Recognising your case
Types of forex scams
Almost every forex scam is one of a handful of patterns wearing a new name. Below are the ones regulators report most often, each with how it presents, why it works, and the single check that exposes it — usually a licence number, sometimes a promise that no licensed firm is allowed to make.
Checked against regulators' own advisories
Nine patterns, and what catches each one
- 01
The unlicensed broker that never pays out
- How it presents
- A platform you had not heard of, often found through a social media contact. Deposits work, the account shows profits, and withdrawals stall — first on a technicality, then on a fee, then on tax, then not at all.
- Why it works
- Because the account statement is a web page the operator controls. Nothing has to be traded at all for the numbers to move, and the CFTC reports a rise in exactly this complaint from customers who deposited with unregistered offshore dealers found through social media friendships.
- The check
- Look up the entity in the regulator's own register before depositing, not the broker's own “regulated by” badge. No entry, no licence number, or a name that does not match the client agreement — stop there.
- 02
The clone of a real broker
- How it presents
- A website, phone number and documents that copy a licensed firm's, sometimes down to the licence number. The only difference is the domain, and often a single letter of it.
- Why it works
- Because you do the right check and it passes — the licence number is genuine, it simply belongs to someone else. Regulators publish warnings about clone firms precisely because verification appears to succeed.
- The check
- Take the contact details from the regulator's register entry rather than from the site or the email that reached you, and call those. A clone cannot fake the register's own listing.
- 03
The signal seller
- How it presents
- Screenshots of a perfect equity curve, a subscription fee for entry signals, sometimes a free channel that upgrades to a paid one after a run of winners.
- Why it works
- Because screenshots are trivial to fabricate and a run of winners can be produced by sending opposite signals to two halves of an audience. Even honest past performance says nothing: as the CFTC puts it, no technology can consistently predict the future.
- The check
- Ask for a verified track record on a third-party platform, with the account and the drawdown visible. Refusal is the answer. A paid signal that works would be worth more traded than sold.
- 04
The robot or expert advisor sold as a sure thing
- How it presents
- Software promising steady returns with no work, sold with backtests, sometimes bundled with a specific broker's affiliate link.
- Why it works
- Because a backtest is a curve fitted to the past by whoever is selling it, and the seller earns whether or not it works. The CFTC's advisory names automated programs specifically: they may help with discipline, but no technology consistently predicts the market.
- The check
- Forward performance on a live account, published by someone other than the seller, over a period that includes a bad month. Also check whether the seller is paid to route you to a particular broker.
- 05
“Give me your account, I will trade it for you”
- How it presents
- An individual or a small firm offering to trade your account for a share of the profit, usually asking for your platform login rather than a regulated management agreement.
- Why it works
- Because handing over the master password gives a stranger full control of your money with no paper trail, and the profit share creates an incentive to take risk you would not.
- The check
- Never give out the master password — MetaTrader has an investor password that grants read-only access, and any honest person watching your account will accept it. Managing money for others requires a licence in most countries; ask which one, and verify it.
- 06
The fund that pays old investors with new money
- How it presents
- A pooled programme with steady monthly returns, often described as a PAMM, an investment club, or a high-yield programme. Early withdrawals succeed, which recruits the next round.
- Why it works
- Because nothing needs to be traded for the early payouts to arrive; they come from the deposits behind you. The CFTC lists Ponzi and pump-and-dump structures alongside platform fraud for this reason.
- The check
- Steady returns are the warning, not the attraction. Ask where the money is custodied and who audits it, then verify the manager's licence to handle client funds. Compare with a real PAMM at a licensed broker, where losses are shared as visibly as profits.
- 07
The relationship that turns into a trading tip
- How it presents
- Contact on a dating app, a messaging app or social media that becomes friendly over weeks, then mentions a trading platform the other person is doing well on, and offers to help you set it up.
- Why it works
- Because the trust is built before money is mentioned, and the platform is controlled by the same people. The CFTC's warning signs put this route first: an approach on social media or a dating app, then pressure to move to a private messenger.
- The check
- Treat the introduction as the red flag regardless of how the platform looks. Nobody with a genuinely profitable method needs to recruit strangers into their broker.
- 08
The fake app or repackaged terminal
- How it presents
- An app store listing or an apk download that looks like a familiar terminal, sometimes with the right icon and a plausible publisher name.
- Why it works
- Because a repackaged installer holds your trading credentials, and searches for terminal downloads are dominated by mirror sites — we measured apk queries and found zero editorial results among them, only mirrors like APKMirror and Malavida.
- The check
- MetaTrader's publisher line must read MetaQuotes Software Corp.; a broker's app must show that broker's own company. Install from the broker's own page or the official store listing, never from a mirror.
- 09
The recovery scam that targets you twice
- How it presents
- After a loss, contact from someone offering to recover the money — a “fund recovery” firm, a lawyer, or an official-sounding agency — for a fee paid up front.
- Why it works
- Because victim lists circulate, and someone who has already lost money is the easiest person to approach. The second loss is often larger than the first.
- The check
- Regulators and legitimate authorities do not charge an advance fee to return your money. Report to the regulator directly — the CFTC takes complaints at cftc.gov/complaint — and treat anyone who found you first as part of the same operation.
The pattern underneath all of them
Every scam above solves the same problem for its operator: getting money from you to somewhere it cannot be recalled. The trading story is decoration, which is why the details vary endlessly and the shape does not — an unverifiable claim, a route around the regulated system, and pressure to act before checking.
That is also why one check catches most of them. A licensed firm has an entity name, a licence number and a register entry that you can read without asking anyone's permission; everything in this catalogue either fails that check or, in the case of clone firms, tries to borrow someone else's pass.
The FCA describes the sequence victims report most often: some early returns that look like success, encouragement to invest more, and then the returns stop, the account is suspended and the contact disappears. If that sequence has started, further deposits do not recover the earlier ones.
What is not a scam, though it feels like one
Losing money at a licensed broker is not fraud, however unpleasant. The brokers publish the base rate themselves because regulators make them: between roughly 69% and 83% of retail accounts lose money, and the CFTC puts it at two out of three at registered US dealers. A loss inside those statistics is the product working as described.
Nor is the broker being your counterparty. On the OTC market you trade against your dealer — the CFTC states this plainly — and the dealer earns from spreads, commissions and volume. That is a conflict of interest to price in, not a crime.
Bonus terms, wide weekend spreads and swap charges are likewise disclosed rather than hidden. They cost money, and they are in the documents nobody reads, which is a different failure from being defrauded.
If it has already happened
Stop depositing, including any “tax”, “fee” or “unlock” payment requested to release a withdrawal — that request is part of the scheme rather than a step towards recovery.
Collect what you have: the entity name, the website, transaction records, the messaging history. Then report to the regulator in your own country and to the one the firm claimed to be licensed by. In the US the CFTC takes complaints directly; the FCA, CySEC and ASIC all publish complaint routes.
Then expect the recovery approach, and ignore it. Nobody legitimate charges an advance fee to get your money back.
Questions people ask
What are the most common types of forex scams?
Unlicensed brokers that block withdrawals, clones of licensed firms, signal sellers, robots sold as sure things, “I will trade your account” offers, Ponzi-style pooled programmes, social media and romance approaches, fake apps, and recovery scams that target the same victim a second time.
How can I tell if a forex broker is a scam?
Check the legal entity in the regulator's public register before depositing, and confirm the name matches the client agreement. Take the firm's contact details from the register rather than from its own site — that is what catches clone firms, where the licence number is genuine but belongs to someone else.
Are forex signal sellers and robots always scams?
Not always, but the claims almost always fail verification. Screenshots prove nothing, and a run of winners can be manufactured by sending opposite signals to different halves of an audience. Ask for a verified live track record including drawdown, published by someone other than the seller.
Is it a scam if I just lost money trading?
No. Between about 69% and 83% of retail accounts lose money at the brokers who publish the figure, and the CFTC puts it at two out of three at registered US dealers. A loss within those numbers is the ordinary outcome, not fraud.
Someone offered to recover my lost funds. Should I pay?
No. Advance-fee recovery offers are a second scam aimed at people who have already lost money, and victim lists circulate. Report to the regulator directly instead — in the US, at cftc.gov/complaint.
What should I do if a broker will not let me withdraw?
Stop depositing, including any fee demanded to release the withdrawal. Save the entity name, transaction records and correspondence, then complain to the regulator that licensed the entity and to your own. If no regulator licensed it, that is the answer to the original question.
Whether the industry itself is a scam is a different question, answered on is forex trading a scam. The check that catches most of this catalogue is done for nine brokers on regulated forex brokers.