Investor Alert: Social Media ‘Investment Group’ Imposter Scams Continue to Rise
Since fall 2023, FINRA has seen a significant spike in investor complaints resulting from recommendations made by fraudulent “investment groups” promoted through social media channels. In July 2025, the FBI issued a Public Service Announcement regarding investment group scams noting at least a 300 percent increase in victim complaints referencing ramp-and-dump stock fraud as compared to 2024. These scams target investors through online engagement, often by promoting an investment group or club.
Complaints received by FINRA and posted on social media describe bad actors, posing as registered investment professionals, who initially advertise “stock investment groups” on Instagram, Facebook and other social media channels and then turn to encrypted group chats on messaging applications such as WhatsApp to communicate with interested investors and pitch investments. Investors are sometimes first contacted via text message or, in some cases, have even found themselves added to encrypted group chats directly without any prior contact. FINRA has also observed an increase in reports of scammers messaging and communicating with investors in one-on-one encrypted chats in addition to group chats.
FINRA continues to receive complaints alleging millions of dollars in total losses due to investment group scams, and has recently observed an increase in complaints from victims located outside the U.S. And if history is a guide, the impact of these scams could be much greater than is being reported.
What to Know
As with other types of broker imposter scams, the bad actors might falsely portray themselves as registered investment professionals, in some recent cases fraudulently claiming affiliation with well-known public figures and others in the investment industry—people who are not involved in the scam. Sometimes, deepfake videos impersonating well-known investment professionals have been used on social media in support of these scams. The scammers also create fake personas by taking the name and other publicly available details about an actual registered investment professional with a spotless disciplinary history. They then misuse this information to establish legitimacy, unbeknownst to the actual investment professional being impersonated.
Scammers often start out by promoting investment in a well-known, actively traded stock and then, through ongoing conversations in the encrypted chat platform, move their targets to invest in a low-priced and low-volume exchange-listed stock. FINRA has observed instances in which even these low-priced and low-volume stocks might provide short-term success for investors, but eventually scammers will provide a target stock that’s being primed for investor losses. They instruct investors to open an account at a specific broker-dealer, then guide them on which stocks and how much to purchase and at what times and prices, essentially leading the investors to unwittingly manipulate the price of the stocks upwards. At some point, the investors become unable to sell, and the price of the stocks inevitably crashes.
The scammers try to convince investors to transfer in as much money as possible from their other bank and brokerage accounts. When investors report losses, the scammers often promise to “make the money back” if the investors can transfer more funds into their accounts. Scammers might even recommend that investors borrow money from friends and family for this purpose as well.
Crypto Asset ‘Investment Groups’
Similar scams promote investments in crypto assets. As they do with “stock investment groups,” bad actors use conversations in encrypted chats to promote investments in lesser-known crypto assets, often leading to losses that an investor cannot recover.
While some scammers create fraudulent investment groups that focus specifically on crypto assets, others will solicit investors to purchase stocks or crypto via communications within the same group.
How to Protect Yourself
One of the most effective ways for you to protect yourself is to be wary of receiving financial advice, specifically stock tips, in encrypted chat groups, especially if you’ve never met the individual providing the advice in person. And be skeptical of unsolicited messages or social media promotions of investment opportunities. You can also adjust your privacy settings for messaging apps to prevent individuals who aren’t currently in your contacts from adding you to groups. Some messaging apps have also introduced additional features to help protect you from known scam tactics.
Be sure to independently research any investments recommended to you, including searching online for the group or products. Doing this additional research could help you determine if the pitch has been identified as a scam.
You should also always research investment professionals before making an investment. Use FINRA BrokerCheck to see if the promoter is a registered investment professional, and verify that the names of the person and the firm, along with their addresses or the locations where they do business, align with your own research. And be aware that many brokerage firms in the U.S. specifically prohibit their registered investment professionals from using encrypted chat groups, like WhatsApp, to conduct business.
Learn more about how to protect yourself from financial grooming and similar investment scams, also referred to as relationship investment scams, "pig butchering" scams and other terms.
If you think you’ve been a target or victim of an "investment group" or other stock or crypto asset manipulation scheme, submit a regulatory tip to FINRA. If your regulatory tip information concerns potential criminal activity, you should also report the matter to law enforcement—such as your local police department or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (Field Office or Electronic Tip Form)—and, for cybercrime, to the Internet Crime Complaint Center.
