Currency Exchange Fraud
Scams involving fake or unregistered currency exchange services that offer unrealistically good rates or simply steal deposited funds.
Also known as: forex scam, foreign exchange fraud, currency scam, dinar scam
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
Currency exchange fraud encompasses several tactics. Fake forex dealers offer rates far better than the market rate to attract customers, then either disappear with the funds or deliver counterfeit notes. Street-level money changers may use sleight of hand to short-change tourists. Unregistered online currency exchange platforms collect wire transfers and vanish.
A related fraud involves fake foreign currency collector deals: victims are shown 'rare' foreign currency (decommissioned notes, Iraqi dinars, Vietnamese dong) and told they will appreciate massively in value, paying inflated prices for currency with little or no practical exchange value.
Always use regulated, registered currency exchange services. In the UK these must be registered with HMRC; in the US with FinCEN. Check the rate against a publicly available benchmark (Google or XE.com) — if the rate offered is significantly better than the market, it is almost certainly fraudulent.