1. The identity does not match
Check the exact legal entity, website and contact details through the relevant regulator’s official register. The FCA warns that clone firms can copy authorised businesses and subtly alter contact details. A correct-looking licence number alone is insufficient.
2–3. Guaranteed outcomes and pressure
A promise of dependable high returns deserves scepticism. So does pressure to deposit before you can read the agreement, verify the entity or ask a second person to inspect the offer. Urgency is a sales tactic, not investment evidence.
4–5. Screenshots replace records; terms stay vague
A few winning trades or a cropped return chart do not explain the full account. Ask for dated history, open risk, fees and withdrawal conditions. If the answers keep changing or remain unavailable, mark the evidence incomplete rather than guessing.
6. The payment route does not match
A request to send funds somewhere inconsistent with the agreement needs an explanation before payment. Do not follow instructions to use a personal account or an unfamiliar transfer route merely because they arrive from someone using the provider’s name.
7. You must pay again to unlock withdrawals
Treat unexpected demands for new deposits, taxes or recovery charges as a reason to stop and independently check the situation. Do not let a previous payment become the justification for another.
What to do next
Keep correspondence and documents, use contact details found independently, and check warnings from the appropriate regulator. An absent warning is not approval: the FCA explicitly says an unlisted firm can still be unauthorised or fraudulent. These checks reduce uncertainty; they do not make trading safe.
Sources & review scope
Primary material checked 9 November 2026. Provider statements explain product mechanics; they are not independent confirmation of performance, permissions or withdrawals.