Skip to Content

Understanding investment scams

Typically investment scams start on social media or with a text from an unknown contact. Fraudsters will try to convince you to make an investment by promising really high returns. Ultimately, the investments aren't real and you'll lose all of your money.

If you've been tricked by a fraudster into sending them money, please get in touch with us by tapping Help on the bottom right of the app, search for "Reporting a scam", tap the help article and then "Report Fraud" and complete the steps in the form.

The scammer's playbook

  • The approach: It usually starts with a random direct message (DM) on social media, a WhatsApp message from an unknown number, or a fake celebrity endorsement.

  • The hook: They’ll show you proof of high returns from a small initial payment. They might even give you access to a professional-looking website to track your growing profits.

  • The pressure: They’ll use limited time offers to stop you from thinking it through.

  • The trap: When you try to withdraw your money, they’ll claim you need to pay tax, insurance, or release fees first. This is just a final attempt to steal more money.

Common red flags 🚩

  • Requests to lie to your bank: If someone tells you to hide the truth about a payment or say it’s for a family member, they’re trying to bypass the security we have in place to protect you.

  • Request to send more: Fraudsters will constantly get you to send more and more money and then tell you to pay a fee to release your money.

  • Crypto shortcuts: They might ask you to buy cryptocurrency (like USDT) and send it to a private wallet. This makes the money almost impossible to trace or recover.

  • Guaranteed profits: No legitimate investment is 100% guaranteed. If there’s no risk mentioned, it’s a scam.

It's important to remember that legitimate investments don’t get promoted in this way, and they’ll never promise guaranteed profits.

Don’t let anyone rush or pressure you into investing, especially with significant amounts of money.

Four steps to stay safe

  1. Do further research: Even if the recommendation is from a close friend or family member, they could be in the middle of a scam themselves and not realise it. Always do your own research.

  2. Check the FCA Register: Before parting with any money, search the FCA Firm Checker. If the firm isn't there, don't invest.

  3. Take Five: We’ve partnered with Take Five,, an industry campaign that provides information on how to keep safe from fraudsters.

  4. Get independent advice: A registered financial adviser will never contact you via a social media DM to offer a hot tip.

Remember: If it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

For more advice on how to keep yourself safe from fraud, head to monzo.com/fraud.

Was this article helpful?

Related articles