The Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) is warning the public against recovery room fraud.

Recovery room fraud is a practice in which fraudsters offer to help victims of investment fraud to obtain compensation for their losses or to recover lost assets.

Typically, the fraudster will contact the victim by phone or email. However, the FSA has noted that victims sometimes come into contact with so-called "recovery rooms" by searching on the internet or through social media. When introducing themselves, fraudsters and their companies will disguise themselves as law firms or accountants, and sometimes as police departments or financial regulators.

Fraudsters will not hesitate to misuse the identifying information of existing companies or official organisations to demonstrate their credibility.

Scammers charge a fee for their services. Victims of investment fraud must pay a fee in advance. This is a clear indication that it is a recovery room. For example, the fees demanded are purportedly to cover certain administrative or legal costs or to pay taxes. However, these fees are purely fictitious.

In some other cases, the scammers pretend to offer free services. Victims simply access their computers via a remote desktop application such as Anydesk. In this way, scammers can install spyware on consumers' computers or access their computer banks.

Fraudsters also sometimes ask victims to create and activate a wallet on a crypto platform.

In all cases, fraudsters are able to steal money from consumers. Once the fraudster receives the fee, he or she disappears without a trace, making it virtually impossible to recover the amount paid. The FSMA therefore advises never to respond to such offers.

The FSA is alerting the public to the following companies operating illegally:

• Apag-Audit AG (https: / / apag-audit.org /)
• Claim Justice (https: / / claim-justice.com /)
• Crypto Conduct Authority (https: / / commission-cca.com /)
• Etoro (Torocoin - Cloned firm) (https: / / toroc.io /)
• FXVC (Cloned Firm)
• Global Get Back (http: / / globalgetback.com /)
• IFP Center (https: / / ifp.center /; www.ifp.center)
• NCSC (Cloned Firm)
• Trading Center (http: / / trading-center.co /)
• Ucoin Capital (https: / / ucoincapital.com)
• VaxCo (www.vaxco.io; www.vaxco.co; www.vaxco.org)

Victims of investment fraud are often targeted twice by the same fraudster: the latter first commits investment fraud and then commits recovery room fraud. The person behind the investment fraud may also sell the victim's contact information to other fraudsters.

Anyone who has been a victim of investment fraud needs to be aware that the fraudster may target the victim again or sell the victim's personal information to others.