The coordinator of the Fraud Prevention Group at the Anti-Money Laundering Competence Center, Živilė Kielienė, explains how the victim’s trust is built, why it is difficult for people to stop even when suspicions arise, and how “specialists” promising to return lost money can involve victims in yet another fraud scheme.
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– How can you recognize within the first minute that an investment offer might be a scam? What signs should immediately make you stop?
– One of the clearest signals is the promise of quick, easy, and almost risk-free high returns. You should be especially cautious of offers that use words like “guaranteed return,” “risk-free,” “unique opportunity,” or when a person is pressured to decide here and now.
Suspicion should also arise from an unexpected call from an unknown number, especially when the call is made via “Viber,” “WhatsApp,” or other apps, and the conversation is in Russian, even though the person did not request or seek an investment offer. Scammers may present themselves as brokers, investment consultants, or representatives of well-known financial companies and communicate very professionally.
The rule here is very simple: if you were not expecting a call, did not reach out anywhere, and an unknown person calls you offering to invest and promises high returns – that is a scam. End the conversation.
The more attractive and simple the offer sounds, the more reasons there are to verify it.
In general, the more attractive and simple the offer sounds, the more reasons there are to stop and verify it. Legitimate investing always involves risk, so a promise of guaranteed high profit should not encourage investment but rather prompt verification.
– What investment return can be considered realistic, and why should promises of guaranteed 10%, 20%, or even higher profits raise suspicions?
– There is no single percentage that defines a realistic investment return – it depends on the investment instrument, period, and risk taken. However, the key word here is not “10” or “20 percent,” but “guaranteed.”
Investing always involves risk. The higher the promised return, the higher the risk should be. Therefore, when you are promised a large and at the same time guaranteed profit, especially in a short time, or told that “losing is impossible,” this is one of the clearest signs of fraud.
Scammers sell not an investment but the illusion of quick and easy earnings. If it is promised that you will earn a lot in a short time with practically no risk – you should not invest but stop and critically evaluate such an offer.
– How to verify the company making the offer, its license, and website? Can scammers impersonate legally operating companies?
– Yes, and today this is done very professionally. Scammers can present themselves as an investment company, use the name, logo, employee names of a real company, and create a professionally looking or nearly identical website. Therefore, just because a company has a website and looks trustworthy does not prove anything.
The first and very simple step is to search for information online. Enter the company name, website address, phone number, and add words like “scam,” “fraud.” Often, warnings or information about the alleged investment company can already be found in the public domain indicating its connection to fraud.
It is very important not to use links sent by the caller.
It is also necessary to check whether the company has the right to provide investment services. This can be done on the website of the Bank of Lithuania, in the list of financial market participants. The Bank of Lithuania also publishes a list of entities not authorized to provide financial services in Lithuania.
Bank of Lithuania financial market participants search: https://www.lb.lt/lt/finansu-rinku-dalyviai
Bank of Lithuania list of entities illegally offering financial services: https://www.lb.lt/lt/nelegalias-finansines-paslaugas-siulancios-interneto-svetaines
It is very important not to use links sent by the caller. Find the official website, contacts, and information yourself.
If you have even the slightest doubts, do not rush to transfer funds intended for “investment.” Consult with relatives or friends, browse the internet, look for other people’s experiences; perhaps you will recognize in their stories what is happening to you now. This can help you realize in time that you have fallen for a scammer’s trap. Spending a few minutes verifying information can protect you from very large financial losses.
– Why is a person often initially asked to invest a relatively small amount – 100 or 250 euros – and their account even shows allegedly earned profit? How does such a scheme develop further?
– If a Russian-speaking person who unexpectedly called you, presenting themselves as an investment consultant, broker, or investment expert, immediately offered to invest 50 or 100 thousand euros, such a scheme would probably not work. Therefore, scammers start with small amounts – 100 or 250 euros. To the person, this seems like an amount to “try,” and for scammers, the most important thing is that the person makes the first payment and gets involved in the process.
Next, trust is built. The person is shown a professionally looking investment platform where they see their money supposedly “working,” the investment growing, and earning profit. However, what the person sees on the screen is not necessarily real money or real investments – it may just be numbers displayed in an environment controlled by scammers.
Often, the alleged “investment consultant” asks to install a remote access program, such as “AnyDesk.” This is already a particularly dangerous signal. This way, scammers may gain access to the person’s computer, and the person, following the alleged consultant’s instructions, gradually gets drawn in deeper.
Scammers also assess the specific person’s financial capabilities, i.e., how much more they can extort. Communication lasts a long time, asking about savings, income, other financial resources, and the alleged profit is used as proof that it is worth investing even more. Therefore, the investment scam scheme can last not just days or weeks – sometimes it lasts much longer.
The problem usually becomes apparent when the person wants to withdraw their “earned” money. Then additional alleged fees, commissions, or other reasons arise why more money needs to be transferred. The person is told: pay a little more, and then you can withdraw everything.
Thus, the initial 100 or 250 euro “trial” can turn into losses of tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros. The small initial amount is not accidental – it is a way to lure the person in, involve them, gain their trust, and only then extort much more.
– What psychological methods are used to encourage a person to invest more? How do urgency, fear of missing out, endorsements by famous people, and alleged success stories of other investors work?
– Investment fraud is primarily manipulation of a person and their emotions. Scammers create a sense of urgency: “the opportunity is now,” “tomorrow will be too late,” “the market is rising,” so the person is left no time to calmly think, consult, or verify information.
Famous people’s names, fake advertisements, alleged media articles, or other investors’ success stories are used to build trust. The person sees a familiar face, a well-known brand, or others’ “earnings” and naturally begins to doubt the offer less.
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However, it is very important to understand that trust is built gradually and this can be a long, emotionally intense process. The alleged investment consultant constantly calls, is interested not only in investments but also in the person themselves, their life, and concerns. A close relationship, friendship is created, and in some cases, even romantic relationships may be simulated. The person gets the impression that on the other side is someone who understands them, cares about them, and sincerely wants to help them earn.
During this communication, information is also gathered, e.g., the person’s financial situation, how much savings they have, whether they could borrow, what amounts are available to them. The scammer gets to know the person better and understands which arguments, emotions, or weak points to use to make them invest even more.
The longer such a relationship lasts, the more the person has already invested, and the larger the alleged “profit” they see on their screen, the harder it is for them to stop and admit that the person they already trust might be a scammer.
Therefore, investment fraud should not be viewed merely as one careless financial decision. Often it is a long process of involving a person, building trust, and emotional manipulation, at the end of which the person may make decisions they would never have made at the very beginning.
– Why do people sometimes transfer even more money after realizing they might be deceived? What should be done when the first suspicions arise?
– At this stage, the person has already invested not only money. They have invested time, trust, and emotions. Communication with the alleged investment consultant may have lasted weeks or even months, the person saw growing “profit” on their screen, so admitting to oneself that it could all have been a scam is very difficult.
Moreover, the larger the amount the person has already lost, the stronger the desire to recover it. Scammers exploit this and often offer an alleged solution: you need to pay one more “fee,” “commission,” “insurance,” or make a final transfer, and then you will be able to withdraw all the money. To a person who has already lost, for example, 20 thousand euros, an additional few thousand may seem like the last chance to save those 20 thousand. But every additional payment only increases the loss.
When the first suspicions arise, the most important thing is to stop and not transfer a single euro.
When the first suspicions arise, the most important thing is to stop and not transfer a single euro, no matter what the alleged consultant promises or explains. Consult your financial institution or the police – explain the situation and ask if, in their opinion, this is not a fraud scheme. Talk also with a close person or friend.
When a person is already involved in the scheme and emotionally influenced for a long time, it can be difficult to objectively assess the situation themselves. An outside perspective may be exactly the moment that helps to stop in time.
If a remote access program, such as “AnyDesk,” was installed, login details or other sensitive information were shared, it is necessary to take care of the security of your accounts and devices.
And one more very important thing – victims of investment fraud very often become targets of repeated fraud. After some time, another person may contact the victim, presenting themselves as a lawyer, legal expert, investigator, financial expert, or a representative of a company supposedly specializing in recovering lost funds.
Such persons may know your name, surname, where and how much you “invested,” even the exact lost amount. They may send proof of payments, official-looking documents, contracts, or various commitments, present themselves as lawyers or other specialists, and create the impression that they act legally. It may be claimed that there are many such victims, that their funds have already been found, and there is an opportunity to recover them.
However, first, you need to pay in advance – for the service, legal assistance, document preparation, administrative fee, or another alleged procedure. Sometimes a certain percentage of the supposedly recoverable amount is requested in advance.
This is another stage of fraud. A person who has already lost money is lured by the possibility of getting it back and thus is tried to be extorted for even more.
And here you should ask yourself a very simple question: who can better know about your alleged investments, transferred amounts, and losses if not the same scammers or persons connected with them?
If after experiencing fraud an unknown “lawyer,” “legal expert,” or “fund recovery specialist” unexpectedly contacts you, already knows your story, and promises to recover the money but first asks for payment – do not transfer money. Consult your bank, the police, or a close person to see if, in their opinion, this is not another fraud scheme.
If you have already realized that you have fallen for a scammer’s trap, the most important thing is not to try to recover losses but to stop further losses as soon as possible.
Scammers target tens of millions of euros
According to Ž. Kielienė, investment fraud remains one of the relevant forms of fraud. According to data from the Anti-Money Laundering Competence Center, in 2025, residents lost more than 4 million euros due to investment fraud, and in the first half of 2026 – more than 852 thousand euros.
“When evaluating these numbers, it is important to note that different fraud typologies can overlap in practice. For example, telephone fraud can be part of an investment fraud scheme – it all starts with an unexpected call, the alleged consultant offers to invest, and later the person is involved in a longer process,” explains the specialist.
In 2025, residents lost about another 4 million euros due to telephone fraud, and in the first half of 2026 – about 1 million euros. Therefore, the numbers for the investment fraud category alone do not always reflect the full scale of such schemes.
However, when talking about the scale of fraud, according to Ž. Kielienė, it is very important to see not only how much residents lost but also how much funds were protected. In 2025, scammers attempted to extort nearly 58.8 million euros in total, but financial institutions stopped suspicious transactions and prevented scammers from extorting more than 38.3 million euros.
In the first half of 2026, scammers attempted to extort nearly 23.9 million euros, of which financial institutions stopped more than 14.3 million euros. In cases of investment fraud alone, during this period, financial institutions managed to stop nearly 2 million euros.
This clearly shows the role of financial institutions in fraud prevention. They monitor and assess suspicious transactions, stop payments, contact clients, and warn about possible fraud. Sometimes a person is so strongly convinced by the alleged investment consultant that even when the financial institution stops the payment, they still believe they are making a legitimate investment. Therefore, the actions of financial institutions in such cases directly help reduce the financial losses experienced by residents.
These cases show that we are not just talking about people’s carelessness or financial literacy. Fraud schemes are professional, combining technology, social engineering, and psychological influence, and a person’s trust is often built over a long time.
Therefore, one of the most important rules is not to make investment decisions when someone else dictates the pace of the decision. Stopping, verifying, and consulting is not a lost investment opportunity but one of the most effective protective measures.
The Media Support Fund allocated 110,000 euros in partial funding for the project “Code of Resilience.”
