Common P2P scams and how to avoid them

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In this article, we will teach you the most common scams in the P2P market and how to avoid them.

At Binance we take the protection of our users very seriously and therefore consider it our responsibility to constantly keep them informed with advice and security tips. Since in P2P trading you are dealing with people you don't know, you should always be careful and take into account the possibility that the other party is not acting in good faith. Some of the most common scams that exploit peer-to-peer transactions include identity fraud and refund fraud. Below, you can find descriptions of common criminal plots and tips to avoid falling into their networks.

1. Payment receipt scams
When conducting a P2P transaction online, it is very important to carefully check all payment-related information that the other party shares with you. Scammers can manipulate screenshots and other evidence to claim they've kept their end of the deal and pressure you to complete yours. However, if you do so without confirming that you have actually received the money, you risk losing your digital assets, with very little chance of recovering them.

How to avoid payment receipt scams
Always make sure to check your bank account or wallet to confirm that you have indeed received the money from the P2P transaction.

2. SMS scams
SMS scams are a type of proof of Ecuador Mobile Number List payment scam where criminals create a text message that notifies the victim that payment has been received. More sophisticated scammers may send you an SMS that looks identical to notifications sent by banks or e-wallet apps. These are some examples:




How to avoid SMS scams
Always make sure to check your bank account or wallet to confirm that you have indeed received the money from the P2P transaction. Don't just trust the message: log into your bank or wallet account and see for yourself that the funds are there and you can access them.

3. Chargeback scams
Sometimes, a scammer may try to take advantage of the chargeback feature available for some payment methods to retract the payment they have made to the other P2P party. Specifically, in many cases they seek to process these payments through a third party account.

Additionally, if the person on the other end of a P2P transaction tries to pay you with a check, they are probably trying to scam you. When using this payment method, requesting a chargeback is very easy. If the other party insists that you pay them with a check, do not release the funds and appeal the order immediately.

How to avoid chargeback scams
Always make sure you only accept payment from a buyer whose details match their verified name on Binance. Do not accept payments from third-party accounts, and if this happens, file an appeal and return the payment to the sender account.

4. Middleman Scam
In middleman scams, criminals pretend to be reputable P2P traders who make fast transfers and accept third-party payments. A scammer will find a victim on social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram or Facebook, and will pretend to be that reputable P2P buyer who wants to buy or sell cryptocurrencies. Take for example a salesperson as a victim.
               


Along with a link to a P2P ad, the scammer will send the victim their bank account details on the social media platform to let them know that they will make the payment through this account. Then, it will ask the victim to confirm that they have received the account data by copying this data to the P2P platform chat.

What the victim doesn't know is that they will be sharing the scammer's bank account details in the chat of another unrelated buyer, who is also unaware of the scam. The victim will then send their cryptocurrencies to this buyer, who will unknowingly send the money to the scammer's bank account. Please note that the buyer believes that the bank account belongs to the victim (since he was the one who previously communicated the scammer's bank account details to him in the P2P chat).

At this point, the scammer disappears with the money. The victim, when realized, will attempt to reverse the transaction through an appeal. However, in these cases there is little customer service can do, as all important communication occurred outside of the Binance P2P platform, and the buyer sent their funds to the account of a third-party scammer.

How to avoid intermediary scams
Do not respond to trading requests on any social media platform. Limit your communications with the other party to the Binance P2P platform before and during the transaction. Most importantly, if a buyer asks you to transfer payment to a third party, remind them that transfers to another person's account violate P2P transaction policies . Also, be sure to check the other party's bank account details directly on the Binance P2P platform. Do not trust the information or offers received from external channels.