What is on your personal checklist for spotting a forex scam before you deposit?

Scams around trading tend to follow a pattern: a promise that sounds too good, pressure to act quickly, and difficulty getting money back out. Forex scams: the warning signs lists the signs and explains how recovery scams work, where someone contacts a victim offering to get lost money back for a fee. Trading signals, copy trading and bots covers the red flags on the signals side, and offshore vs top-tier broker regulation explains why the regulator behind a broker matters.

Checklists work because they take the decision away from the moment when the sales pitch is at its most persuasive. We would like members to share theirs, and to explain why each item is on it.

• Which checks do you do before depositing: the regulator's register, the exact legal entity you contract with, the withdrawal terms, the company's history, or something else?
• Do you test a small withdrawal before putting in more money?
• Which red flags have you met yourself: promised returns, pressure to deposit more, unsolicited messages, "managers" who ask for account access?
• If you were caught by something, what would you tell someone starting today? Most people who share this are helping others avoid the same thing.

One request: please describe behaviour, not accusations. Don't name a firm or person as a scammer without evidence you could show a regulator, and don't post personal details or account numbers. If you think you have been the victim of fraud, contact your national regulator or police.

Please keep replies to your own experience. Posts that promise returns or sell signals will be removed.