Investment and crypto fraud · Also called ramp and dump, WhatsApp investment group, Telegram stock club, pump and dump
Investment club stock pump
An investment club stock pump is a scam run through WhatsApp, Telegram, or social media groups that pose as expert stock clubs. Organisers secretly hold a cheap stock, urge members to buy it until the price rises, then sell their own shares, leaving members holding shares that collapse in value.
How it works
- An ad, a social media post, or an accidental-looking text invites the victim to a free investment club on a messaging app.
- The group may impersonate a known analyst or brokerage firm, and many members may be fake accounts cheering on the picks.
- Over weeks the club builds trust with tips and then pushes everyone to buy one low-priced stock, citing a coming breakthrough or approval.
- Once the price has been pushed up, the organisers sell their shares and the price collapses, often within minutes.
Red flags
- An investment tip arrives by an accidental text or a social media ad that links to a private chat group.
- A famous investor or wealth manager appears to be offering exclusive stock picks in a free group.
- You are pressed to buy fast because of a supposed market-moving event.
- The pick is a little-known, low-priced stock, with promises of dramatic gains or of covering any losses.
- The group asks for your personal details or access to your brokerage account.
If you are targeted
- Stop contact, leave the group, and do not buy more of the promoted stock or send money to anyone in it.
- Tell your broker what happened and check your account for trades or logins you did not make.
- Screenshot the group, the names used, and the promoted stock symbol.
- Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.
- Expect recovery scams: anyone who contacts you offering to get your money back for a fee, including people claiming to be lawyers, regulators, or the FBI, is running a second scam.
Prevention
For individuals
- Ignore stock tips from strangers, chat groups, and social media ads, however well known the name attached to them.
- Look up any adviser on your regulator's register and contact their firm through its official website.
- Be wary of low-priced stocks in new companies that are being promoted with urgency.
For organisations
- Brokerages can warn customers who suddenly concentrate large purchases in a thinly traded stock after joining an online group.
- Platforms can remove ads and groups that impersonate named analysts and brokerage firms.
By the numbers
Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.
| Investment club scam losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025 (part of Investment fraud losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025) | $160M | US, 2025, FBI IC3 |
| Investment fraud losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025 | $8.65B | US, 2025, FBI IC3 |
Real cases
No documented case in the atlas yet. New cases are added as they are sourced.
Delivered through: Social media ads and posts, SMS phishing (smishing)
How official datasets classify it
- FBI IC3
- Investment
- FTC
- Stocks & Commodity Futures Trading
- UK Finance
- Investment scam
- Scamwatch
- Investment scams
Questions
- What is a ramp and dump scam?
- It is the FBI's name for a pump scheme where criminals hold a cheap stock, get investment club members to buy it until the price rises, then sell their own shares. Members are left with stock that has lost most of its value.
- Is it a scam if a famous investor runs the group?
- Treat it as one. Scammers routinely impersonate well-known financial advisers and brokerage firms, so verify through the firm's own official website before acting on any tip.