Withdrawal Fees and "Tax" to Release Your Profits
"To release your funds, pay 15% tax first." Why withdrawal fees, taxes and verification deposits are the final extraction stage of investment scams, and what to do instead.
Your account shows a large balance. You ask to withdraw. The platform replies: you must first pay tax, a withdrawal fee, an anti-money-laundering deposit or an account upgrade. This is the last stage of the scam, designed to take whatever you have left.
Common "fees"
- "Capital gains tax" of a percentage of your profits.
- "Verification" or "anti-money-laundering" deposit.
- "Account upgrade" to VIP to unlock large withdrawals.
- "Penalty" for a trading mistake or late verification.
- "Unfreezing" fee after your account is "flagged".
If you must send money to get money out, the money is not there. Stop paying.
What to do instead
- Stop all payments, whatever the pressure.
- Save evidence: screenshots, chats, transaction IDs and wallet addresses. See evidence to keep.
- Report to police and your regulator. See when a scheme stops paying.
- Ignore recovery offers. See can stolen crypto be recovered?
Related: fake crypto exchanges. For more, see investment and crypto scams.
Frequently asked questions
Do real platforms charge fees before withdrawal?
Real platforms may charge small, published withdrawal fees deducted from the amount, not separate payments you must send first.
What about tax?
Taxes are paid to your tax authority, usually through your own tax return, not to the investment platform before withdrawal.
If I pay, will they release my money?
Almost never. Another fee usually follows: anti-money-laundering checks, account upgrades or penalties.
Sources
- What To Know About Cryptocurrency and Scams, US Federal Trade Commission
- Refund and Recovery Scams, US Federal Trade Commission
- Investment Scams, US Federal Trade Commission
