Your Protection Toolkit — Pre, During, Post, Social
Course-end synthesis. Four toolkits (before depositing, during use, after suspected incident, around your social circle) that turn Lessons 1-5 into reproducible action. Plus the official channels for filing fraud reports in every major jurisdiction.
Last reviewed:
4 toolkits · 60 seconds
- PRE-deposit — verification protocol (L4) + reality contract (L3) + 60-sec red flag scan (L1)
- DURING-use — early withdrawal test + daily journal + hard position/loss limits
- POST-incident — STOP + document + file (cybercrime + regulator + bank + exchange)
- SOCIAL — brief one trusted person before every deposit; teach the protocol to vulnerable family
Toolkit 1 — PRE-deposit
Apply before sending any money to any new firm. Each item builds on a specific earlier lesson.
When: Before sending any money to any new broker / fund / signal / mentor
- Identity — Companies register + UBO + OpenSanctions (~ 5 min)
- Regulatory — regulator's own register + scope + warnings (~ 5 min)
- Team — reverse-image + LinkedIn + employment cross-check (~ 10 min)
- Track record — read-only Myfxbook / FX Blue, 100+ trades (~ 10 min)
- Community — Google scam + Reddit + Trustpilot 1-stars + FPA (~ 10 min)
Builds on: Lesson 4 — Verify a Project
When: Before opening any live account, before increasing any position size
- Target annual return — realistic (10-25 % for a real edge)
- Maximum drawdown you'll accept (typically 20-30 %)
- Time budget per week
- Learning capital — money you can afford to lose entirely
- Sample-size milestone before scaling (100+ trades with positive expectancy + full cost accounting)
- Sign + date + reread before every new deposit
Builds on: Lesson 3 — Real Work vs Magic
When: Whenever you see ANY trading ad / DM / mentor pitch
- Guaranteed returns?
- Pressure to act NOW?
- Stock-photo team?
- Unverifiable regulator?
- Withdrawal fee surprises?
- Suspiciously smooth equity?
- Unsolicited DM?
- Any 3+ flags = walk away.
Builds on: Lesson 1 — Red Flags
Toolkit 2 — DURING-use
Apply continuously while using any new platform. The early-withdrawal test catches Withdrawal-Trap scams while your exposure is still small.
When: Within first 30 days of any new deposit
- Deposit only the minimum required to test the platform.
- Wait for any first profit OR after 2-3 trades — whichever comes first.
- Request a withdrawal of ~25 % of the balance.
- Track time-to-withdrawal vs the platform's stated SLA.
- Any friction (delays, new fees, KYC re-verification of an already-verified account) = stop scaling.
Builds on: Lesson 2 — Common Schemes (Withdrawal Trap diagnostic)
When: Daily entries, monthly review
- Every trade: instrument, entry, exit, R-multiple, reason for the trade, reason for the exit.
- End of each week: list every divergence from your reality contract.
- End of each month: compute realized expectancy and compare to expectations.
- Re-read your reality contract; revise only based on data, not feelings.
Builds on: Lesson 3 — Real Work + Lesson 1 self-discipline
When: Continuously, set in code or in writing
- Risk per trade ≤ 1-2 % of account.
- Daily loss cap (e.g. 3 % of account) — stop trading for the day on hit.
- Weekly loss cap (e.g. 5 %) — stop for the week.
- Drawdown cap (e.g. 15 % from peak) — reduce size by 50 % until recovered.
Builds on: Lesson 3 — Realistic drawdown expectations
Toolkit 3 — POST-incident
Apply the moment you suspect fraud. Speed matters — chargeback windows close, scammers move funds, and the recovery-scam meta-fraud will start targeting you within days.
When: Suspected scam contact — immediately
- STOP all further deposits, payments, 'verification fees', 'taxes'.
- Do NOT respond to recovery agents (Lesson 2, Scheme 6).
- Screenshot every message, every dashboard view, every transaction ID.
- Save URLs, timestamps, names used, claimed regulator, claimed company.
- Export bank statements / crypto transaction history.
Builds on: Lesson 2 — Recovery Scam diagnostic
When: Within days of incident
- Your country's cybercrime / fraud agency (IC3, Action Fraud, Europol EC3, AMF, BaFin, etc.).
- The regulator the scam claimed (FCA / SEC / CFTC / ESMA register search).
- Your bank chargeback team (most cards allow 60-120 days; some up to 540 days).
- If crypto: the exchange you used (they can flag the destination address).
- Local police — get a case number even if they cannot help directly.
Builds on: Lesson 2 — Recovery Scam + Lesson 4 — Regulator registers
When: After documentation is complete
- Post on Reddit r/Scams + r/Forex with details + your case number.
- Submit to Forex Peace Army Scam Alerts.
- Add a critical review on Trustpilot with specific timeline.
- If a guru / influencer is involved — tag them publicly with screenshots.
- Tell anyone in your network who was considering the same firm.
Builds on: Lesson 4 — Stage 5 Community signal — feed the diagnostic for others
Toolkit 4 — SOCIAL
The highest-leverage protection: sunlight + community. Scammers isolate victims; your social layer breaks isolation.
When: Before every new deposit > 5 % of your liquid net worth
- Tell one trusted person: name of firm, amount, expected return, your reality contract.
- Ask them to ping you in 30 days to ask how it's going.
- If you find yourself NOT wanting to tell them, that is itself the red flag.
Builds on: Lesson 1 — Pressure / isolation tactics; sunlight kills them.
When: Now, and re-share when scams trend (post-bull-market, post-crash)
- Send this lesson to anyone over 50 in your circle.
- Send to anyone in your network who just received a windfall (severance, inheritance, sale of business).
- Quote the 89 % AMF retail-loss statistic when you discuss trading at all.
Builds on: Lesson 3 — Reality statistics
Key terms
Official channels — file your report here
Free to use. Many accept reports from outside the jurisdiction. File with multiple where the firm or payment touched.
Worked example — realistic incident timeline
Scenario: You deposited $2,000 to “Elite Forex Capital”, did 6 trades over 3 weeks, the dashboard shows $2,400. You request a $1,200 withdrawal. Two days later you get a message demanding a $400 “tax compliance bond” before funds release.
- Day 0 — DECISION: Do NOT pay the $400. This is the canonical Withdrawal-Trap from Lesson 2.
- Day 0 — DOCUMENT: Screenshot the dashboard, the trade history, the withdrawal request, the “tax bond” demand, every Telegram / email exchange.
- Day 1 — BANK CHARGEBACK: Call your card issuer; cite reason code “goods/services not received” or “fraudulent transaction”. Initial 1 hour, follow-up paperwork.
- Day 1 — CYBERCRIME REPORT: File at IC3 / Action Fraud / Europol EC3 with documents + bank case number. Initial 30 min.
- Day 2 — REGULATOR: File with the regulator the firm CLAIMED (e.g. FCA scam-reporting form). If they were not regulated by FCA, file anyway — adds to FCA’s unauthorised-firm warning list.
- Day 3-7 — PUBLIC WARNING: Post on Reddit r/Scams + r/Forex with case numbers, Trustpilot 1-star review, FPA scam alert submission.
- Day 7+ — IGNORE RECOVERY DMs: You will be DM’d by “recovery agents” offering to retrieve your funds for a fee. They are the Lesson 2 meta-scam. Add each attempt to your fraud report.
- Day 30-90 — CHARGEBACK RESOLUTION: Bank either reverses the $2,000 (best case) or denies it (you have at least documented enough to write off the loss for tax in many jurisdictions).
Total time invested: ~ 4-6 hours over 1 week. Expected recovery rate: 30-60 % via chargeback if filed quickly; lower if delayed. Public reporting reduces the chance of other people falling into the same scheme by an order of magnitude.
Guided practice — build your toolkit now
Five steps, one-time setup, total ~ 60 minutes.
- 1Write your reality contract
Target return, max drawdown, time budget, learning capital, scaling milestones. Sign + date. Save in a place you'll re-read.
- 2Bookmark the verification registers
FCA Register, ESMA Warnings, Companies House, OpenSanctions, Myfxbook. Open them now; bookmark each.
- 3Pick your trusted brief partner
Name one person you will tell about every new deposit > 5 % of liquid net worth. Tell them now, set expectations.
- 4Save the regulator complaint URLs for your jurisdiction
IC3 (US) / Action Fraud (UK) / Europol EC3 / AMF / BaFin / ASIC — bookmark the ones relevant to where you live + where your broker is.
- 5Set up your trading journal template
Spreadsheet or notebook with columns: date / instrument / entry / exit / R-multiple / reason / lesson. First entry: 'I built my protection toolkit on <date>.'
Apply — protect one other person this week
Mastery check
Seven questions covering chargeback windows, post-incident sequencing, withdrawal-test mechanics, social tactics. Pass at 6 of 7 (~ 80 %).
Protection Toolkit Mastery Quiz
Test your understanding with 7 questions. Pass with 6/7 correct.
Reflect
Reflection
Type your honest answers — saved on this device only. Use them next week to spot patterns in your trading thinking.
Legal and recovery — deeper notes
Chargeback specifics — reason codes that workPro
Visa reason codes 13.1-13.9 (goods/services-related disputes) cover most trading-scam scenarios — typically 13.1 (merchandise/services not received) or 13.5 (misrepresentation). Mastercard equivalents are 4853/4855. Initiate via your issuer’s online dispute portal; you generally need: transaction statement entry, evidence of attempts to resolve with the merchant, evidence of misrepresentation (saved Telegram messages, screenshots, regulator warning if applicable).
Cross-border challenges — when scam, payment, and victim are in 3 jurisdictionsPro
Common for a UK victim to pay a Cypriot intermediary running an offshore (Saint Vincent) brand pretending to be an Australian (ASIC-regulated) firm. File in EVERY touched jurisdiction — Europol EC3 coordinates EU-side. Crypto adds chain-analytics: report to the exchange you used (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken) because they often flag destination addresses and freeze funds reported within minutes of transfer.
Tax treatment of recovered + lost fundsPro
In many jurisdictions (US, UK, AU, DE, FR) scam losses can be deducted as a casualty / theft loss in the tax year of the loss, subject to specific documentation requirements (regulator complaint + bank or crypto-transaction records). Recovered funds in a later year are typically reported as taxable income equal to the prior deduction taken. Consult a local tax professional; documentation collected during the POST-incident toolkit doubles as tax evidence.
Crypto-specific recovery — wallet labelling and exchange escalationPro
For crypto losses, immediate next steps: (1) hit the receiving address on Etherscan / BscScan / explorer and note any labels (Chainalysis, MetaSleuth often tag known-scam clusters); (2) report the address to the destination exchange via their compliance hotline if you can identify it; (3) file with IC3 and your national cybercrime agency with the txid. Exchanges sometimes freeze inbound funds from recently-flagged scam addresses, but only if reported within hours.
Bibliography
- FBI IC3 — Annual Internet Crime Report (US)
- Action Fraud — UK reporting guide
- Europol IOCTA — annual internet-organised-crime threat report
- FCA Perimeter Report — unauthorised firms statistics
Show answer
(1) PRE-deposit: 5-stage verification protocol + reality contract + 60-sec red flag scan. (2) DURING-use: early withdrawal test + daily trading journal + hard position/daily/weekly loss limits. (3) POST-incident: STOP first / document second / file with cybercrime + regulator + bank chargeback + (if crypto) exchange. (4) SOCIAL: brief one trusted person before every deposit > 5% of liquid net worth; teach protocol to vulnerable family. Post-incident rule: NEVER pay a recovery agent — they are the Lesson 2 meta-scam.
Educational material only — not investment advice. Trading carries risk of capital loss. Always practice on demo and use a stop-loss. ← Back to Scam Check