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What a Fraud Situation Looks Like, and Which Route Fits It

Solutions here are grouped by the situation you are actually in: a card payment to a broker that never paid out, a bank transfer to an account you no longer trust, a platform asking for a tax or release fee before it will process a withdrawal, or a case where you are still deciding whether anything can be done at all. Each scenario below describes the payment method involved, the evidence that matters, and the practical next step.

If a payment already left your account, the next step is a paper trail

Before you call anyone, gather what you already have: card statements, transfer confirmations, the platform's withdrawal screen, and your chat history with the account manager. That file is what a bank dispute team actually reads. It is also the difference between a vague complaint and a request they can act on.

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Send us your situation

Describe how the money left, which platform was involved, and what you have kept. No account numbers by email.

Still deciding which route fits your case? Compare common victim scenarios or read how fake brokers build trust before the first deposit.

What the evidence actually looks like

Four situations people bring to us most often, and the screens, receipts, and messages that decide how a dispute moves forward.

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Withdrawal screen

The balance that never leaves the dashboard

A client sees a five-figure balance, requests a payout, and the platform responds with a pending status that never clears. The screenshot of that request, with the timestamp and the account number visible, is usually the single most useful file in the case. Keep the original, not a cropped version.

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Card payment

When the money left by card, not by transfer

Card payments follow a defined dispute route with its own deadline, and the clock usually starts at the transaction date rather than the day the person realised something was wrong. A statement line showing the merchant descriptor, plus any confirmation email from the platform, is what the issuer will ask for first.

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Bank transfer

The transfer that went to a different name

People often send funds to an account holder whose name does not match the broker brand at all. That mismatch matters. A recall request depends on the receiving bank cooperating, which is slower and less certain than a card dispute, so the payment instruction and the beneficiary details need to be preserved exactly as they appeared.

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Chat history

The account manager who kept asking for more

After the first withdrawal request stalls, the messages change tone: a tax must be paid upfront, a compliance deposit is required, a fee will release the funds. Those conversations are evidence of how the demand was framed. Export the full thread rather than individual screenshots, and note the dates each request arrived.

What people say after they start asking the right questions

These are notes from readers who used the Solutions pages to match their own situation to a route: card dispute, transfer recall, or evidence gathering before contacting anyone.

Card payment

Pauline Lloyd

I paid a broker platform by debit card in three instalments over six weeks. The Solutions page on card disputes was the first thing that told me clearly which window I was still inside. I pulled the statements, saved the chat logs, and filed with my bank. Two of the three payments were reversed. The third fell outside the timeframe, and at least I knew why instead of guessing.

Reading time on the page: about nine minutes. Outcome: partial refund, documented.
Bank transfer

Jeremy Ellis

My case was a SEPA transfer, not a card, so the chargeback route people kept mentioning online did not apply to me. The comparison section on Solutions explained the difference in plain terms. I filed a recall request with my bank and sent the platform correspondence as supporting evidence. The recall is still open, but I stopped sending money to the platform the same week I read it.

Route: transfer recall request. Status: pending with the receiving bank.
Evidence first

Bradley Johnson

Before I contacted anyone, I went through the checklist on the Solutions page and gathered what I had: account statements, the onboarding emails, the withdrawal screenshots, and the messages asking for a "tax prepayment." Having that folder ready meant the conversation with my bank took one appointment instead of three. Nobody promised me a result, and that was the part I trusted most.

Documents preserved: statements, emails, screenshots, chat export.
Early exit

Marta Reiner

I never lost money, which is the only reason I am writing this. A friend sent me a link to a platform with a polished dashboard and a friendly account manager. The signs-of-a-scam section matched almost every step of what I had already been told on the phone. I closed the account and kept the emails. It felt like an overreaction for about a day.

Amount sent: none. Action taken: stopped contact, saved correspondence.