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UK scam guide · updated 27 September 2026

Crypto and investment scams

Fake investment platforms, “mentors” on social media and cold callers promise high or guaranteed returns, often in crypto. Early “profits” on a dashboard encourage bigger deposits; withdrawals never arrive. Investment fraud was the largest category of APP fraud losses in the UK in 2025.

What it looks like

  • Guaranteed or unusually high returns (“30% a month”)
  • Contact out of the blue, or from someone you met on social media or a dating app
  • Pressure to invest quickly, or to keep it secret from your bank
  • A platform showing big profits that charges a “fee” or “tax” before you can withdraw
  • Offers to recover money you've already lost, for a fee

What the real organisations say

  • “If you can't find a firm on the FS Register, it's unlikely the firm has permission to offer you crypto products and you should avoid using the firm.”

  • “You should be prepared to lose all the money you invest in crypto.”

  • “if a firm isn't on the list, it may still be unauthorised or be a scam. Unauthorised firms often change their names”

  • “you could be contacted with an offer to get your money back or to buy back an investment after you pay a fee. These are known as recovery room scams.”

Investment fraud accounted for the highest proportion of APP fraud losses in 2025, at £221.5 million, up 40% year on year. Source

What our visitors report

From scam reports, community threads and caller verdicts left on this site that match this scam. These are user reports, not verified findings.

Reports on this site
1
Last 90 days
1
Latest report
28 Jul 2026

Latest reported examples

Numbers reported for this scam

What to do

  1. 1

    Check the FCA Register and Warning List

    Search the firm's name, and check its contact details match the Register. The FCA's consumer helpline is 0800 111 6768.

    FCA Warning List ↗
  2. 2

    Don't pay “fees” to withdraw

    A platform that wants money before releasing your profits is almost always a scam. So are offers to recover lost money.

  3. 3

    Lost money?

    Tell your bank on 159, then report to Report Fraud (0300 123 2040), or Police Scotland on 101.

    Report Fraud: Cryptocurrency investment fraud ↗

Had one? Report it

Your report helps the next person who checks the same message, link or number. It’s published as a visitor report after our daily moderation.

What did you get?

Before saving we automatically remove names, phone numbers other than the scammer’s, email addresses, postcodes, street addresses, and card, sort-code and account numbers, and we keep only the host of any link. Please name only the organisation the scammer pretended to be; don’t accuse a real business or person. See our privacy notice.

Crypto and investment scams: FAQs

How do I check if an investment firm is legitimate?

Search the FCA's Financial Services Register. The FCA says if you can't find a firm there, it's unlikely to have permission to offer you crypto products. Also check the FCA Warning List, but a firm not being on it doesn't mean it's safe: unauthorised firms often change names.

Is crypto regulated in the UK?

The FCA says most crypto-related activities aren't regulated in the UK, and you should be prepared to lose all the money you invest in crypto.

Someone says they can recover my lost crypto for a fee. Is it real?

No. The FCA calls these recovery room scams: you're contacted with an offer to get your money back after paying a fee.

How much is lost to investment scams?

UK Finance reports £221.5 million lost to investment scams in 2025, up 40%, the largest share of authorised push payment fraud.

How many Crypto and investment scams have been reported on WhoCalledLookup?

1 visitor report on this site match this scam, 1 of them in the last 90 days; the latest was on 28 July 2026. They are user reports, not verified findings.

Sources (checked 26 September 2026)

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