In the past days, we have received multiple reports that criminals are once again abusing the name European Funds Recovery Initiative (EFRI) to run classic recovery scams. Victims have forwarded emails claiming to come from “EFRI Department” and promising that large sums are “ready for payout” once the victim pays a so-called an upfront fee.
The phishing emails use the sender address [email protected].
This address is fake. It has absolutely nothing to do with EFRI
And let’s be crystal clear:
EFRI NEVER requests upfront payments.
EFRI NEVER promises guaranteed reimbursements.
EFRI NEVER uses the domain efri-department.com or anything similar.
These scammers target people who have already lost money, and exploit their hope of getting it back. They impersonate trusted organisations, copy our logo, and write convincing emails to push victims into paying a “final fee”. This is called revictimisation. Unfortunately, this is part of a typical investment scam. After a brand is finally “burned” (too many negative reviews online, website is closed down), the scammer sells the customer list with all information (email, phone, amounts lost) to recovery scammers.
The pattern is always the same
The victim receives an unsolicited email claiming that a “refund” or “payout” is ready.
The email misuses the EFRI logo and a fabricated sender address to create legitimacy.
The scammer pretends that the money the victim originally lost is still somewhere, sometimes even inventing absurd stories about the funds “appreciating” in value.
The victim is then pressured to pay €200–€500 for supposed “legalisation”, “compliance processing”, “fee clearance” or “documentation”.
Once the money is sent, the scammers vanish — and no reimbursement ever follows.
Fraud on top of Fraud
As we set out in our article “The Lie Behind Every Recovery Scam: Your Money Is Here”, criminal case files make one thing brutally clear:
Funds transferred by victims are dispersed immediately once they hit the bank accounts or wallets of the money mules.
They are cashed out, converted, split, and forwarded within hours. Only in the rarest cases, when prosecutors manage to freeze accounts quickly, can any amount be secured.
Anyone suggesting that your original money is still sitting somewhere, waiting to be “released”, is lying.
Whoever promises otherwise is a scammer. Recovery scammers are simply fraudsters committing fraud on top of fraud.
So pls check before you trust
If you receive any message claiming:
guaranteed recovery
fast reimbursement
payout after “fees”
a request for private documents
payment for “processing”
…and it claims to be from EFRI:
STOP it is a SCAM!
If You Received a Fake EFRI Email
Do not reply.
Do not send documents.
Do not pay anything.
Forward the email to us at [email protected]
