The script is grimly familiar. Money goes into an unlicensed trading desk. Withdrawals stall. Someone claiming to be from a financial regulator — often wearing the name of Switzerland’s FINMA — rings or writes to say your answers failed a “questionnaire”, so the transfer is stuck. The cure, they insist, is a zagraditelnyi or “blocking” payment: a bank-style anti-money-laundering barrier that must be paid before funds can leave. The invoice lands on a crypto wallet. There are no ordinary bank details.
That is not how European banking or genuine supervision works. Real AML screening is done by the institution holding the money; it does not require the customer to tip a stranger in USDT so a fictional case officer can “unlock” a broker cabinet. FINMA and peer authorities publish warnings about impostors; they do not cold-call retail victims and demand wallet top-ups. Brands such as “FinMa” in chat are costume jewellery — close enough to sound official, wrong enough to dodge a register search.
Treat any fee framed as tax, insurance, compliance deposit or “blocking payment” after a loss as advance-fee fraud. Stop sending money. Keep chat logs and wallet addresses. Check the regulator’s own website for the firm and for public warning lists, using numbers and URLs you typed yourself.
If this pitch already reached you, start at Get help. Before anyone sells a paid clawback, read Fake recovery.
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.