Investment and Crypto Scams: Warning Signs, How to Check a Seller, and Where to Report

By Web Asset House Studio · October 29, 2026

Note: Some future links on this site may be affiliate links. We never claim hands-on testing; guides are researched from the public sources listed in each article.

How we wrote this: A summary of the FTC's "Investment Scams" and "What To Know About Cryptocurrency and Scams" pages, the SEC's Investor.gov background-check page, and the FBI IC3 guidance for cryptocurrency scam victims (all linked below), checked October 29, 2026. This is general consumer information, not investment advice.

Investment scams promise what every investor wants: fast, easy money with little risk. The FTC says they often start with free training, seminars or videos, social media posts, ads or an unexpected message, and then lead to fees, "coaching" or a fake trading account. Cryptocurrency shows up in many of them, sometimes as the investment and sometimes as the way you're asked to pay.

The FTC's signs of an investment scam

From the FTC's investment scams page:

Guaranteed big money. Promises of guaranteed income, profits or returns, or that you'll beat the market or quit your job. The FTC says only scammers guarantee over-the-top profits.
Little risk, time or effort. All investments carry a risk of losing money. Anyone who says otherwise is a red flag.
Few details. If you can't get specifics and documentation in writing, that's a sign of a scam.
A "secret method" or "proven system." The FTC calls these empty promises.
High pressure. Being told to act fast, that space is limited, or being discouraged from doing research.

The FTC lists the usual settings: financial markets, cryptocurrency, real estate (including "world-class" developments and real estate training programs) and precious metals and coins.

How crypto investment scams usually work

The FTC's crypto page describes several patterns:

The "investment manager." Someone contacts you out of the blue, promises to grow your money if you buy crypto and transfer it to their platform, and steers you to a website that looks real. When you try to withdraw, you can't, or only after paying high fees.
The online match. Someone you meet on a dating site or app offers to teach you crypto investing. The FTC says to never mix online dating and investment advice; see our romance scams guide.
Fake coins and tokens. Scammers pose as a new or established company launching its own coin, backed by ads, articles or a slick website. The FTC suggests researching whether the company really issued one.
Impersonators. Fake banks, companies or government agencies that say your money is at risk and must be moved into crypto. Our government impersonation scams guide covers that version.

Two FTC rules cover most of these: only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency, and only scammers guarantee profits or big returns.

Why crypto losses are hard to recover

The FTC explains how crypto differs from cards and bank accounts:

Not government-backed. Crypto held in accounts isn't insured the way FDIC-insured bank deposits are.
No built-in dispute process. Card payments have legal protections; crypto payments typically don't.
Usually irreversible. You generally get money back only if the person you paid sends it back.
Volatile. Values can change rapidly, even by the hour.

That's why checking before you pay matters most.

How to check before you invest

The FTC and SEC suggest:

Check registration. The SEC's Investor.gov says unlicensed, unregistered persons commit much of the investment fraud in the U.S. Its free search sends you to the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site, where you can see whether a professional and their firm are registered with the SEC, a state or FINRA. For precious metals and commodities, the FTC points to the CFTC's registration check.
Search the name of the company, promoter or coin with words like "review," "scam," "fraud" or "complaint," and read several pages of results.
Verify claims yourself. Don't invest based only on testimonials, newsletters or blogs; the FTC says scammers invent success stories.
Be cautious with unregistered securities. The FTC notes that many scams involve investments not registered with the SEC.
Talk to someone you trust before handing over money.

Where to report

The FTC and FBI list these:

FTC: ReportFraud.ftc.gov
SEC (securities fraud): sec.gov/tcr
CFTC (commodities, precious metals and crypto fraud): cftc.gov/complaint
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov. For crypto, the FBI asks for wallet addresses, amounts, dates and transaction IDs.
The crypto exchange you used to send money.

If someone used your personal information, IdentityTheft.gov offers a recovery plan. Our guide on what to do if you paid a scammer covers the first calls to make for each payment type.

Watch out for "recovery" services. The FBI warns that people claiming they can recover lost crypto may be running another scam.

Quick checklist

Guaranteed returns, no risk or pressure to act now? Walk away.
Anyone demanding payment in crypto is a scammer.
Check the seller on Investor.gov (or the CFTC for metals and commodities).
Search the name plus "scam" or "complaint."
Report to the FTC, SEC, CFTC or IC3, and to your exchange.