Withdrawal scam reports

Deposits work because deposits are the point of the funnel. The scam design only has to survive until a victim commits money; after that, friction, fees, and fake compliance hurdles quietly replace the smooth onboarding experience from earlier. That is why the first time most people realise something is wrong is when a withdrawal stalls or never arrives.

In case after case on this site, withdrawals are either silently throttled — small test amounts work, but a full balance request triggers a "compliance review" — or blocked behind a new fee that wasn't disclosed at deposit. The fee is almost always branded as a tax clearance, an anti-money-laundering verification, or an account-upgrade charge, and it's always designed to extract one more transfer before the account stops responding.

Almost every withdrawal-trap case documented here follows the same sequence. A user deposits, sees account balances grow in the dashboard, requests a withdrawal, and is told the funds are locked pending a fee — a "tax," a "liquidity charge," a "KYC upgrade," a "VIP tier unlock," a "regulatory clearance." Paying the fee leads to another fee. Refusing to pay leads to account silence.

Behind the fake dashboard, no real trading is happening, no real custody exists, and no real withdrawal flow is built. The fee language is the product. Once the same pattern is matched against linked case files in this hub, the operator's template usually shows up in other brands, other domains, and other chat-app funnels.

Do not pay the fee. Every new fee or clearance demand is further into the scam, not closer to the funds. Screenshot the dashboard, the chat with the account manager, the original pitch page, and every withdrawal message. If funds were deposited via card or bank transfer, contact the payment provider immediately and ask about chargeback or recall options — acting in the first hours matters.

File a report on GetAlgoBuddy with the brand, the domain, the deposit amount, and the screenshots. Also file with the national financial regulator covering the claimed jurisdiction. Expect a recovery-scam follow-up contact within days; the Recovery Scam Warnings hub explains the pattern. The worst outcome is paying the first fee in full, so every delay that prevents that payment is already a partial win.