Lost money to a
Investment Scam?

We help victims of Investment Scams recover their money.

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What to do if you’ve lost money in a Investment scam

At Refundee, Investment scams are becoming more prevalent than ever.

In many cases, we can help, especially when the money was sent from a UK bank account. As a regulated claims management company, if you’d like our help, just complete our online claim form or give us a call. Remember, you can do it yourself for free by taking your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service. 

Why Choose Refundee to recover your Investment funds?

✅ Over £110 million recovered for fraud victims

✅ Regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)

✅ Helped over 6,000 clients

✅ The UK’s best-rated

✅ No win, no fee - You only pay if we are successful

How to spot Investment Fraud

1️⃣ You came across the person or advert on social media or through a cold call

Whilst legitimate companies can advertise on social media, so can fraudsters. This is a common way for fraudsters to advertise their investment opportunities, usually with attractive returns. Advertisements will usually look professional and mirror those of legitimate companies.

2️⃣ You were encouraged to invest by “starting small” to test the investment

Often with these scams you’ll be asked to put in as little as £200 or £250 to see how it performs. Miraculously, you’ll see your investment perform remarkably well which will be used to encourage you to invest more. The fraudster may even send you a little bit of your profit back to try and convince you that this is real. What you are seeing is unfortunately all fake. While it may all look real and appear to track real life events, fraudsters are able to create extremely convincing looking platforms that they can manipulate to back up whatever story they want to tell you. They will create whatever elaborate story they need to convince you to invest more - sometimes this will be crippling losses you need to “save”, sometimes it will be once in a lifetime opportunities to invest. 

3️⃣ Unrealistic guaranteed returns

Fraudsters commonly offer high guaranteed returns, which are backed by contracts or funding, so it seems there is ‘nothing to lose’. A good approach is to take a step back and consider, if what this person is telling you is true, why they would be telling you. Investments can be high risk, and it is generally very difficult to guarantee returns in a volatile market. In addition, high returns are easily manipulated and faked by fraudsters to show how well your investment is performing. This is a common tactic to persuade you to invest further.

4️⃣ Receiving returns Initially

IIt is a common tactic used by fraudsters to present a legitimate investment opportunity. You may think, "If I am receiving returns, it must be legitimate." Caution! Fraudsters provide returns initially to tempt you into investing more and more. Eventually, once you have invested more and want to withdraw, fraudsters will use multiple excuses as to why you cannot or will ask for further ‘fees’ in order to withdraw. In some cases, the investment will collapse before you can withdraw your funds. At Refundee, we see this in most investment scams, and receiving returns should not be a sign of legitimacy.

5️⃣ Unregulated firms

Important! Before investing, it is always important to check the firm's relevant regulatory status and whether they are authorized to conduct the activities they are advertising. Firms acting within financial services in the UK need to be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You can search a company's name here on the FCA register to see if they are regulated. This will also show if there are any warnings about the company or clones of the legitimate firm. It is important to check the authorised firm details to ensure you are dealing with the legitimate company.

6️⃣ Claims of Government/local authority contracts

As Refundee has recently observed in Social Housing Scams, fraudsters will claim that they have contracts backed by the government or legitimate authorities to gain trust and security with the investment offering. This is a common tactic used by fraudsters to add credibility to their claim of a ‘safe’ investment and can be linked to their justification of ‘guaranteed’ returns. In reality, the schemes are not government-backed, and investors are lured into investing, believing it is safe.

7️⃣ Pressure tactics

You may see fraudsters pressuring you to invest more to capitalise on the opportunity for returns. They can use multiple reasons to persuade you to invest and may even pressure clients to take out loans to invest further. It is always good to step back and think before agreeing to invest. Fraudsters are very experienced in pressuring clients to invest on the spot and will push you to do so. No legitimate company would use pressure tactics to tempt you to invest more, so it is always good to think and talk to someone if this happens. Refundee can speak to you about red flags you may be experiencing with a firm.

If you are experiencing any of the issues above, or concerned about your investment you can check if you’re eligible by, starting your claim.

What our Investment Clients say

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What our Investment Clients say *

“Refundee have been really professional and helpful. They kept me informed on developments which resulted in a full repayment for an investment that I thought was totally lost. I could never have achieved this outcome without their help.”

“Lost a life changing sum of money to an investment fraud and Refundee helped me recover this through the banks complaints process and ombudsman service. I doubt that I would have been successful in either of these processes without them. They know their stuff and the arguments required to make your case a strong one.”

— Investment Scam Victim

— Investment Scam Victim

“Refundee were recommended to me to assist with the reimbursement of funds with regard to a fraudulent investment scheme. They were extremely professional and helpful throughout resulting in a positive result. I cannot recommend them highly enough.”

— Investment Scam Victim

Investment Scam FAQs

  • We’ve helped many victims of investment fraud get their money back through the banks and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

    To check if you’re eligible, start your claim.

  • The first thing to do is to stop sending any further funds. If you have concerns then Refundee can talk you free what you are experiencing.

  • At Refundee we use UK banking regulations to recover clients funds, which has meant we have recovered over £120 million for our clients so far.

    Most UK banks have signed up to regulations to protect consumers funds against fraud.

    To check if you’re eligible, start your claim.

  • Refundee can help in most cases, even if the scammer is based overseas. If you used a UK bank to send the funds then you still have a claim.

  • This is normal for banks to reject your claim. Even if your bank said no, Refundee can still help. Many of our cases are rejected by the banks. We can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service who can overrule the banks decision.

  • The process can take anywhere from 3-12 months depending on the complexity of the case.