Follow the Money
Fake investment group chats (Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord): how the 'signals' scam works
Video · 7:23 · Watch on YouTube
Added to a Telegram, WhatsApp or Discord investment group you never joined? Here is how the investment group chat scam works, step by step, using what the FBI, FTC, SEC and FINRA have put on the record: the fake "analyst," the fake trading platform, the small first withdrawal, and the fee wall. Plus two convictions, one civil judgment, and what the agencies say to do.
If someone you love uses WhatsApp, Telegram or Discord, send them this.
Chapters
- 0:00The group you never joined
- 0:24How you get added
- 0:57Who's in the group
- 1:50The fake platform
- 2:59The fee wall
- 4:09Who's behind it
- 5:30What to do
- 6:33What's still open
The record · as of Oct. 7, 2026
How we know
Primary records are court and agency documents; reporting is news coverage we checked against them. How we report.
What happens next
Updates and corrections
WHAT WE KNOW: the funnel (contact, group chat, fake platform, fake profits, then fees) is described by the FBI IC3 2025 report, the FTC (Apr. 27, 2026) and FINRA (Dec. 9, 2025). The FTC says $1.1 billion of $2.1 billion in 2025 social-media scam losses were investment scams; the FBI puts cryptocurrency investment fraud at $7.2 billion. Daren Li (sentenced in absentia, C.D. Cal., Feb. 9, 2026) and Fei Liao (E.D. Tex., Feb. 19, 2026) were convicted of money laundering conspiracy. SEC v. NanoBit Limited, No. 2:24-cv-06517 (E.D.N.Y.): final judgment by default, June 16, 2026.
WHAT WE DO NOT KNOW: how much of the loss started on Telegram or Discord (the FTC data does not break it out); the outcome of the SEC case against alleged investment-club platforms (pending); whether Daren Li is found.
SOURCES: FBI IC3 2025 Internet Crime Report (ic3.gov) | FBI alert I-070325-PSA | FBI alert I-062424-PSA | FTC Data Spotlight, Apr. 27, 2026 | FINRA investor alert, Dec. 9, 2025 | SEC Litigation Release 26576 | DOJ releases (Feb. 9, Feb. 19, Apr. 23, 2026) | NY Attorney General alert, Apr. 6, 2026 | Calcalist, June 26, 2026 | WISH-TV, Oct. 1, 2026 | WFLX, July 16, 2024.
Report fraud: ReportFraud.ftc.gov or ic3.gov. Anyone named was convicted; no one else is named. The example chats and dashboard are recreated; no real names, links or handles.
Spot an error? Email corrections@undercurrentdaily.com. See our corrections policy. Have information about this case? Contact the investigating agency first.
