If you suspect a binary options scam, stop sending money and contact the company that handled your payment. Do not wait for the platform’s account manager to approve a withdrawal or finish an alleged investigation.
Your immediate priorities are to prevent further losses, protect your accounts, preserve evidence and report what happened. Pursue recovery alongside those steps, not instead of them. This guide uses United States reporting routes; payment rights and complaint procedures differ elsewhere.
Stop further payments and end the pressure
Do not pay another deposit, withdrawal tax, insurance charge or account verification fee to the suspected platform. Repeated demands for money to release an investment are a recognized fraud pattern covered in the CFTC’s steps to take after discovering fraud.
Save the payment demands, then stop the sales conversation. You do not need to convince the person contacting you that their conduct is fraudulent. Do not agree to further trades, borrow money to meet a deadline or send another identity document to keep the account open.
If someone currently has remote access to your computer, disconnect it from the internet. Contact your bank from a different, trusted device. Protecting an accessible bank account takes priority over collecting screenshots.
Keep a copy of any withdrawal request already submitted. Where the platform keeps inventing new conditions, document them rather than negotiating. The separate guide to withdrawal fees, tax demands and account unlocking scams covers those demands in more detail.
Contact your bank or payment provider immediately
Use the number on your card, your bank’s established app or independently verified contact details. Explain that you suspect investment fraud and ask what can be done about each payment. The FTC’s payment recovery guidance recommends contacting the payment provider promptly and requesting a refund or reversal.
| Payment method | Immediate request |
|---|---|
| Credit or debit card | Contact the issuer, report the suspected fraud and ask about a refund or payment dispute. |
| Bank transfer | Contact your bank’s fraud team and ask whether it can stop, recall or recover the payment. |
| Payment app or money transfer service | Report the transaction to the service and request reversal or reimbursement. |
| Cryptocurrency | Contact the exchange or ATM operator used to send it, report the fraud and ask what assistance is available. |
Give the provider the transaction dates, amounts, recipient details and statement descriptions. Ask for a case number and instructions for submitting supporting documents. Keep a note of the conversation.
Explain who actually made each payment
A payment you personally sent after being deceived is different from a transfer a scammer initiated using your account. Describe exactly what happened, including whether you entered payment instructions, shared a login code or allowed someone to control your device.
For covered U.S. electronic transfers, a fraudster’s use of account credentials obtained through deception can qualify as an unauthorized transfer under Regulation E. Sharing credentials after being tricked does not automatically remove that protection. The CFPB’s electronic transfer guidance addresses that distinction and the bank’s investigation duties.
Do not describe a payment you made as unauthorized simply because the investment was fraudulent. Give an accurate account and ask which dispute or reimbursement process applies. Ask about deadlines immediately, including whether written notice is required; do not assume every payment has the same reporting window.
If you bought cryptocurrency through an exchange before sending it to the platform, explain both transactions separately. Identify the purchase, the later transfer and the recipient address. That is more useful than treating the entire sequence as one card payment to the scammer.
A losing trade alone does not establish fraud. Focus your complaint on the conduct you can document: false representations, payments taken without permission, unexplained charges or refusal to return funds.
Preserve evidence and calculate the actual loss
Create one folder for the case and write a dated account of events while they are fresh. Start with how contact began, what was promised, when you paid and what happened when you tried to withdraw.
Keep these records where available:
- Payment receipts, statements, recipient accounts and transaction references.
- The platform’s full web address, account number, withdrawal requests and displayed balance.
- Emails, exported chats, phone numbers, social profiles and names used by the people involved.
- Advertisements, agreements and demands for additional payments.
Label information carefully. A name supplied by an account manager is a claimed identity, not a verified one. Record approximate dates as approximate rather than filling gaps with guesses. Keep original files and make separate copies for annotations.
Record cryptocurrency transaction details
For cryptocurrency payments, save the asset, amount, network, sending and receiving addresses, transaction hash, and date and time. A transaction hash identifies a transfer; it is not the same thing as a wallet address. The FBI’s cryptocurrency reporting guidance identifies these details as useful evidence.
Completed blockchain transfers generally cannot be reversed like an ordinary payment dispute. That does not make reporting pointless: transaction records can help investigators follow funds. Preserve the records even if you do not know who controls the receiving wallet.
Separate deposits from displayed profits
Use your own financial records to prepare a loss schedule. List each payment and every withdrawal actually received. Keep the platform’s displayed balance in a separate column rather than treating it as confirmed money available to you.
For a hypothetical example, suppose you deposited $3,000 and then $2,000, and received $500 back. Your net cash outlay is $4,500. If the dashboard later displayed $18,000, record that figure as a platform claim, not an additional verified cash loss.
This distinction matters when documenting fake trading platforms and manipulated results. Give investigators both the financial records and the screenshots, clearly labeled. Do not inflate a complaint by adding supposed profits to money actually transferred.
Secure your accounts and identity
From a trusted device, change passwords for compromised accounts and anywhere you reused them. Prioritize email and financial accounts. If you suspect account access, sign out other sessions, check recovery phone numbers and email addresses, and remove unfamiliar email forwarding rules.
Turn on multifactor authentication where available. Email deserves particular attention because password reset messages for other services may arrive there. The FTC’s hacked account recovery instructions cover these checks, along with scanning for malicious software.
Tell your bank if the scammers saw your screen, received card photographs or obtained login details. Ask what access needs to be blocked and whether cards or account credentials should be replaced. Do not assume changing the trading platform password protects your banking.
If you supplied identity documents or a Social Security number, address that exposure separately from the payment dispute. In the United States, consider freezing your credit reports with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. A freeze is free, and you must contact each bureau separately. The IdentityTheft.gov recovery steps explain freezes, fraud alerts and responses to accounts opened through identity theft.
A credit freeze addresses new credit risk; continue checking existing bank and card accounts. Record exactly which documents you shared and report any misuse you find. Keep those documents private rather than attaching them to public warnings about the platform.
Report the binary options scam through official channels
Do not wait until your evidence folder is perfect. Submit an accurate initial report using what you have, and preserve the rest for follow-up requests. Keep copies of submissions and any reference numbers provided.
Internet crime report
For online fraud, use the FBI’s IC3 complaint instructions to prepare and submit a report. Include the payment trail, platform address, contact details used by the suspected scammers and a concise timeline. IC3 also accepts complaints involving people or businesses outside the United States.
Save or print the completed complaint before leaving the confirmation page. IC3 does not accept evidence attachments, so retain your original documents securely for investigators who may request them later.
IC3 reviews complaints and refers information to law enforcement and partner agencies where appropriate. A submission does not guarantee an investigation, personal status updates or repayment. Continue dealing with your payment provider rather than waiting for an IC3 response.
Financial regulator and local reporting
For suspected binary options misconduct, also submit the facts through the CFTC’s fraud complaint form. Identify the trading product and describe the conduct you are reporting. Distinguish what you personally observed from what the platform told you.
Report the matter to your local police or sheriff’s office, and consider notifying your state attorney general. Keep the payment dispute, police report and regulatory complaint organized as separate processes.
Outside the United States, contact your own police or national fraud reporting service and financial regulator. Use contact details obtained independently, not a supposed regulator link supplied by the trading platform.
Follow up on recovery without assuming repayment
After the first calls, create a simple follow-up log: provider, case number, date contacted, documents requested and next action. Set reminders for submission deadlines. Keep copies of what you send rather than relying on access to a support chat.
If a bank or payment provider rejects your claim, request its reasons in writing. Check whether it addressed the transactions and circumstances you actually reported. Ask how to request a review and what further evidence would be relevant.
For an unresolved complaint about a covered U.S. financial product or service, the CFPB’s consumer complaint process provides another route for raising the provider’s handling of the matter. Include the original complaint, its response, relevant payment records and the outcome you are requesting. This process is separate from a criminal report about the trading platform.
Can you get your money back? There is no reliable answer based solely on the platform name or the amount lost. A refund request, a payment recall and recovery through legal proceedings are different processes. None should be treated as money already recovered.
For budgeting purposes, count only funds returned to an account you control. If you are considering legal help, obtain an independent assessment of the proposed work, costs and practical recovery options before committing more money.
Reject unsolicited recovery offers
Be cautious if someone contacts you claiming they have located your money and need payment to release it. Do not treat knowledge of your loss, the platform name or a complaint reference as proof that the person is legitimate.
Cryptocurrency tracing is not the same as recovering assets. Private recovery companies cannot issue seizure orders, and exchanges freeze accounts through their own procedures or legal process. The FBI’s warning about cryptocurrency recovery fraud addresses services that charge fees while misrepresenting their ability to retrieve funds.
Verify anyone claiming to represent a regulator, police agency or law firm through independently obtained contact details. Do not install remote access software, disclose passwords or transfer funds because a caller says your case requires it.
The separate guide to recovery scams targeting previous victims covers how those approaches work. The immediate rule is simpler: an unsolicited promise of recovery is not a reason to make another payment.
You do not need to handle every task alone. Ask someone you trust to help organize records, sit with you during bank calls or check unfamiliar messages. Keep the next action manageable: protect the remaining money, submit the evidence and follow the official process. Trying to win back the loss through more trading is not a recovery plan.