The Tradize Lookalike: How a €66,300 “Regulated” Account Was Mapped Back in Five Weeks
A Dublin pharmacist moved her savings to Tradize believing it was an established, regulated brokerage. The brand was borrowed; the account was not. Bank-transfer routes gave us the most to work with.
The Terrain
Aoife did her homework. She searched for reviews, checked that a similarly named brokerage held a real registration, and only then opened an account with Tradize. What she could not see was that the slick portal was riding on a respected firm’s name and numbers, published under a near-identical domain with its own banking details. Her caution was turned into the very thing that reassured her.
Over three weeks she funded the account by bank transfer to what she was told was a “segregated client account,” €66,300 in total.
Where the Trail Forked
The fork came when a “profit withdrawal” required tax to be paid up front. Aoife called the genuine firm using the number on the public register — not the one on the website — and learned they had never heard of her. Every euro she had sent had been converted to ETH within hours of arriving.
I checked a register and thought that made me safe. Nobody warned me a real firm’s name could be worn like a mask.
Charting the Flow
Bank-transfer fraud often leaves the cleanest map of all. Here is how we closed the loop.
Documented the clone
We captured the lookalike domain, the spoofed registration details, and the mismatch against the genuine firm’s verified record — the spine of an Authorised Push Payment claim.
Mapped fiat to first hop
We traced each bank payment to the receiving account and on to the address where it was converted to ETH, fixing the conversion points by timestamp.
Followed the on-chain route
The ETH moved through two hops into a deposit address at a major, KYC-bound exchange.
Built the dual claim
We assembled one pack for Aoife’s bank under the reimbursement rules and a parallel freeze request to the exchange.
Pressed both at once
The exchange froze the deposit while the bank assessed the claim; with the clone fully evidenced, reimbursement was approved for the bulk of the loss.
At Journey’s End
€58,300 recovered — 88% of the lossA strong result, and we are clear about why: the payments were bank transfers covered by reimbursement rules, the report was filed within weeks, and the crypto was still sitting at a cooperative exchange. The small shortfall was a single early conversion that had already moved on. Fast bank-rail cases are among the most recoverable we map.
Marks on the Map
- A correct-looking registration number proves a real firm exists, not that you are dealing with it.
- Always contact a firm using the number on the regulator’s register, never the one on the site that found you.
- “Pay tax before you withdraw” is never how a regulated broker works.
- Report fast: reimbursement schemes and exchange freezes both reward speed.
Paid a “regulated” firm that turned out to be a clone like Tradize? Bank-transfer routes are often the most recoverable. Let us map yours.
Open a Case