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No — HAPI Trade is a real business. But the scam reports around it are under active investigation, and if you lost money to someone using its name, that is exactly what we investigate.
Send this to Forensics Source GroupHAPI Trade is a US stock/ETF investing app for Latin America and Spain (fractional shares from ~$1–5; 18+ LatAm countries) — Hapi Securities LLC is an SEC-registered, FINRA-member, SIPC-protected broker-dealer, with custody by Apex Clearing and crypto via Bakkt These are the facts that check out on public registers — the complaint record is what our review is still working through:
Checking out is not the same as closed: the complaints against HAPI Trade are under active investigation, and none of the facts above protects you from a fake. Most 'hapi trade scam' searches trace to impersonators, not the platform itself — the ones that don't are the reason we investigate.
One more thing before you deposit: the complaints around HAPI Trade are under investigation — by us, not by a regulator. The caveats, honestly. Hapi is not regulated by local LatAm regulators (CNBV, SMV and peers) — your framework is US-only. Complaints are service-shaped: slow deposit crediting (one harsh review claims a bank deposit never landed), order-execution delays, and surprise at withdrawal, FX and inactivity fees. The crypto module sits outside SIPC/FDIC protection — standard for crypto, worth knowing. Trustpilot 3.4/5 from five reviews; App Store 4.6/5 across 1.1K ratings.
Both feel identical from the inside. They are fixed by completely different routes — and the fastest way to tell them apart is to ask three questions.
If it is the real platform: your dispute runs through its formal complaints process, then the regulator or ombudsman. Slow, but it usually works. Fund through traceable bank rails and keep the deposit receipts — the documented complaints are crediting delays, which resolve with evidence. Disambiguation: hapi.co.uk is a UK employee-benefits voucher app, a different company with its own Trustpilot profile; this page is about hapi.trade the broker.
If it was an impersonator: you were never a customer of HAPI Trade at all. A clone site, a fake “account manager”, a lookalike domain — the money went to criminals, not to the platform. That is fraud, and speed decides what can be recovered.
The three questions: did you type the official domain yourself, or follow a link, advert or message? Did anyone contact you first? Were you asked to pay a personal account or a different domain? If any answer is wrong, treat it as impersonation — and start here.
No — HAPI Trade is a real business: SEC EDGAR filing (sec.gov/Archives/edgar/vprr/2300/23005564.pdf): the full corporate history — FINRA membership approved 27 Jan 2022 (succession from Hapi Corp), SIPC membership, cash accounts, registered in two states, wholly owned by Hapi Corp. The scam stories you see online usually trace to fakes borrowing its name — and the ones that don't are part of our active investigation. But read the note above first — the business is real, and so are the caveats.
Not FCA-authorised — Hapi Securities LLC is a US broker-dealer: SEC-registered, FINRA member, SIPC-protected, with Apex Clearing as custodian. It is not licensed by local LatAm regulators (CNBV/SMV); the US framework is what covers you. The crypto module via Bakkt carries no SIPC/FDIC cover, as its own disclosures state.
Almost certainly not. Impersonators borrow the name, the logo, even the licence number. The real company knows nothing about it. Keep every message, receipt, URL and wallet address — that evidence is what an investigation builds on.
The domain you actually used, the date, and whether it was a card, a bank transfer, or crypto. Or the name of the person who told you to pay. Or one screenshot. Where the same payment shows up from other people, those files can sit together as a class action. The first look is free.
Type the official domain yourself — hapi.trade — never follow a link from an advert, email or message. Then check the regulator's public register, which lists the firm's genuine website. If your domain differs by even one character, it was a fake.
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