Investment fraud: ever-increasing losses in the second half of 2025
The FSMA recently published figures on investment fraud for the second half of 2025. These confirm a worrying trend, both in terms of the scale of financial losses and the emergence of new methods of operation.
During this period, more than €10.5 million was lost via fraudulent trading platforms, mainly linked to investments allegedly associated with cryptocurrencies. Once again, these cases account for nearly half of the fraud reports received by the FSMA.
A new type of fraud has also become widespread: so-called ‘exclusive’ investment advice disseminated via WhatsApp groups. This method has claimed many victims, with consumers reporting losses of more than €9.5 million in the second half of the year alone.
These figures demonstrate how necessary the Safeonweb campaign on investment fraud, launched by the CCB in collaboration with its partners, was. During October, the month of the campaign, a significant increase in reports of fraudulent platforms was observed, a sign of greater public awareness.
The CCB is also continuing its action against fraudulent websites via the Belgian Anti-Phishing Shield (BAPS). Since 15 May 2025, the FSMA has joined this scheme, enabling it to directly submit websites considered to be fraudulent. Citizens who attempt to access them are then automatically redirected to a warning page, thus limiting the risk of new victims.