Beware of „investment group” scams on WhatsApp and Telegram

Bucharest, 14 August 2025 – The Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) warns the public about a complex scam carried out through WhatsApp and Telegram messaging apps, as well as other social media platforms, which presents itself as an educational and investment community.

How the scam works

This fraudulent scheme is based on creating seemingly active groups on platforms such as WhatsApp or Telegram, where intense activity is simulated through the extensive use of automated accounts (bots), and recruitment messages are widely disseminated through social networks and messaging apps. Within these groups, individuals posing as “mentors,” “coaches,” “teachers,” or “crypto investment advisors” provide trading signals and promise guaranteed returns, encouraging members to invest relatively small initial amounts.

To expand the network, participants are encouraged to recruit new members (friends, family, or colleagues) and are rewarded for each person they bring in. Groups often include fictitious rankings and illusory rewards designed to stimulate involvement and create the appearance of a successful community.

The victims are instructed to purchase cryptocurrencies and transfer them to a so-called “trading account” opened with a purportedly authorized investment company. The platform displays seemingly profitable transactions, deliberately designed to create an impression of legitimacy and gain the victim's trust, thereby inducing them to transfer increasingly larger sums of money. When they request to withdraw their funds, victims are forced to pay various fictitious fees, such as withdrawal fees, AML fees, or non-existent taxes, which in reality never lead to the return of the amounts invested.

Recommendations from ASF

• Immediately stop all communication with the people involved and flatly refuse any request for payment or additional payment, even if it's justified by the promise of getting your money back.

• Always check the legitimacy of investment firms. Before investing money, carefully check whether the firm is authorized by the ASF or another similar authority in the European Union by consulting the ASF Register at Registrul instrumentelor și investițiilor financiare (Register of Financial Instruments and Investments).
• Do not disclose personal or financial information. Identity verification via messaging apps is not a practice used by authorized intermediaries. They adhere to strict compliance and security procedures, carried out through official and secure channels.

• Report suspicious groups on WhatsApp or Telegram and block contacts.