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How to Check if an Investment Website Is Legit or a Scam

Every year, billions of dollars are lost to fake investment platforms that promise sky-high returns with “zero risk.” Scammers have become incredibly sophisticated: professional-looking websites, fake testimonials, cloned regulator logos, and even deep-fake video endorsements.

Here’s a practical, step-by-step checklist you can use to separate legitimate investment sites from scams.

1. Check the Domain Name & Age

Too-good-to-be-true offers on a brand-new domain? Red flag. Use Who.is or ICANN Lookup to see when the domain was registered. Most scam sites are <12 months old.
Look for subtle misspellings or strange TLDs (.top, .xyz, .cfd, .trade are heavily abused).
Legitimate firms rarely use free subdomains (mybroker.wordpress.com, myfund.wixsite.com).

2. Verify Regulatory Registration (The Most Important Step)

Real investment firms must be registered with a government regulator. Check these official databases:

Country	Regulator	Search Portal
USA	SEC / FINRA	https://adviserinfo.sec.gov (IAPD) & https://brokercheck.finra.org
UK	Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)	https://register.fca.org.uk
EU	National regulators (CySEC, BaFin, AMF, etc.)	ESMA registers or national sites
Canada	CIRO (formerly IIROC) or provincial regulators	https://www.ciro.ca
Australia	ASIC	https://connectonline.asic.gov.au
Offshore (Cayman, BVI, Seychelles, etc.)	Often unregulated or fake “regulators”	Warning list on IOSCO website

If the website claims to be “registered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines” or shows a certificate from “Financial Services Authority SVG” with a fancy logo → 99% scam. SVG does not regulate forex/crypto brokers.

3. Look for Cloned or Fake Licenses

Scammers steal real license numbers from legitimate firms. Always click the license number on the broker’s site and verify it leads to the real regulator database and that the name/address match exactly.

4. Google the Exact Company Name + Keywords

Search:

“[company name] scam”
“[company name] withdrawal problems”
“[company name] reviews”

5. Examine the Website Itself

Red flags:

Guaranteed returns (“300% in 30 days”, “risk-free”)
Countdown timers and “limited spots”
Unrealistic returns (15–50% per month)
No physical address or only a virtual WeWork address
Poor English, pixelated logos, stock photos
“Login” button leads to a Telegram or WhatsApp chat instead of a real client portal

Green flags:

Clear legal documents (Terms, Privacy Policy, Risk Disclosure)
Company registration number that you can verify on official government registry
Realistic return expectations and prominent risk warnings

6. Test Customer Support

Legitimate firms have phone support in your country and reply by email from a corporate domain (name@schwab.com, not name@gmail.com). Scammers push you to Telegram/WhatsApp and refuse phone calls.

7. Check SSL & Hosting

Having HTTPS is table stakes; every scam site has it now. Check to see if other people flagged the site and where it’s actually hosted (many scams are hosted in Russia, China, or Nigeria despite claiming to be in London).

8. Deposit & Withdrawal Policy Scrutiny

Read the terms carefully:

Bonus terms that make withdrawal impossible (high trading volume requirements)
“Tax” or “verification fees” you must pay to withdraw (classic advance-fee scam)
Withdrawal only in cryptocurrency even if you deposited by card

9. Reverse-Image Search Photos & Testimonials

Most testimonials are stolen. Right-click → “Search Google for image”. You’ll often find the same face on five different scam sites.

Bonus: Common Scam Patterns

Pig-butchering scams (someone you meet on dating/social media convinces you to invest on “their” platform)
Fake copy-trading apps promoted by influencers
AI-generated celebrity deep-fake endorsements (Elon Musk, Andrew Tate, etc.)
“Liquidity mining” or “arbitrage bots” promising daily passive income

Final Checklist You Can Save

□ Domain older than 2 years? □ Registered & verifiable with real regulator? □ License number matches regulator database exactly? □ Realistic returns and risk warnings? □ Physical address verifiable on Google Maps? □ Support reachable by phone/email (corporate domain)? □ No pressure tactics or countdown timers? □ Withdrawals possible to original payment method without extra fees?

If the answer is NO to any of the first three questions, walk away. If multiple red flags appear, it’s almost certainly a scam.

Protect your money: when in doubt, invest only with firms you can physically visit or that are household names in your country. A little paranoia today beats losing your life savings tomorrow.

Remember, awareness is your strongest defense.

Please share this guide with friends and colleagues.