The move follows a successful pilot run with the Hong Kong Police Force.
Crime fighters worldwide have seen an alarming uptrend in both traditional and crypto-related scams since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past years, Binance has been engaging in discussions with law enforcement agencies worldwide about how to fight and prevent such crimes.
It can be a phone call, an email with a harmful link, or a direct message via Telegram asking you to reveal sensitive information. Breaking into a bank vault or crypto exchange with top-notch security is near impossible, but tricking a person into giving the keys to their money voluntarily – using an approach known as social engineering – is significantly easier.
Here’s a recent project we launched to empower users to identify and avoid scammers, as well as seek help in the event of a potential attack.
Introducing the Joint Anti-Scam Campaign
Ensuring the security of our ecosystem and protecting the Binance community is at the core of what we do. We believe this healthy approach is the only way forward for crypto. As part of our commitment to keeping users safe, we recently launched the Joint Anti-Scam Campaign in partnership with law enforcement agencies across the globe.
We started in Hong Kong, where we worked with the local police force to build a targeted alert and crime prevention message that included helpful tips, examples of the most common scams, and relevant resources and contacts.
This message is sent to users based in Hong Kong when they initiate a withdrawal on Binance.
So far, the project has achieved tremendous results.
In the first four weeks since its launch, approximately 20.4% of users had either reconsidered the withdrawal or reviewed whether the transaction carried the risk of scam.
The Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau for the Hong Kong Police Force noted on the campaign: “Hong Kong Police is putting an emphasis on effective crime prevention. Consequently, we joined forces with different stakeholders, including Binance, to deliver the key crime prevention advice to the relevant users.”
Next Steps
The project received strong positive feedback from the Binance community. With a small yet impactful tweak, we’ve achieved a tangible safety improvement that doesn’t affect the user experience.
Moving forward, we’re looking to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in other regions as we continue to promote our anti-scam program. The Joint Anti-Scam Campaign complements our existing anti-crime and crime prevention initiatives worldwide, including general operational law enforcement assistance and the Global Law Enforcement Training Program that was announced last year.
Stay tuned for more security initiatives from Binance. For more information on how we safeguard our users, visit our User Protection page. Law enforcement or government agencies can submit case support requests to our Law Enforcement Portal.
