How to report fake WhatsApp investment groups using your brand

To report a fake WhatsApp investment group using your brand, report the group and the accounts running it inside WhatsApp, and use WhatsApp's intellectual property reporting route if they use your trademark or logo. Then take down what feeds the group, usually ads, social posts and lookalike pages, and warn customers that you don't run investment groups or signal chats.

Here's how these groups work and how to remove them. For the same pattern on Telegram, see how to report a fake support account on Telegram.

How fake investment groups work

• The lure. An ad, social post or message promises trading tips or returns from a well-known broker or its executives.

• The group. New members join a WhatsApp group named after the brand, with admins posing as analysts or staff.

• The proof. Members, many of them fake, post screenshots of gains.

• The ask. Members are pushed to a fake trading app or site, or asked to transfer money to an "account manager."

Report it inside WhatsApp

• Report the group from its info screen, and report the admins' accounts individually.

• When you report, WhatsApp receives recent messages from the chat, which helps reviewers see the scam.

• If the group or accounts use your trademark or logo, file WhatsApp's intellectual property report with your registration details.

Remove what feeds the group

Warn customers

• State plainly on your website and official channels that you don't run WhatsApp investment groups or send trading signals.

• List your official contact channels on a verify page. See build a verify page customers can check.

• Train support staff to recognize the pattern and log group names and numbers customers mention.

Doing this at scale

ChainPatrol finds impersonation of your brand across messaging apps, social platforms, ads and websites, blocks the malicious websites and phishing links, and files and follows up the takedowns. You can follow every case in the ChainPatrol app as it moves. You also get regular reports on what's been removed, what's blocked with a takedown in progress, what's still live and why, and what's waiting on your approval.

Frequently asked questions

Can WhatsApp remove a group?

WhatsApp can ban accounts that break its terms, including group admins. Reporting the admins as well as the group gives reviewers the most to act on.

Does reporting share the whole chat with WhatsApp?

WhatsApp receives recent messages from the reported chat, not the full history.

Why are these groups common in some markets?

Scammers go where customers already talk. WhatsApp is the main messaging app in many countries, including much of Latin America.

See which groups, ads and pages are using your brand. Get a free scan, with results within 48 hours.

Sources

Accessed October 2026. Platform processes change; check each source for the latest.

• WhatsApp Help Center