Samoa Commercial Bank is a real bank. The Central Bank of Samoa lists it among the country’s registered commercial banks, and the institution’s own site lives at scbl.ws. Domains such as samoacommercialbank.com that appear in recovery chats are not that franchise — they are stage sets.
Reader reports describe the familiar sequel after a broker loss: a “recovery lawyer” (sometimes operating from a site like trendlawyers.online) claims the money has been found in a foreign account opened in the victim’s name. To release it, the victim must pay hundreds or thousands of euros — often in cryptocurrency — for verification, banking fees, or compliance. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) have long warned about fake lawyers and fake banks that invent holds and then sell unlock payments.
A genuine bank does not collect its wire fees in USDT from a messaging-app stranger. A genuine solicitor does not need you to log into a freshly minted “bank portal” that sits outside the bank’s known domain. Marketing that promises stolen funds back in a fortnight with “no upfront fees” while partners and “special services” badges flash in the sidebar is advertising, not a court process.
Check any bank name against the regulator’s list and the domain printed on the real institution’s site — typed by you, not clicked from chat. Refuse crypto prepayments framed as AML, insurance, or release. Keep contracts, wallets, and screenshots for reporting, and treat the recovery pitch itself as the active threat (Fake recovery).
If this pattern matches something you’ve been offered, start at Get help.
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.