Guide

If you have already sent money

What to do first, who can actually help, and what nobody can do for you.

Step 1

Stop paying right away

A request for an additional payment to release your balance — a tax, a fee, a verification deposit — is not a condition for withdrawal. It is the next step of the loss.

Step 2

Write it down while it is fresh

Dates, amounts, the account you paid into, the names people used, the address of the site. This is what every complaint form will ask for, and what nobody can reconstruct for you later.

Step 3

Contact the bank or card issuer that received the payment

They decide on refunds and chargebacks, not us and not the broker. Time limits are set by the card scheme and run from the payment, so this step rewards speed above all others.

Step 4

Report to the regulator that issued the licence

If the broker holds a licence, the authority that issued it is the one that can act on it. Its name and number are on our card for that firm; the complaint goes to that authority, not to the one in your own country.

Step 5

Report it to local authorities too

A local report rarely returns funds, but it puts the firm on a warning list, which is how the next person finds out before paying.

as early as possible — the limit runs from the paymentYour bank or card providerThe only route that can return money. Request the dispute or chargeback process in writing.the bank or payment company that handled the money

generally after the firm has replied to you, or failed to replyThe regulator that granted the broker's licenceIt oversees the licence, can open a case and issue a warning. It cannot promise a refund.the authority indicated on that broker's card, on its own website

Offers to get your money back

A person who contacts you offering to recover your money for a fee is running the second half of the same scam. Regulators, banks, and lawyers do not charge advance fees to release funds, and no one can promise recovery. Treat every such offer, letter, and phone call as an attack.

Keep these

every email and chat log with the firm, exported, not screenshotted
the payment receipts, with the card, account or wallet used
screenshots of the account page showing the balance and any blocked withdrawal
the licence number the site displayed when you signed up

Sourceswww.cysec.gov.cy registers.esma.europa.eu registers.esma.europa.eu bappebti.go.id registers.esma.europa.eu afsa.aifc.kz www.gov.kz www.pmex.com.pk www.psx.com.pk www.secp.gov.pk registers.esma.europa.eu www.knf.gov.pl registers.esma.europa.eu fsaseychelles.sc www.vfsc.vu www.fsca.co.za

If you have already sent money

The register holds the legal company, the site advertises the brand. We match on both, so a trading name finds the company that actually holds the licence.

16 sources4,006 records0 not read yet

Sources we read

Last good read

CY-CYSECCyprus Securities and Exchange Commission

248
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

CY-ESMACyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (via ESMA register)

329
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

ES-ESMAComisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (via ESMA register)

426
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

ID-BAPPEBTICommodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency

112
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

IT-ESMACommissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (via ESMA register)

490
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

KZ-AFSAAstana Financial Services Authority

174
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

KZ-ARDFMAgency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market

141
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

PK-PMEXPakistan Mercantile Exchange (registered brokers)

65
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-10-14; read

PK-PSXPakistan Stock Exchange (TRE certificate holders)

283
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

PK-SECPSecurities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan

3
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

PL-ESMAKomisja Nadzoru Finansowego (via ESMA register)

51
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

PL-KNFPolish Financial Supervision Authority

1,241
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

RO-ESMAAutoritatea de Supraveghere Financiară (via ESMA register)

44
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

SC-FSAFinancial Services Authority (Seychelles)

235
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

VU-VFSCVanuatu Financial Services Commission

68
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read

ZA-FSCA-ODPFinancial Sector Conduct Authority (OTC Derivative Providers)

96
Last good read
Last attempt: 2026-11-02; read