Recovered £78,000 - Forex Trading Fraud
Client invested savings in a fraudulent forex trading scheme operated from Eastern Europe, with promised returns of 200% annually.
“Losing £120,000 nearly destroyed my marriage. We were weeks from losing our home. Patterdale's team worked tirelessly across three countries and recovered £78,000 - enough to save our house and rebuild. David kept us informed every step and never once made us feel like just another case number.”
How they were scammed
David was cold-called by a "senior trader" from what appeared to be a regulated brokerage firm. The caller demonstrated impressive trading knowledge and provided access to a sophisticated trading platform showing real market data. Over six months, David invested £120,000 of his pension savings, believing the firm was FCA-regulated. The platform showed consistent profits, but all withdrawal requests were met with delays and additional fee demands.
When they contacted us
David contacted us when the firm's phone lines went dead and the website was taken offline. He had already filed a report with Action Fraud but had not received any progress update.
Our investigation
Our investigation revealed the firm was using a cloned identity - they had copied the FCA registration details of a legitimate (but unrelated) financial services company. The trading platform was a sophisticated simulation that never executed real trades. We traced David's deposits through payment processors in Cyprus and identified the operating company's offices in Bulgaria.
Challenges faced
The cloned identity made initial identification difficult. The operation had moved offices in Bulgaria twice in the preceding year, and the payment processors in Cyprus had complex corporate structures designed to obscure the ultimate beneficiaries.
Breakthrough moment
A former employee of the operation, who had left under acrimonious circumstances, agreed to provide information about the company's structure and bank accounts. This intelligence, combined with our existing investigation, provided enough evidence for Bulgarian authorities to raid the offices.
Successful recovery
The Bulgarian raid resulted in the seizure of company assets including bank accounts containing £45,000 attributable to David's deposits. Our Cyprus legal partner separately recovered £25,000 from the payment processor. An additional £8,000 was recovered from a UK-based introducer who received commission for referring David. Total recovery: £78,000 (65%).
Lessons learned
- Cold-calling about investments is illegal in the UK - any such call is a scam indicator
- Always independently verify FCA registration - scammers clone legitimate company details
- Trading platforms can be simulated to show fake profits
- Never invest pension savings in opportunities you haven't thoroughly researched
Prevention tips
- Hang up on any unsolicited calls about investments - legitimate firms don't cold-call
- Verify FCA registration directly at register.fca.org.uk, not through links provided by the firm
- Check the FCA Warning List for firms that have been reported as potentially fraudulent
- Consult an independent financial adviser before making significant investment decisions
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