The Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (Hanfa) published a consumer warning that Croatian citizens are being contacted by telephone by unknown individuals offering trading in financial instruments such as CFDs and shares, as well as cryptocurrencies, via online platforms. Hanfa cautions that these approaches can involve fraud and advises consumers not to enter into business relationships with such operators. Hanfa highlights common pressure tactics including promises of guaranteed returns, “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities, time-limited promotions, requests for small initial deposits, offers of a “mentor”, repeated calls and hard-to-verify identities. It recommends verifying whether the firm is authorised to provide services in Croatia by checking Hanfa’s registers for investment firms and cryptoasset or virtual asset providers, and avoiding any entity not listed, especially those claiming registration in jurisdictions such as Seychelles, Vanuatu, or Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. For consumers already engaged, red flags include instructions to open accounts at specific prices, escalating requests for additional funds, communication only via non-Croatian phone numbers without a written trail, unreachable contact numbers, frequent changes of “mentor”, delays or excuses around withdrawals or losses, demands for extra payments for “tax purposes”, and aggressive responses to basic questions; in such cases, Hanfa advises requesting withdrawal and ending the relationship, and reporting suspected unauthorised offshore operators to the police. Hanfa also notes that misconduct can occur even with authorised firms and encourages reporting suspicious behaviour to the supervisor.

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