Investment and money scams

Returns that cannot exist.

The tell

Guaranteed returns, pressure to decide, unregulated firms, and a friend who introduced you and is also a victim. Small early withdrawals are paid to earn a larger deposit.

Check the firm against your national regulator's register.
Cloned firm names reuse a real company's details with a new phone number.

Recovery fraud

After a loss, someone offers to recover the money for an upfront fee. This is a second scam, often run by the same group using the first list.