The mistake that does the most damage in an investment scam comes at the end, when the platform blocks your withdrawal and asks for one last payment to release your profits, whether it is called tax, a withdrawal fee or a guarantee deposit. That money is lost like the rest and, above all, it delays the criminal complaint, which is the only thing that allows a Spanish court to ask the bank or the crypto exchange to freeze the account your money went to. The accounts receiving these payments are emptied quickly, and every week spent negotiating with the so-called account manager reduces what is left to freeze.
The second mistake is following their verification instructions, sending a photo of your ID and a selfie, or installing software so the manager can help from your computer. Those documents are used to open accounts in your name that then receive other victims’ money, and you may end up summoned as a suspect. If you have already done it, say so in the complaint from the start.
I handle these cases myself. I am Luis Jurado Cano, a lawyer registered with the A Coruña Bar Association under number 6317, at Perseus & RC Abogados, and La Voz de Galicia consulted me in 2025 on cryptocurrency fraud. What applies to any fraud, from the first hours to the penalties, is on the main fraud page.
How the scam arrives
It usually starts with a social media advert in which a celebrity appears to recommend an investment, or with an invitation to a WhatsApp or Telegram group where other members show off their gains. Then an account manager calls and opens an account for you on a professional-looking platform. You deposit a small amount, watch it grow and may even be allowed to withdraw a little. Then you are encouraged to invest more, sometimes with a loan they help you request from your own bank. The romance version is slower. Someone met on a dating app, or through a message that seemed to reach the wrong person, keeps up a long-distance relationship for weeks and, once there is trust, suggests you try the platform that is doing so well for them.
Firms offering to recover your losses appear soon afterwards. They know how much you lost and where, present themselves as an international law firm, a crypto tracing company or even a European authority, and ask for a fee up front. They are often the same fraudsters, and every payment to them is a new fraud.
Following the money
Whether anything can be recovered depends on the route your money took, and that route usually starts at your bank. A transfer to a Spanish or European bank account leads to an identifiable holder, and with a criminal complaint the court can obtain their identity and freeze what is left. Exchanges operating legally in Europe identify their customers and answer court orders. If you bought crypto yourself and sent it to an address they gave you, each transfer is recorded on the blockchain and can be traced to the exchange where someone tried to cash it out. More in can you get your money back after a cryptocurrency scam in Spain.
If the manager had you install remote-access software and made transfers from your computer that you did not make, those are unauthorised transactions and your bank may have to refund them, as explained on the bank fraud page and in online scam in Spain, what the bank must refund. Where you ordered each transfer yourself, the money comes back through the criminal case if the recipient is identified and has assets.
Under Spanish law this is fraud, and above 50,000 euros or with many victims it is aggravated fraud, punishable by one to six years in prison and a fine, rising to four to eight years above 250,000 euros. The time limit to prosecute it then rises from five to ten years.
What to bring to the first consultation
Bring receipts for every payment with date, amount and destination account or address, your bank statements for those months and, if you bought crypto, your exchange account history with each transaction ID. Export the full WhatsApp or Telegram chats with their files rather than taking loose screenshots, note the platform’s web address even if it no longer works, and bring any loans you took out to invest. With that I can tell you at the first consultation what trail exists and which route makes sense, and if there is none, I will say so.
Where we are
Rúa Torreiro 13, 3.º C, 15001 A Coruña, Spain. Phone +34 677 841 007. Clients who live elsewhere in Spain or abroad are seen by video call, in English, and documents can be sent in advance by email.
Related reading
- Can you get your money back after a cryptocurrency scam in Spain?
- Online scam in Spain, how to recover the money and what the bank must refund
- Why electronic evidence decides cases in Spain
Frequently asked questions
The platform wants me to pay tax before I can withdraw my profits. Should I pay?
No. A legitimate platform does not charge tax up front to release your money, and in Spain any tax due on those gains is declared by you to the tax authorities. That request is the clearest sign that the profits on the dashboard do not exist. Keep the message asking for it, because it is good evidence of the deception, and report it.
A company says it has traced my crypto and wants a fee to recover it. Is it genuine?
Treat it with complete distrust. The one that can actually trace and freeze stolen funds is a court, at the victim's request, and it charges nothing for it. If you are asked for money up front, your passwords or access to your computer, stop the conversation and keep what they sent for the complaint.
I invested because someone I had an online relationship with suggested it. Is that fraud?
Yes, if the relationship was the means of getting your money. It is known as a romance scam and is prosecuted like any other fraud. Keep the whole conversation from the first message, with photos and voice notes, because the full course of the relationship helps show the deception was planned from the start.
I sent them a photo of my ID and a selfie to verify the account. What can happen?
Your identity may be used to open accounts or take out loans in your name, and other victims' money may pass through those accounts. Say so in your complaint from the outset and ask the Bank of Spain for your credit risk report to check whether anything has been taken out in your name. If you are ever summoned over facts you do not recognise, speak to a lawyer before giving a statement.
Can I claim from my bank what I transferred to the platform?
It depends on who ordered each transfer. If the fraudster made them from your computer through remote-access software, they are unauthorised transactions and the bank must prove serious carelessness on your part to refuse a refund. If you made them yourself, a claim against the bank is difficult and the money is pursued through the criminal case, at the account or platform that received it.