How they're built
A convincing-looking dashboard showing a rising balance, "trades" executing in real time, and withdrawal buttons that work fine - for small amounts, early on - none of it connected to a real exchange or liquidity provider.
Why early small withdrawals happen
Allowing an early small withdrawal to succeed builds confidence and encourages a larger deposit - the fake platform can afford to pay out small amounts because the real goal is a much larger deposit later.
How to check if a platform is real
Verify the platform is a recognized one (MT4, MT5, cTrader, or an established broker's own platform) rather than an unfamiliar custom app, and confirm the company behind it is independently verifiable on a regulator's register - not just claimed on the platform itself.
A late-stage warning sign
Once a larger deposit is made, withdrawal requests suddenly require additional fees, "taxes," or a minimum trading volume that wasn't previously disclosed - see the pattern covered in Emerging Tactics for how these conditions keep shifting.