Fake crypto exchanges and apps — spotting them before you deposit
Quick answer: Fake exchanges look real — professional sites, apps, even customer support — but exist only to take deposits. Before sending money, verify the firm on the FCA register, check the web address character by character, and search the FCA warning list. If a platform found you (through an ad, message or 'advisor'), be twice as careful.
Some scam platforms imitate real exchanges down to the logo; others are invented brands with polished apps and fake reviews. Both exist to take deposits that will never come back. A few minutes of checking before your first transfer defeats almost all of them.
The three common varieties
Clone firms imitate a genuine, often FCA-registered brand — same name and logo, slightly different web address or account details. Invented platforms build an original brand with fake reviews and paid social ads. Malicious apps imitate real wallets or exchanges and are usually distributed outside official app stores or through phishing links. All three end the same way: deposits in, nothing out.
Checks that take five minutes
Search the firm on register.fca.org.uk and confirm the website listed there matches the one you are using — clone scams fail exactly this check. Search the FCA warning list for the name. Type the exchange address yourself rather than following links from messages or adverts. Check the domain's age if you can — genuine exchanges are years old; scam domains are usually weeks old. Finally, search the brand name with the word 'scam' and read beyond the first glowing reviews.
Why deposits to fake platforms rarely come back
Once crypto leaves your wallet or a bank transfer clears to a scam account, it is typically moved through multiple wallets within hours. Unlike card payments, crypto transfers have no chargeback mechanism. This is why prevention checks matter more in crypto than almost anywhere else in finance — and why a platform pressuring you to hurry is itself a warning sign.
If you already deposited
Stop all further payments, whatever the platform says about unlocking your balance. Record everything: the site address, wallet addresses you sent to, transaction IDs and chat logs. Report to Action Fraud and, if you paid from a bank account or card, contact the bank at once. Then expect follow-up contact from 'recovery services' — those are scams targeting known victims.
Frequently asked questions
The platform shows my balance growing. Doesn't that prove it is real? +
No. Scam platforms display whatever numbers keep you depositing. The only test that matters is whether a normal-size withdrawal reaches your own bank or wallet without new fees being invented.
Is an app from the official app store always safe? +
Store review filters out most fakes but not all — malicious lookalikes do appear briefly. Combine store installation with the FCA register check on the company behind the app.
What is a clone firm? +
A scam that copies the identity of a real authorised firm — name, registration number, sometimes staff names — while changing the contact and payment details. Always reach a firm through the details on the FCA register, not the ones in an email or ad.