Investment fraud losses hit £991m: what to check before you invest

Before sending money to any investment opportunity, check whether the firm is actually authorised. According to Independent Digital News and Media, that single step is one of the clearest defences consumers have right now, as the National Crime Agency reports investment fraud has surged by 37% in a year.

Reports rose from 26,616 in 2024-25 to 36,464 in 2025-26. Total losses in 2025 reached £991 million, which works out to around £100,000 lost every hour. Average losses per victim were more than £25,000.

Check the firm before anything else

The Financial Conduct Authority runs a firm checker. It confirms whether a company is authorised to offer the investment being promoted. Steve Smart of the FCA says using it reduces the chance of falling victim, and gives stronger protection if something does go wrong. Do this before transferring any money, not after doubts appear.

Know what the approach looks like

Criminals set up fake companies and schemes, then promote them through websites and social media. They promise high returns. They use fake celebrity endorsements or fabricated news stories to make the pitch look credible. The FCA issued 2,329 warnings about unauthorised or potentially scam firms last year, and a single week of targeted action uncovered illegal financial adverts that reached at least 2.3 million UK social media accounts.

Most victims do not realise anything is wrong until they try to withdraw money or close an account, and find the organisation has vanished. That gap between paying in and finding out is where the loss becomes final. Checking authorisation before investing closes that gap; waiting until withdrawal time does not.

What to do if it has already happened

Anyone who thinks they have been scammed should contact their bank immediately, then the police. Messages, emails and any other records should be kept, not deleted, because they may help an investigation later.

Be wary of anyone offering to get the money back

Recovery fraud is its own category. Someone who has already lost money is contacted again, this time by criminals claiming they can retrieve it. The NCA and FCA both flag this pattern specifically: victims should be cautious of services offering to recover funds, since the same criminals often re-contact victims to demand more cash. A second payment is never the way stolen money comes back.

The sequence in these cases runs the same way each time: a convincing pitch, a payment, silence, then a discovery only at the point of withdrawal. Checking a firm's authorisation before that first payment is the one step that happens early enough to matter.