A Ponzi scheme pays existing investors from new investors' money rather than from any underlying activity. It collapses when new money slows. From the outside you cannot inspect the accounts, but the structure leaves signatures that are visible without them.

Where does the return come from?

Ask precisely what generates the yield, and expect an answer you can check: which markets, which instruments, which counterparties, which venue. Answers that stay at the level of "arbitrage", "algorithmic trading" or "proprietary strategy" without specifics are the single most reliable signal. A genuine operation can explain its edge in outline even when protecting detail.

Returns that do not move

Real strategies have losing months. A fund reporting the same positive figure every month through every market condition is reporting a decision, not a result. Smoothness is a much stronger warning than size.

Recruitment as a feature

If you are paid for introducing others, the structure depends on new deposits. That is the mechanism of the fraud stated openly. Referral commissions on top of investment returns should end the conversation.

Why early success means nothing

Withdrawals are honoured readily at the start, because paying out small early amounts is what sustains confidence and drives reinvestment. People often report that they tested it with a withdrawal and it worked. That test cannot distinguish a real operation from a Ponzi — it is the part the scheme is designed to pass.

Checks that take minutes

  • Search the operator on your national securities regulator's register and warning list.
  • Check who holds the assets. A genuine fund uses an independent custodian, not itself.
  • Ask who audits it, then contact the auditor.
  • Look for pressure to reinvest rather than withdraw — that is the scheme managing its own liquidity.

If you are already in

Withdraw what you can and stop adding, including any amount described as necessary to release a balance. Report to the securities regulator and the police. Keep account statements, the platform address and all correspondence — where schemes collapse into insolvency or criminal proceedings, documented claims are what participate in any distribution.