The message sounds official: “Bank Processing”, a nod to Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) or the sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD6), and a promise that stolen funds will be returned through a clearing house — once you pay a few hundred euros and upload your documents. That is a recovery scam wearing compliance vocabulary. Those European Union rules set duties for financial firms; they do not authorise an unknown chat contact to invoice a victim for “clearing”.
A useful tell is arrogance dressed as procedure. When you ask who they are, they say they are bank staff and that you must verify yourself, while they refuse a full legal name, registration number, supervisor, and official website you can open without their link. Real institutions do not collect passports and selfies over messenger to release money you never deposited with them. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have both described the wider pattern: after a first loss, a second actor offers a refund that starts with a fee and a document harvest.
Do not pay the €179 (or any “release” sum). Do not send identity files, card data, or one-time codes. Save the chat and payment details, then contact your own bank through the number on your card or in the official app if money already moved. Use Get help for reporting routes, and read Fake recovery before you answer the next helpful stranger.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Details change. If you have lost money, contact your bank or card issuer and use the routes on the help pages.