Faced with the difficulties of access to traditional financing systems, crowdfunding, whatever the form chosen, is today a major alternative to financing innovative projects of any kind. However, its rapid growth raises some questions about the actual or potential risks for the investor-contributor: what is the risk in crowdfunding? How is this risk being avoided, mitigated or prevented in crowdfunding platforms? In which cases could the responsibility of crowdfunding platforms and/or project holders be engaged? We shall try to answer these questions by positioning our analysis between the fields of management science and law, and focusing more specifically on Financial Return-Based Crowdfunding. The analysis feeds the developing literature in crowdfunding, where financial regulation has received very little attention. The article will provide insight into the determinants of risk, how platforms integrate this dimension into their activity, and present regulatory solutions to protect the savings of contributors. JEL Codes: G2, K2, O