you with their Form ADV, they’re unlikely to be legitimate.
Conducting thorough online searches is also advised, if they are not registered on company’s house, or there is very little information about an individual or business, this indicates they may be trying to involve you in a trading scam.
You should also be cautious if you’re approached by a trading company, as it’s very rare that a legitimate trading business will approach you, especially not with quick investment opportunities or asking for sensitive information.
-
I think I’ve been the victim of an online trading scam, what do I do?
If you think you’re a victim of a trading scam, the first thing you should do is to call your bank. They may be able to stop the payment from going through, so you should do this as soon as possible. If the payment has already gone through, your bank will be able to provide guidance on what they can do to help and potentially also help you to recover the funds. After this, report the scam to Action Fraud and National Cyber Security Centre to help prevent it from happening again. Then, you should get in touch with us at Wealth Recovery Solicitors. The sooner you can get in contact the better, however if you have lost money through an online trading scam at all over the last few years, we still may be able to recover the funds for you.