Pharaoh
Brigadier General
- Messages
- 20,308
Where to Complain About Forex and Other Financial Scams?
Where you complain depends on several things:
1. You. Where do you live (and, if different, where are you a citizen of)?
2. The scammers. Where do the scammers claim to be (and if you have evidence tying them to any other countries)?
If you live in Country A, are a Citizen of Country B, got scammed by a company claiming to be in Countries C and D, but they had you send money to bank in County E, you'll want to complain to the police and regulators in all 5 countries plus some that accept complaints from anywhere.
Yes, this will be a lot of work, but once you've gathered your evidence and written up the details, many of the complaint submissions are very similar. Once you get one or two done, you'll mostly be using copy/paste to fill in the forms for the rest. You don't have to do them all in one day, but each report you make to a relevant regulator or police agency improves the odds of:
Getting some or all of your money back.
Getting the scam shut down so there are no new victims.
The scammers getting prosecuted.
I've included details of some of the regulators and law enforcement agencies that take complaints wordwide, in addition to some from a few of the "hotter" areas for scam complaints. I've also included a section for links to regulators and police worldwide.
3. Did you use cryptocurrencies to deposit/pay the scammers?
I was very surprised to find out that the US Secret Service wants information about any fraud involving crypto. You can also learn more about Tracing Crypto Transactions Yourself after they leave your wallet.
4. Other than cryptocurrencies, how did you deposit/pay the scammers?
If you send money by bank wire, go to your bank. Ask how to file wire fraud charges. You should also contact the bank on the other end, file a complaint, and ask how to file wire fraud charges there.
If you sent by credit/debit card, contact the issuing bank to not only complain, but to ask how to do a chargeback for services not rendered (your account balance being returned to you is a service the company offers). If by any other money transfer method, those generally have a way to report abuse/fraud on their websites.
5. Did the scammers demand a tax as a condition of withdrawal?
Owing a tax on trading is normal. You paying money directly to the tax authority (per the payment instructions on the tax authority website is normal. A properly licensed broker collecting the tax from your account balance and forwarding it to the tax authority is normal. I have an account with a US Stock Broker that does it this way.
Your broker or other investment company telling you to send tax money to the broker, and employee of the company, or a payment to some mystery account somewhere is NOT normal. If someone holding some of your money in an account tells you to do this, use the list of national tax authorities and ask the one in the destination country if they are aware of what looks like a possible scam.
6. What kind of scam was it?
Forex Brokers (including crypto brokers)
Binary Options Brokers
Pig Slaughter/Romance Scammers
Ponzi Schemes and HYIPs
Other forms of Account Management
Software/Signals/Other Trading Products
Where you complain depends on several things:
1. You. Where do you live (and, if different, where are you a citizen of)?
2. The scammers. Where do the scammers claim to be (and if you have evidence tying them to any other countries)?
If you live in Country A, are a Citizen of Country B, got scammed by a company claiming to be in Countries C and D, but they had you send money to bank in County E, you'll want to complain to the police and regulators in all 5 countries plus some that accept complaints from anywhere.
Yes, this will be a lot of work, but once you've gathered your evidence and written up the details, many of the complaint submissions are very similar. Once you get one or two done, you'll mostly be using copy/paste to fill in the forms for the rest. You don't have to do them all in one day, but each report you make to a relevant regulator or police agency improves the odds of:
Getting some or all of your money back.
Getting the scam shut down so there are no new victims.
The scammers getting prosecuted.
I've included details of some of the regulators and law enforcement agencies that take complaints wordwide, in addition to some from a few of the "hotter" areas for scam complaints. I've also included a section for links to regulators and police worldwide.
3. Did you use cryptocurrencies to deposit/pay the scammers?
I was very surprised to find out that the US Secret Service wants information about any fraud involving crypto. You can also learn more about Tracing Crypto Transactions Yourself after they leave your wallet.
4. Other than cryptocurrencies, how did you deposit/pay the scammers?
If you send money by bank wire, go to your bank. Ask how to file wire fraud charges. You should also contact the bank on the other end, file a complaint, and ask how to file wire fraud charges there.
If you sent by credit/debit card, contact the issuing bank to not only complain, but to ask how to do a chargeback for services not rendered (your account balance being returned to you is a service the company offers). If by any other money transfer method, those generally have a way to report abuse/fraud on their websites.
5. Did the scammers demand a tax as a condition of withdrawal?
Owing a tax on trading is normal. You paying money directly to the tax authority (per the payment instructions on the tax authority website is normal. A properly licensed broker collecting the tax from your account balance and forwarding it to the tax authority is normal. I have an account with a US Stock Broker that does it this way.
Your broker or other investment company telling you to send tax money to the broker, and employee of the company, or a payment to some mystery account somewhere is NOT normal. If someone holding some of your money in an account tells you to do this, use the list of national tax authorities and ask the one in the destination country if they are aware of what looks like a possible scam.
6. What kind of scam was it?
Forex Brokers (including crypto brokers)
Binary Options Brokers
Pig Slaughter/Romance Scammers
Ponzi Schemes and HYIPs
Other forms of Account Management
Software/Signals/Other Trading Products
