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How to avoid the most common scams
How to avoid the most common P2P scams
Here are some of the most popular P2P scams to watch out for and best practices to avoid them.
1. Payment receipt scams
When conducting online transactions on Binance P2P, it is essential to thoroughly check all the payment information shared with you by the counterparty. Scammers can digitally manipulate screenshots, claim they have fulfilled their part of the deal, and pressure you into releasing your funds. However, if you release them without confirming that you have received the payment, you run the risk of losing your money or digital assets, and the chances of recovering them are slim to none.
How to protect yourself from payment receipt scams
Always check your bank account or e-wallet to confirm that you have received the funds from the counterparty before marking the transaction as completed.
2. SMS scams
In this type of scam, scammers send their victims an SMS message that looks identical to the notifications sent by banks or wallet applications to notify the victim that they have received a payment from the counterparty.
How to avoid being a victim of SMS scams
Make sure to check your bank account or e-wallet to confirm that you have received the funds from the counterparty. Do not blindly trust the text message; always log into your bank account or e-wallet and check properly if you have received the funds.
3. Refund scams
Scammers can initiate a refund (available for some payment methods) to withdraw the payment they made to the counterparty. Often, scammers process payments through a third-party account.
If your counterparty tries to pay you with a check deposit, it is most likely a scam, as requesting a refund for check payments is very easy. If your counterparty insists on paying you with a check, do not release the funds and file an appeal immediately.
How to protect yourself from refund scams
Always verify that the buyer's name on the payment details matches their verified name on Binance. Do not accept payments from third-party accounts, and if you do, file an appeal and refund the payment to the sending account.
Additionally, be wary of advanced scam methods such as the following:
1. Intermediary scam
The scammer will pretend to be a trusted trader who wants to buy or sell cryptocurrencies on Binance P2P. They will contact their victims on Telegram, WhatsApp, or social media platforms and send them their bank account details along with a link to a P2P ad to inform them that they are going to make a payment through that account. Then, they will ask the victim to confirm that they have correctly received the bank details by asking them to copy those same details in the order page chat.
However, the victim is unaware that they are sharing the scammer's bank account details in the chat with an unrelated buyer who is also unaware of the scam. The victim will then release their cryptocurrencies to the buyer who is not related to the scam, who, unknowingly, will send money to the scammer's bank account.
If the victim attempts to cancel the transaction by opening an appeal, there is not much the customer service can do, because all communication with the scammer took place outside the Binance P2P platform, and the buyer sent their funds to a third-party scammer's account.
How to protect yourself from an intermediary scam
Do not respond to any P2P trading requests outside of Binance P2P. Limit communication with the counterparty to the Binance P2P chat before and during any transaction. And most importantly, if a buyer asks you if they can make the payment via a third-party transfer, remind them that transfers made from someone else's account violate P2P transaction policies. Additionally, check the counterparty's bank account details directly on the Binance P2P platform. Do not trust any information or offers received from external channels.
2. Triangular scam
In a triangular scam, two scammers place two simultaneous orders with the same seller. Scammer A places an order worth 5000 USDT in cryptocurrencies (Order A) and Scammer B places an order worth 6000 USDT (Order B).
Next, Scammer B transfers 5000 USDT to the seller, and at the same time, Scammer A marks Order A as paid. The seller releases the cryptocurrencies to Buyer A, thus completing Order A for 5000 USDT. Scammer B sends another 1000 USDT to the seller, provides the payment receipt of 5000 USDT obtained from Buyer A, and pressures the seller to release the digital assets of Order B.
The scammer's goal is to make the seller release the funds immediately without verifying the transfer. It can be easy to release funds without checking which user initiated the transfer. If you are not careful, you could release the funds twice but only receive half or less of the purchased assets.
How to avoid being a victim of triangular scams
Always check your bank account or e-wallet to confirm that you have received all funds from pending P2P transactions. Be cautious with the payment receipts sent to you by the counterpart and remember that scammers may attempt to reuse those receipts.
3. Binance impersonation scams
In this type of scam, scammers impersonate Binance employees to offer fake services and steal people's funds. The scammer will contact potential victims through unofficial emails or social media accounts that appear to be official Binance accounts.
In some situations, the scammer may impersonate Binance customer service in the P2P order chat. For example, they may claim that the 'buyer' has paid the required amount and the funds are now in the Binance account. To receive the payment, you will need to send assets via internal transfer (or other services) to an unknown account.
They will ask for your email address in the P2P chat, claiming that the 'Binance P2P custody service' needs it to confirm the payment. Then, they will send you an email that looks very much like official Binance emails to make you believe that you first have to release the cryptocurrencies to receive the payment.
How to protect yourself from Binance impersonation scams
Binance will never send you emails asking you to complete a P2P transaction. Additionally, always release the funds after receiving payment. Pay attention to the username or email address. You can verify the authenticity of email addresses and links on the Binance page by checking the sender's address on this page.
Note: Do not mention any names or share offline contact information via chat. Payment must be sent using the payment method specified by the counterparty, and the account name must match the verified name of your counterparty on Binance.
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