Six tells of an investment scam — and where to complain

The six tells

None of these is subtle once you know to look for it. Most victims we hear about noticed at least two and rationalised them.

• An assured or guaranteed return. No market-linked product in India can promise a return. Anyone who does is either unregistered or lying, and often both.
• Urgency. A closing window, a limited allocation, a price that rises tomorrow. Urgency exists to prevent you from checking anything.
• An unregistered intermediary. No ARN, no SEBI registration number, no verifiable entity — or a registration number that does not match the name when you look it up.
• Payment to an individual. Money for a mutual fund investment goes to the AMC, never to a person’s account, a UPI handle or a wallet.
• Screenshots as evidence. Profit screenshots, testimonial videos and leaderboards are free to fabricate. A registered entity gives you documents, not screenshots.
• Pressure to keep it private. "Don’t tell your bank", "don’t mention it to your accountant". Isolation is the mechanism.

Why the mutual fund route is hard to fake

It is worth knowing why a genuine mutual fund transaction is structurally difficult to defraud. Your money goes to the asset management company, not to a distributor. Units are held in your name against your PAN and your KYC. The registrar sends you a statement independently of whoever advised you. You can view your holdings on platforms such as MF Central without going through any intermediary at all.

That structure is the reason a fraudster must take you outside it — to a private account, an app you have never heard of, or a "scheme" with no scheme document. The moment the route stops looking like the standard route, the protection is gone.

Where to complain

Use the official channels. They are slower than a phone call to the person who took your money, and they are the ones with authority.

1. SEBI SCORES (scores.sebi.gov.in) — the grievance platform for complaints against SEBI-registered intermediaries, including mutual funds. Complaints are tracked with a reference number.
2. The AMC or intermediary’s own grievance officer first, where a registered entity is involved — SCORES generally expects this step to have been attempted.
3. AMFI (amfiindia.com) for matters concerning a mutual fund distributor and an ARN.
4. The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) and your local police for outright fraud, impersonation or an unregistered entity. Report quickly — recovery chances fall sharply with time.
5. Your bank, immediately, if money has left your account. Ask them to raise a dispute and note the timestamp.

Two minutes of checking, before money moves

1. Verify the ARN or SEBI registration number on the regulator’s own website — not on a certificate image sent to you.
2. Confirm the payee. For a mutual fund, the beneficiary is the AMC, never an individual.
3. Ask for the scheme document. A product with no Scheme Information Document is not a mutual fund scheme.
4. Check your own holdings independently through MF Central or the registrar, rather than accepting a statement forwarded to you.
5. Tell one other person before you transact. Fraud depends on isolation more than on ignorance.

Frequently asked questions