Methodology
Ponzi Intelligence and the Investment Pitch Check are evidence tools, not verdict engines. This page explains what we check, what the statuses mean, and where we can be wrong.
- Platform websites: domain age and infrastructure, page content (return claims, regulator claims, deposit tiers), regulator warning lists, and community reports.
- Regulator licensee directories (currently the CMA Kenya directory for online-forex firms, with more registers planned): whether a scanned domain is the published website of a licensed firm. A match is positive evidence of licence status, not a guarantee of safety.
- Public Telegram channels: public metadata via the Telegram Bot API and outbound links in the channel description, which are then scanned like any other URL.
- Links between assets: only links directly observed in a source (a channel description, a page footer) are drawn. Co-submitted inputs are context, never a relationship.
The domain appears on a regulator warning list or a matching public record (e.g. CMA Kenya, Ghana SEC, FCA). This is the strongest signal we report.
The asset was scanned and no matching warning or confirmed link was found. This is not a safe verdict; many scams are not yet listed anywhere.
The lookup succeeded but returned no matching public record. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Too many sources failed or the evidence was ambiguous. Treat the asset as unverified, not safe.
A data source could not be reached or parsed. The check that depends on it simply did not run.
The check exists on the roadmap but is gated pending a privacy or terms review (e.g. phone-number evidence).
- We never say "safe" or "legitimate". A clean result only means we found no matching public evidence.
- We do not infer shared ownership or a common operator between assets. A shared name, phone number, or being submitted together proves nothing on its own.
- Telegram checks use only the Bot API: no message history, no member lists, no creation dates.
- Phone numbers are checked against our moderated report store via a keyed digest. The raw number is never stored, returned, or sent to external providers.
- Sources can be stale or unavailable; when they are, the report says so rather than pretending otherwise.
If a report concerns your platform, channel, or number and you believe it is wrong, you can dispute it. To prove control, be ready to demonstrate ownership of the asset, for example a DNS record on the domain or a code placed in the channel description.
While a dispute is under review, the item is labelled "disputed, under review" and removed from public lists. Outcomes (confirmed, corrected, or removed) are recorded with a timestamp.
Start a dispute through the contact page and mention the asset shown in the report. We never publish the identity of the person who filed a report.
Primary public sources: CMA Kenya licensee directory · FCA Register · national regulator warning lists · community reports via platform alerts. Each report shows its retrieval time and which sources were used or failed.