Investment fraud in Belgium did not just persist in 2025, it evolved. New figures from the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) show a sharp escalation in losses between the first and second half of the year, driven not by a surge in cases, but by fraudsters adopting more effective and more aggressive methods.
While fraudulent trading platforms remained the biggest source of damage, a new phenomenon, so-called “exclusive” investment advice via WhatsApp, emerged almost overnight and quickly claimed millions of euros.
Losses jump from €15 million to more than €23 million
During the first half of 2025, Belgian consumers reported around €15 million in losses linked to investment fraud and illegal financial offers. In the second half of the year, that figure jumped to more than €23 million.
The number of reports rose more moderately, from 1,289 in the first six months to 1,622 in the second. The data suggests that average losses per victim increased significantly, rather than fraud simply becoming more widespread.
Fake trading platforms remain the backbone
Across both periods, fraudulent trading platforms, often linked to supposed crypto investments, remained the single largest source of losses.
In the first half of 2025, nearly €11.9 million was lost across 681 reports, accounting for close to 80 percent of all reported losses. In the second half, losses linked to these platforms still reached €10.6 million across 612 reports.
The mechanics are by now well known. Victims are typically redirected from social media ads or fake news articles to professional-looking trading platforms. After an initial deposit, apparent profits appear on a dashboard, encouraging further payments. When withdrawals are requested, fees are suddenly introduced, access is blocked or the platform disappears altogether.
In 2025 alone, the FSMA published warnings about 240 fraudulent entities and 316 websites. More than 65 percent of those warnings concerned fake trading platforms, underlining how dominant this model remains.
WhatsApp scams surge from fringe to mainstream
The most striking shift between the two periods is the emergence of WhatsApp-based investment fraud.
This category was almost absent from the statistics in the first half of 2025. By the second half, it had become the second-largest source of financial damage, with 263 reports and more than €9.5 million in declared losses. The average loss per victim amounted to €73,000, with some cases running into several hundred thousand euros.
According to the FSMA, these scams usually start with sponsored ads on Facebook or Instagram promoting exclusive market insights. The ads often misuse the names and logos of banks or well-known media outlets. Interested users are then added to WhatsApp groups allegedly run by renowned economists or CEOs, identities that later turn out to be fake.
Inside these groups, participants are encouraged to buy specific US-listed shares as part of pump-and-dump schemes, participate in fake lotteries designed to harvest personal data, or install fraudulent crypto trading apps. Once funds are transferred, losses can escalate rapidly.
A broader upward trend
The half-year comparison fits into a longer-term pattern. In 2025, the FSMA received 2,911 reports of irregular activities or fraud, an increase of 11 percent compared to 2024. Since 2017, the number of reports has grown by an average of around 20 percent per year.
Conclusion
The figures make one thing clear. Investment fraud in Belgium is no longer driven by a single technique. While fake trading platforms continue to drain millions of euros, fraudsters are rapidly exploiting social media and messaging apps to reach victims more directly and more convincingly.
The sharp rise in losses during the second half of 2025 shows how quickly new fraud models can scale once they gain traction. According to the FSMA data, fraud in Belgium is not just increasing. It is adapting
Follow us
Autres articles
Autres articles
