Stopfintechfraud.
Lost money to a fake investment, crypto, forex or trading platform? Tell us which company and which project took it. Every report adds to a shared record that helps victims get heard and warns the next person.
Reporting is free and confidential. We never charge a fee to recover your money.
Know your rights
The first 24 hours
Money taken by fraud does not sit still. It is moved through a chain of accounts and cashed out, often within hours. Everything below is free, and you can do all of it yourself.
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STOP
Send nothing more
The moment you suspect fraud, stop paying. Any story about a tax, a conversion charge, a verification deposit, a customs fee or an "unlock amount" that will release your balance is part of the same fraud. Nobody has ever recovered a blocked balance by paying more into it.
This is where most of the second half of a victim's loss happens -
0–60
MINCall 1930 (India)
The national cybercrime helpline works 24×7 and is free. Have ready: your account or card number, the transaction IDs or UTR numbers, the exact date and time, and the amount. Your complaint is entered into the government's financial-fraud reporting system, which notifies the bank or wallet that received the money so a hold can be attempted.
The earlier the alert reaches the receiving bank, the better the chance of a hold -
0–60
MINCall your own bank's fraud helpline
Ask them to block the card, UPI handle or net-banking access, and to raise a dispute. Then send the same thing in writing by email to your branch and to customer care, so the date and time of your complaint are on record. Ask for the complaint or ticket number.
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SAME
DAYSecure your phone and accounts
If you installed any app they sent you, or gave anyone remote access, turn off the internet on that device, uninstall the app, and change the passwords and UPI PIN from a different device. Enable two-factor authentication on your email first — it is the key to everything else.
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24
HOURSFile the written complaint at cybercrime.gov.in
A phone complaint should be completed in writing on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Upload your bank statement, the screenshots of chats and the payment receipts. Save the acknowledgement number safely — banks, regulators and this helpline will all ask for it.
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24–72
HOURSGo to the police station as well
An online complaint and an FIR are not the same thing. For a serious loss, visit the nearest cyber police station or your local station and ask for an FIR. Carry printouts of everything. Ask for the FIR number and a free copy.
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THIS
WEEKReport the company here, and tell the people around you
Filing your report on this website links your case with others cheated by the same operation. Then warn your own circle — in most schemes, the next victims are the people already sitting in the same group as you.
Your rights as a bank customer
The Reserve Bank of India limits how much a customer has to bear when money leaves their account in an unauthorised electronic transaction. The rule that matters most is how fast you told the bank.
First, the honest distinction
These protections are written for transactions you did not authorise — a card used by someone else, a payment triggered by a phishing link, an account taken over. If you were persuaded to transfer the money yourself into an investment scheme, the bank will usually treat it as an authorised transaction, and this framework does not automatically apply. Your route there is the police complaint, the money trail and, where a bank ignored clear warning signals, the Ombudsman. Report it regardless — many cases turn out to be a mix of both.
| Situation | What you bear |
|---|---|
| The bank was at fault — its own negligence, a system deficiency or a failure on its side | Nothing — even if you were slow to notice or report it |
| A third party was at fault and you told the bank within 3 working days of its alert | Nothing |
| A third party was at fault and you told the bank 4 to 7 working days after its alert | A capped amount, depending on your account type — broadly ₹5,000 for a basic savings account, ₹10,000 for ordinary savings accounts, prepaid instruments and smaller credit cards, and ₹25,000 for larger current accounts and high-limit credit cards |
| You told the bank more than 7 working days after its alert | Decided by the bank's own board-approved policy — ask for a copy of it in writing |
| Your own negligence — for example you shared your password, PIN or OTP | The loss up to the moment you report it. Everything after you report is the bank's to bear, which is one more reason to report immediately |
Learn & stay safe
Ten warning signs
Almost every fintech fraud shows several of these. One on its own may be innocent. Two or more together mean stop, and check before you pay.
- Guaranteed or fixed returns"2% daily", "double in 90 days", "capital 100% safe". Real markets cannot promise profit, and anyone who does is either unlicensed or lying.
- Withdrawals blocked until you pay moreA tax, a conversion charge, a verification deposit or an unlock fee stands between you and your balance. That balance does not exist.
- Payments to a personal accountYou are asked to pay an individual's UPI ID, a personal bank account, or a "collection agent" instead of the company itself.
- Bonuses for recruiting othersIncome that depends on bringing in family and friends is the engine of a Ponzi or chain scheme, not of an investment.
- No licence you can verify yourselfThey send a certificate image or a registration number in a PDF. A real licence is visible on the regulator's own website.
- An account manager who guides every tradeA helpful stranger on Telegram or WhatsApp who tells you exactly when to buy, and grows more emotionally involved as your deposits grow.
- An app sent as a link or an APK fileGenuine financial apps are published in the official app stores under the company's verified developer name.
- Manufactured urgencyLimited slots, a closing window, a countdown on the screen. Urgency exists to stop you checking and to stop you asking anyone else.
- SecrecyYou are told not to discuss it with family, or that your accountant "won't understand this kind of opportunity". Isolation is a tactic.
- Proof that is only ever screenshotsProfit dashboards, payout screenshots and testimonial videos are trivially faked. Only money that actually reaches your own bank account is evidence.
How each scam actually works
These are not random tricks. Each one is a script, run by teams who have practised it thousands of times. Open the one that sounds familiar.
Fake investment and Ponzi schemesThe oldest script, now delivered through an app
HOW IT RUNS
You are shown a plan paying a fixed monthly return — often 3 to 10 per cent — from trading, gold, real estate or "AI". Your first small deposit really does pay out, on time. That payout is the hook, and it is funded by the deposits of people who joined after you. You increase your investment, bring in your family, and are given a rank or a badge. One month the payouts slow down. Then the app shows "server maintenance". Then the group goes quiet.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- The return is fixed and does not move with the market. No real trading strategy behaves like that
- Nobody can explain, in plain words, where the profit comes from
- There is a commission for introducing others, and a rank ladder above it
- Early withdrawals work smoothly — until the amount gets large
- The entity is not registered with any financial regulator you can check
Crypto scamsFake exchanges, fake tokens, drained wallets
HOW IT RUNS
You are guided to an "exchange" or a mining or staking plan that looks professional. You deposit in USDT because it is fast and final. The dashboard grows beautifully. When you try to withdraw, there is a tax to pay, a minimum balance to reach, or an account upgrade to buy. Separately, wallet drains happen in a second: you connect your wallet to a site or approve a transaction, and the approval hands over control of your tokens.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- The exchange is not one you had heard of before they introduced it
- Deposits are only accepted in crypto, and only to an address they give you
- A withdrawal triggers a new fee every time you clear the last one
- A website asks you to connect a wallet or enter a seed phrase to "verify" or "claim"
- A token can be bought but nobody is able to sell it
Forex fraud and unauthorised brokersWhere the legal risk can land on you as well
HOW IT RUNS
An advertisement or a mentor introduces an offshore broker with big leverage. You are helped through the account opening, and you deposit through a local agent or a payment gateway. Early trades win. Larger deposits follow. Then the account is wiped out by a sudden "margin call" or the withdrawal request simply stays pending, and the account manager stops replying.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- The broker is not on RBI's list of authorised persons or authorised electronic trading platforms
- Deposits are routed through individuals, local agents or crypto rather than to the company
- Leverage and bonuses are offered that no regulated broker in India could offer
- The platform's price feed differs from real market prices when you check independently
Trading tips and signal groupsA free group, a paid group, then a private platform
HOW IT RUNS
You join a free channel run by an "analyst" with screenshots of enormous profits. Members post grateful messages — most of them are staff. After a while there is a paid group, and then a private platform or an "institutional" account where the real money is supposedly made. The signals stop mattering; the deposits are the product.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- The person giving specific buy and sell advice is not a registered investment adviser or research analyst
- Profits are shown as screenshots, never as an audited or verifiable track record
- Losing calls disappear from the channel history
- You are pushed onto a platform they control instead of your own broker account
- Anyone who questions the analyst is removed from the group
Fake apps and instant-loan appsThe app is the trap, and your contact list is the weapon
HOW IT RUNS
An investment or loan app arrives as a link or an APK file. At installation it asks for your contacts, photos, SMS and storage. A loan is disbursed within minutes — less than you applied for, with charges deducted. Then the repayment demands begin, at interest rates nobody explained, and when you are late the harassment starts: calls to your contact list, edited photos, threats to your family.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- The app is not in an official app store, or its listing has almost no history
- It asks for contacts, gallery and SMS access, none of which a lender needs
- The lender's name, address and registration are nowhere in the app
- The loan terms appear only after the money has been disbursed
Relationship and long-game investment scamsWeeks of friendship, then one "opportunity"
HOW IT RUNS
Someone reaches you through a dating app, a wrong-number message or a professional network. They are warm, consistent and never ask for money. Weeks pass. They mention an investment they use — a platform, a group, an insider edge. They invest alongside you and let you withdraw a small profit. Then the deposits grow, and the platform starts finding reasons why the balance cannot come out.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- The relationship began with a stranger's unsolicited message
- Video calls are always avoided, or are strangely short and evasive
- They are wealthy, but never invest for you — they only teach you to invest
- The platform they recommend cannot be found in any app store or regulator list
- They ask you not to tell your family about the investment
Task, job and commission scamsSmall earnings first, then a deposit you never get back
HOW IT RUNS
A message offers easy paid work — liking videos, rating hotels, completing small tasks. The first few payouts are real and reach your bank account. Then you are moved to a "merchant" or "prepaid" set of tasks where you must deposit your own money to unlock a higher commission. One task always goes wrong at a large amount, and recovering it requires another deposit.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- Work that pays far more than it could possibly be worth
- You have to pay in, in order to earn — never true of real employment
- Everything happens on Telegram or WhatsApp, with no company, contract or address
- An error in a task can only be fixed by depositing more
Impersonation, fake officials and "digital arrest"Fear used as a payment method
HOW IT RUNS
A caller says they are from the police, a courier company, the telecom department, a customs office or a bank's fraud team. A parcel with contraband, a SIM misused in a crime, an account frozen. You are kept on a video call, told not to hang up and not to speak to anyone, and asked to move your money to a "safe" or "verification" account while your name is cleared.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- No real police force arrests anyone over a video call, and none asks for money to clear your name
- You are told to stay on the line and keep it secret from family
- The uniform, the ID card and the office backdrop are props on a screen
- The demand is always a transfer to an account they name
Identity theft and KYC harvestingSometimes the documents are the target, not the money
HOW IT RUNS
A platform, a job application or a "KYC update" collects your PAN, Aadhaar, a selfie, a bank statement and a signature. Nothing obviously bad happens. Months later a loan appears in your name, a SIM is issued against your identity, or your documents turn up supporting someone else's fraudulent account.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- Full documents demanded before any service is actually provided
- Files uploaded to a chat app or an unfamiliar web form rather than a verified portal
- A selfie holding your ID, requested by an entity you cannot verify
- Loan enquiries on your credit report that you never made
Online payment fraudUPI, cards and the "collect request" trick
HOW IT RUNS
A buyer for something you listed sends you a "payment request" to accept, or a QR code to scan to receive money. Both take money out rather than putting it in. Other versions: a fake customer-care number found through a search engine, a remote-access app installed to "fix" a failed refund, or a phishing link that captures your card details and the OTP.
WHAT GIVES IT AWAY
- You never enter a PIN to receive money — a PIN only ever sends money
- A stranger insists on a collect request or a QR scan to pay you
- A customer-care number found through a search result or a social media reply
- Anyone asking you to install AnyDesk, TeamViewer or a similar screen-sharing app
The five-minute check before you pay
Run this before any first payment to a platform, a scheme or a person you met online. If it cannot survive five minutes of checking, it will not survive your savings.
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1
Look up the licence yourself
Search the regulator's own website for the company's name — SEBI for advisers and brokers, RBI for deposit-taking and forex, IRDAI for insurance. Do not use a link, a QR code or a PDF they gave you. If the name is not on the regulator's own site, treat it as unregistered.
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2
Check the alert lists
Look for the platform on RBI's Alert List of unauthorised forex entities and on the Sachet portal. Remember that absence from a list is not an approval — it only means they have not been listed yet.
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3
Ask where the money goes
Who is the account holder you are paying? If it is a person rather than the company, or a crypto address, stop. A legitimate business collects money in its own registered name.
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4
Search the name with the word "scam" or "complaint"
Also search the promoter's name, the WhatsApp number and the app name. Look past the first page of glowing reviews, which are often bought. Look for people asking how to withdraw.
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5
Say it out loud to one other person
Describe the plan, in full, to someone who has nothing to gain. If you find yourself wanting to leave out a detail — the guaranteed return, the secrecy, the recruitment bonus — that detail is the warning sign.
Get support
It was not your fault
People who lose money to fintech fraud are not careless or greedy. They are usually careful people who were targeted by professionals. The scripts are written by teams, tested on thousands of people, and refined until they work on intelligent, cautious adults. Doctors, engineers, accountants, police officers and bank employees are all in our reports.
Every part of what happened to you was engineered. The small early payout that proved it was real. The account manager who remembered your daughter's exam. The urgency that stopped you from checking. The secrecy that kept you from asking your family. Those are tools, and they were used on you deliberately.
The shame that comes afterwards is the most expensive part of the fraud, because it stops people reporting, and silence is exactly what lets the operation keep running. Naming what happened is the first thing that takes power back.
What this helpline can and cannot do
We would rather disappoint you now than give you false hope. Here is the honest boundary.
We can
- Record your case properly, in a form that stands up when an authority reads it
- Link your report with others naming the same company
- Tell you exactly which official complaint to file, where, and in what order
- Explain your rights as a bank customer in plain language
- Warn the public about companies that appear again and again
- Keep everything you tell us confidential
We cannot
- Recover your money, or promise that anyone else will
- Freeze an account, seize assets or order an investigation
- Register an FIR for you, or represent you before any authority
- Give legal advice on your individual case
- Contact the company on your behalf or negotiate a refund
- Guarantee a timeline or an outcome
We are an independent community initiative, not a government body, regulator, law firm or police service. If anybody claims otherwise while using our name, they are not from us.
Practical steps for the first week
When everything feels unmanageable, work down a list instead of thinking about all of it at once.
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1
Preserve everything before you delete anything
Screenshot the chats, the dashboard, the payment confirmations, the group, the profile photos and the phone numbers. Export the chat history where the app allows it. Save it all into one folder with the date in its name. Do not delete the app or leave the group until you have copies — the urge to erase it is strong, and the evidence goes with it.
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2
Stop the bleeding
Block the cards and UPI handles that were used, lower your transfer limits, and change the passwords for your email and banking from a device you trust. If you gave anyone remote access to a phone or computer, get it checked before you use it for banking again.
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3
File the official complaints
In India: call 1930, then complete the written complaint at cybercrime.gov.in, then approach the police station for an FIR. The Know your rights page lists every channel and what each is for.
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4
Deal with the money honestly
If you borrowed to invest, or used a credit card or a loan, speak to that lender now rather than later. Ask about restructuring the repayment. Do not take a new loan to recover a loss, and do not put money into anything that promises to win it back — that decision is what turns a bad month into a permanent one.
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5
Tell one person
Carrying it alone is heavier than the loss itself, and secrecy is what the next fraud will rely on. Choose one person who will not lecture you.
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6
Expect the second approach, and refuse it
Victim lists get resold. When a "recovery agent" contacts you — and they usually do — do not pay them anything. See the warning about recovery scams.
Join the movement
A people's movement for a fraud-free world
Victims, families, volunteers, lawyers and journalists — join to get fraud alerts first and help others spot scams before they pay.
Ways people help
Nobody is asked for money. The movement runs on reports, warnings and time.
File a report
The single most useful thing anyone can do. One report is a complaint; fifty reports about the same company are a pattern that authorities and journalists can act on.
Pass the alerts on
Forward our warnings into the groups you are already in — family, colleagues, your building, your community. A warning from a person is read; an advertisement is not.
Translate
Fraud is sold in every language, and warnings are not. Volunteers translate our safety guides into Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, Urdu and more.
Offer professional skills
Lawyers, chartered accountants, forensic and cybersecurity professionals, and former bankers help us read complex cases and write guidance that is actually correct.
Report as a journalist or researcher
We share anonymised, aggregated patterns — company names, scripts, volumes and timelines — with reporters and academics working on financial fraud.
Run a local awareness session
In a college, an office, a residents' association or a self-help group. We provide the material; you bring the room. Most frauds spread locally, so this is where they are stopped.
What the numbers mean — and what they don't
What this board tells you
- How large a share of the complaints here concern each company
- Which names keep coming up, and how recently
- What type of fraud the company is most often reported for
- That enough unconnected people described a problem for a pattern to be visible
What it does not tell you
- That any offence has been proved — no court or regulator has decided these cases
- That a company missing from the board is safe or approved
- The true scale of any company's activity, since most victims never report anywhere
- How many people reported a company — the board shows shares, not individual totals
- Anything about companies with a similar name — check the spelling carefully