Where do I report a forex scam in the US?

To the CFTC at cftc.gov/complaint and the FBI's IC3 at ic3.gov. The FTC (reportfraud.ftc.gov), SEC and your state securities regulator may also apply.

Where do I report a trading scam in the UK or South Africa?

In the UK, Action Fraud and the FCA. In South Africa, open a case with SAPS and report to the FSCA.

Can I get my money back after a forex scam?

Sometimes, especially if you contact your bank or card issuer quickly. Be wary of anyone who asks for an upfront fee to recover funds.

How to Report a Forex Signal or Trading Bot Scam (US, UK, South Africa and More)

Step-by-step guide to reporting a forex signal, trading bot or AI trading scam: what evidence to collect, where to report in the US, UK, South Africa and elsewhere, and what happens next.

If you have lost money to a forex signal service, trading bot, copy trading scheme or AI trading platform, reporting it matters. It can help freeze accounts, supports investigations and warns others. Speed also matters, especially with banks. This guide covers what to collect and where to report.

Step 1: Stop the losses

Do not send any more money, including fees or taxes to "release" your balance.
Change passwords and turn on two-factor authentication for email, broker and exchange accounts.
Revoke any API keys or account access you gave. See how to revoke trading bot API access.

Step 2: Contact your bank or payment provider

Call your bank, card issuer or payment app immediately. Card chargebacks and bank fraud claims are time-limited, and transfers can sometimes be stopped if reported fast. Cryptocurrency transfers are much harder to reverse, but exchanges can sometimes freeze funds if alerted quickly.

Step 3: Collect evidence

Names, usernames and profile links of everyone involved.
Website and app addresses, with screenshots.
Chats, emails and channel posts (screenshots and exports).
Payment receipts, bank statements, transaction IDs and wallet addresses.
Your account statements and screenshots of the balance you were shown.
A simple timeline: dates, amounts and what you were told.

Step 4: Report to the right authorities

United States

CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), for forex, futures and commodity fraud: cftc.gov/complaint.
FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: ic3.gov.
FTC, for general fraud: reportfraud.ftc.gov.
SEC, if securities or crypto investment contracts are involved: sec.gov/tcr.
Your state securities regulator.

United Kingdom

Action Fraud: actionfraud.police.uk (Police Scotland in Scotland).
FCA: report the firm and check its warning list.

South Africa

South African Police Service: open a case.
FSCA (Financial Sector Conduct Authority).

Elsewhere

Report to your national financial regulator and the police. In Mozambique, the central bank (Banco de Moçambique) supervises banks and payment institutions; elsewhere in the EU, see your national competent authority. Check the regulator's own website for its complaint process.

Step 5: Report the accounts and platforms

Report profiles, channels and groups to Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp or wherever you were contacted.
Report fake websites to the domain registrar and hosting provider (find them with an ICANN lookup).
Report scam wallet addresses to the exchange you sent from.

Step 6: Protect yourself from recovery scams

Victims are often contacted afterwards by people offering to recover funds for an upfront fee, sometimes posing as lawyers, hackers or regulators. Regulators and police do not charge fees to recover your money. See reclaiming funds from unregulated platforms.

What happens after you report

Most reports do not lead to immediate repayment, and that can be discouraging. But reports build cases: in the Mirror Trading International bot case, the CFTC obtained a court order in 2023 for more than 1.7 billion dollars in restitution. Reports also feed warning lists that protect others.

Talk to someone

Losing money to fraud is stressful and embarrassing, and scammers are professionals. Tell someone you trust. If you are in the US, the AARP Fraud Watch Network helpline offers free support to fraud victims of any age.

Bottom line

Stop the losses, call your bank, collect evidence and report to the regulator and police. Then guard against the second wave of scammers. For a printable checklist, see our ebook Signal or Scam?.