I have money invested with a broker and he is insisting that I pay $12. This is the message he sent.
“Since your trading account has not yet been verified, you should verify your trading account so that the American Trade Council (ATC) knows that you are about to withdraw your profit as everything is registered and protected by the American Trade Council”.
Unfortunately, it’s very likely that it’s a scam. Brokers that try to block your withdrawal with similar reasons (typically, they say you have to pay a tax to make the withdrawal) are scams.
Can you please send the link to the broker’s website? I’d take a look at it and confirm if it’s a scam or not.