Forex, CFD and Binary Options Scam Recovery
Fake brokerages are one of the oldest online frauds, and still one of the largest. The platform looks like a real trading terminal, an 'account manager' calls you regularly, and the balance rises — until you try to withdraw.
Last reviewed: August 2026
How to tell a fake broker from a real one
Regulated firms appear on public registers: the FCA register in the UK, ASIC's professional register in Australia, and the SEC's list of registered entities in the Philippines. Clone firms copy a genuine firm's details but give different contact information — always check the phone number and website against the register entry itself, not the one the caller gives you.
- Cold call or social media approach offering 'managed' trading
- Remote-access software installed so they can 'help you trade'
- Deposits by card, crypto, or transfer to a payment processor rather than the broker
- Withdrawals delayed, then conditioned on more deposits
- Bonus terms that lock your balance until impossible volumes are traded
Step 1: Preserve the evidence before your account disappears
Fake platforms delete accounts once a victim complains. Screenshot your dashboard, trade history, deposit records, chat logs and the account manager's contact details today. Download statements from your bank and card provider covering every payment.
Step 2: Card chargebacks and bank claims
Card payments have the clearest route: raise a dispute with your card issuer citing services not provided or an unauthorised product. Bank transfers are handled as authorised push payment fraud — ask the bank to assess it under the reimbursement rules and to attempt recall on recent payments.
If either refuses, complain formally and escalate. In the UK that means the Financial Ombudsman Service; in Australia, AFCA.
Step 3: Report to the regulator
Report the firm to the FCA (UK), ASIC and Scamwatch (Australia) or the SEC and PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (Philippines). Regulator warning lists also help other victims, and evidence that a firm was already on a warning list can strengthen a claim that your bank should have intervened.
Never pay a recovery fee up front
Victims of broker fraud are the most heavily targeted group for follow-up 'recovery' scams — often by the same operation using a new name. No genuine regulated firm asks for an upfront percentage to 'unlock' funds held on a platform. Check any firm on the SRA or relevant professional register before you send anything.
Common questions
Are binary options legal in the UK and Australia?
Selling binary options to retail consumers is banned in both the UK and Australia. If a broker offered you binary options as a retail client, it was operating outside the rules — which is useful evidence when you challenge the payments you made to it.
Can I get a chargeback on card payments to a broker?
Often yes, if you act within the card scheme deadlines. Chargebacks are strongest where the service was never genuinely provided, where the broker blocked withdrawals, or where the firm was not authorised to offer the product. Deadlines are counted in months, so raise it immediately.
The broker says I must pay a fee to withdraw my profits.
That is the classic sign of a fake platform. No legitimate broker requires new deposits to release a withdrawal. Stop paying and start the recovery process — every extra payment is lost money.
What if the broker is offshore?
Suing an offshore shell is rarely worthwhile, but the regulated parties in the chain — your bank, your card issuer, sometimes an onshore introducer or payment processor — are a realistic target. That is where most successful recoveries actually come from.
Free, no-obligation case assessment
Tell us what happened and we will tell you honestly whether your loss is realistically recoverable. If it is not, we say so — there is no charge and no obligation to proceed.
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