Is trading a scam?

Updated: 7 November 2026

In short: Trading itself is not: these are real trades on real markets through exchanges and licensed brokers. The scams are unlicensed companies, "account managers" who trade for you, binary options and courses promising guaranteed income.

Signs of a scam

They promise a fixed return or "no risk". They call you and push you to deposit. There is no licence from your country's regulator, or it cannot be checked. They block withdrawals by inventing a "tax" or a "withdrawal fee".

Another sign is a "personal manager" who asks for access to your account or urges you to top it up to "win back the loss".

How to check a platform

Look the company up in your regulator's register. Read reviews specifically about withdrawals. Start with the minimum amount and test a withdrawal before depositing more.

Schemes most often passed off as trading

A "manager" who trades for you and asks you to send money to their personal card. A platform where the balance grows but withdrawals are blocked until you "pay a tax" or "deposit insurance". Binary options where you guess the direction for 60 seconds. "Investment clubs" with bonuses for inviting friends. In every case the organiser makes money, not the market.

How to recognise a real market

In a real market the price is formed by the orders of thousands of participants, it is visible on independent platforms, and it matches across them. A legitimate broker holds a regulator's licence that you can check in the register on the regulator's own website. You send money to the company's account, not to a private person, and you can withdraw it without "extra fees".

If you have already sent money

Do not deposit anything more, even if you are promised that withdrawals will be unlocked — that is the standard next step of fraudsters. Keep the messages, payment details and receipts, and contact your bank and the police. Beware of "fund recovery lawyers" who contact you first: often it is the second wave of the same scheme.