FSMA Warns Against Recovery Room Fraud Targeting Investment Scam Victims

The Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) of Belgium has issued a public warning regarding the resurgence of recovery room fraud. This deceptive practice involves fraudsters approaching victims of prior investment scams under the pretense of helping them recover lost funds or receive compensation. According to the FSMA, these scammers typically reach out directly via phone or email, though victims frequently encounter them through online searches and social media advertisements. To establish false credibility, the operators impersonate law firms, accounting practices, police agencies, or official financial supervisors, frequently misusing the identity details of legitimate organizations. The regulator notes that recovery room schemes often demand advance fees under the guise of administrative fees, legal expenses, or taxes. Once these fictitious charges are paid, the fraudsters vanish. In alternative schemes, operators claim to offer free assistance but instruct victims to install remote desktop software such as AnyDesk, granting criminals access to personal banking details and allowing spyware installation. Others direct victims to set up and fund cryptocurrency wallets. The FSMA highlights that individuals who have previously lost money to fraudulent trading platforms are frequently targeted a second time, either by the original perpetrators or by third parties who purchased stolen contact lists. As part of its warning, the FSMA published a list of unauthorized entities and cloned firms operating unlawfully in connection with recovery fraud: - Apag-Audit AG (apag-audit.org) - Claim Justice (claim-justice.com) - Crypto Conduct Authority (commission-cca.com) - Etoro / Torocoin - Cloned firm (toroc.io) - FXVC - Cloned firm - Global Get Back (globalgetback.com) - IFP Center (ifp.center / www.ifp.center) - NCSC - Cloned firm - Trading Center (trading-center.co) - Ucoin Capital (ucoincapital.com) - VaxCo (vaxco.io / vaxco.co / vaxco.org) The FSMA advises fraud victims never to pay advance fees for fund recovery, never to provide remote computer access, and to cease all contact if unsolicited recovery offers are made. Victims should report incidents directly to local law enforcement, noting that legitimate financial supervisors never initiate contact to recover funds on behalf of consumers.