Investment fraud as a business: how scam call centres work and why it continues
Date: | Week: 29 | Reading time: 8 minutes | Updated: Author: Simcha Schrijver
In short
Investment fraud as a business often runs like a company: call centres, sales scripts, targets and a fake platform showing profits that do not exist. That is why it carries on, even when an organisation is taken down. Not every unknown platform is such an operation, but there are signs that can point to one.
Paucitas is an independent expert firm in the Netherlands that investigates investment fraud and crypto fraud, in hundreds of cases a year. Paucitas follows the money from the first deposit to where the trail ends.
Get in touch with Paucitas or call +31 20 244 5774. In a free intake you will hear what can be established in your situation.
In a nutshell
Anyone who falls for it is not foolish but up against a professional machine. Paucitas maps where your money went, so you know where you stand.
Many people think they fell into the hands of one clever fraudster. Often there is an organisation behind the contact, set up like a business with departments and customer service. That realisation can hurt. It also helps: you were not foolish, you were up against professionals.
This blog explains how that business model works and why it keeps going. If you mainly want to know whether you are dealing with investment fraud right now, read how to recognise a crypto investment scam.
How does investment fraud work as a business?
With investment fraud, you are persuaded to put money into an investment that does not exist or is not what was promised. A large fraud organisation is made up of departments, each with its own job. One team makes first contact, another builds trust, a third pushes for ever larger deposits.
They work with targets and fixed sales scripts. The set-up resembles a boiler room: a sales factory built on pressure and persuasion. What such a call sounds like is described in recognising boiler room fraud with crypto.
What the UK figures show
In April 2025, the City of London Police, the national lead force for fraud, reported that more than £649 million was lost to investment fraud in 2024, with cryptocurrency fraud on the rise. Many of these scams are run like businesses, with call centres, scripts and fake platforms. Source: City of London Police. Paucitas does not name any suspects.
Which 5 signs point to such an organisation?
One sign need not mean anything. Several at once are a reason to have someone take a look.
- Unsolicited contact from a friendly "adviser" who seems knowledgeable.
- A small first deposit, followed straight away by profit on a professional-looking platform.
- Pressure to deposit more quickly, often via crypto.
- A withdrawal that does not work, or only after you first pay tax, fees or a deposit.
- A new "adviser" or "department" taking over when you start to doubt.
Sound familiar? Also check whether the firm is on the FCA Warning List. If it is not, that says little: new platforms are often not on it yet. In doubt? Let Paucitas take a look with you. You can always call, 24/7, on +31 20 244 5774.
Why does a dashboard showing profit prove nothing?
Because the fraudsters decide which figures appear on it. The platform is then not an exchange or a broker, but a web page built to win your trust. With a genuine investment, your money sits with a regulated firm and you can withdraw it. On a fake platform, anyone who wants to withdraw meets new conditions. Such a demand may be meant to extract one more payment. Also read spotting a fake crypto platform and paying tax or a deposit before a withdrawal.
An example from practice
A woman in her mid-fifties was called by an "adviser" who helped her make a small first deposit of £250. Within a week her account showed a profit. Then came calls with a "senior adviser" and larger deposits in crypto, around £40,000 in total.
When she wanted to withdraw, she first had to pay fees. She hesitated and called Paucitas. Paucitas followed her deposits on the blockchain: the money had been sent on via a few intermediate addresses to an exchange. With that overview she reported the fraud and paid nothing more.
Paucitas takes privacy very seriously and never shares clients' personal details. This is a composite example: names, amounts and details have been changed. The situation is one we see in practice.
Why does investment fraud keep happening?
Because the model is scalable, movable and profitable. Call centres can move to another country, scripts are reused and a new platform is online in no time. When one organisation is taken down, others take its place.
On top of that, only part of the fraud is ever reported. Out of shame, victims often do not talk about it, and that helps keep the model going. It happens to clever, careful people too.
How does Paucitas map the money flow?
Victims are often asked to invest via crypto. The money is then moved across several wallets. Precisely because those transactions stay on the blockchain, the route can be followed afterwards. Paucitas does all tracing itself, without tracing tools, and checks each transaction individually. We also go through all conversations, documents, emails and other communication, so that you get a complete picture, with a timeline and an overview of where all the money went.
You receive a report that anyone can follow and understand step by step. It shows whether money is still available, or where it went, and what the next steps are. If it is a scam, one of those steps is reporting it to Report Fraud or, in Scotland, Police Scotland, and the Paucitas report is then a strong attachment that sets everything out fully and clearly. Paucitas does not promise that the money will come back. Sometimes money turns out to be sitting somewhere recognisable; sometimes a platform turns out to be genuine after all. Either way, you know where you stand.
What should you do if you have already invested?
- It is best not to pay anything more, even if you are promised that you can withdraw afterwards.
- Keep everything: messages, emails, the platform's name and link and, for each deposit, the date, amount and receiving address.
- Never share your seed phrase or private key.
Then let Paucitas take a look with you. Be wary of anyone who contacts you afterwards promising recovery for a fee; the FCA warns about recovery room scams. A full overview is in what to do after a crypto scam.
Who investigates crypto investment fraud?
Paucitas. We map the route of your money, even when it has been sent on across many wallets or networks.
- Costs: every investigation is tailored. You receive a tailored quote in advance that we go through together, with no surprises.
- Turnaround: from the same day to around two weeks.
- Contact: you can always call, we answer the form within 1 to 3 hours, and email within 24 hours, usually the same day.
Unsure about a platform or adviser? Get in touch for a no-obligation introduction, or call +31 20 244 5774. More on our approach in crypto fraud investigation.
Sources: City of London Police, April 2025; FCA Warning List; FCA, recovery room scams; Report Fraud; Police Scotland, scams and frauds.
Do you have questions about this blog?
Feel free to get in touch with Paucitas. Paucitas can be reached by phone 24/7, including evenings and weekends. Through the contact form we usually reply within 1 to 3 hours, and we answer e-mail within 24 hours.
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Frequently asked questions about investment fraud as a business
How do I recognise investment fraud?
Paucitas often sees the same signs: unsolicited contact from a so-called adviser, a professional-looking platform with quick profits and withdrawals that keep being blocked. A demand to pay more before you can withdraw is a reason to pause and take stock.
What is the difference between a boiler room and pig butchering?
Paucitas explains: a boiler room is about hard selling under pressure from a call centre. Pig butchering is about slowly building trust before the money disappears. In large organisations the two often go together.
Can Paucitas get back the money I invested?
Paucitas: that depends on your situation. If you still have access to your own wallet or account holding funds, there may still be options. If everything has been sent to the fraudsters, the picture is different. That cannot be judged from a distance. Paucitas first looks at your situation and tells you honestly what is and is not possible. Be careful with anyone who promises in advance that your money will come back. In doubt? Contact Paucitas and you will know where you stand.
Can crypto I invested still be traced?
Paucitas can often trace it, because transactions stay on the blockchain. Paucitas follows the route, even when the money has been moved across several wallets, and says honestly where the trail stops.
What does an investigation cost?
Paucitas tailors every investigation. You receive a tailored quote in advance that we go through together, with no surprises. The intake is free and without obligation.
From Amsterdam, for the whole of the UK
Everything can be done fully online. Prefer to meet in person? You are very welcome at our office in Amsterdam, by appointment.
Paucitas is an independent expert firm based in the Netherlands that, for clients across the UK, investigates investment fraud and crypto fraud, establishes the origin and legitimacy of crypto assets and prepares expert reports for legal proceedings and compliance.
Your own situation
If you are reading this, you probably have a question about your own situation. That is exactly what Paucitas does.
The first step is contact by phone. You can book that call by phone or through the contact form, so you do not have to wait. In the call we look together at what can factually be established in your case and what Paucitas can examine for you.