“Ramp-and-dump” – that’s probably not a term you’ve heard before. But the terms have caught the attention of the FBI, which has issued a warning to the public about the latest scheme targeting social media and messaging app users.

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The “ramp-and-dump” scheme works like this:

Scammers, typically from outside the country, target U.S. investors through online platforms, such as social media ads or messages, urging them to join an “investment club.” The “club” is advertised as being made up of fellow investors, but is actually bots or fake accounts. The perpetrators may impersonate legitimate brokerage firms or well-known stock analysts and direct targets to a secure messaging app where the group operates.

What targets don’t know is that the scammers control a large volume of low-priced stocks and encourage members to purchase shares, therefore driving up the price – that’s the “ramp up” part.

Once the price is artificially inflated, the criminals sell off, or “dump” their shares at a profit and the unsuspecting investors are left with significant losses as the value collapses.

So far in 2025, the FBI said it’s seen a 300% increase in victim complaints from ramp-and-dump schemes.

Double-check

The FBI offers the following tips to protect yourself from ramp-and-dump schemes:

• Beware of unsolicited investment tips received via “accidental” text messages or social media advertisements that link to online investment clubs, often hosted on secure messaging apps.
• Double-check claims that purport to be from well-known financial advisors or wealth managers offering exclusive stock recommendations through online clubs;
• A sure sign of a scam is pressure to act quickly based on a supposed market-moving event — such as a company breakthrough, new technology, or government approval.

If anyone requests your personal information, access to your financial accounts, or offers other benefits in exchange for sharing your information or opening an account, consider this a red flag; your information could be used to open an account through which another party can use to manipulative activity, the FBI warned.