How to avoid scam when using P2P service?

The main task of our P2P Market is to ensure the safety of transactions. However, this in itself does not mean that there are no fraudsters trying to illegally get money from users.

In this article, we will tell you what to pay attention to when making orders so that they are safe for all the parties. 

Remember that the only reason for sending coins can be the fact that payment has been deposited to your account.

And if you doubt the honesty of the buyer or seller, please contact @wallet_supportbot right away. 

The main schemes that can be used by fraudsters

1. Triangle

There are three parties involved in this scheme:

1. A fraudulent buyer who responds to the seller's ad in P2P Market;

2. The victim-buyer, who is unaware that he will pay for the purchase of cryptocurrency for the scammer-buyer;

3.  Cryptocurrency seller on P2P Marketplace. 

The fraudster finds a victim-buyer and then creates an order to buy cryptocurrency with the seller. The fraudster gets the seller's details and sends them to the victim-buyer. 

Eventually, the victim-buyer pays for the cryptocurrency purchase, and the seller confirms receipt of payment. The victim-buyer calls the bank trying to recover the lost money. The main suspicion falls on the seller of the cryptocurrency, whose credentials were involved in the fraudulent scheme. 

How to avoid this scheme?

When discussing transaction details, make sure that the other party is indeed the buyer and will pay for the transaction from their account. The easiest way is to ask the buyer to add the current transaction number in the comments when transferring the money. This way the potential victim is likely to suspect something is wrong and cancel the order.

Additional factors that point to a fraudster may be a new account with a low completed orders rate, a long time between transaction opening and transfer, payment of the order not from the first time. 

2. Fake cheques 

Fraudsters can easily forge a payment receipt. To do this, all they have to do is to take the actual transfer receipt and replace the data in it. 

The main rule to protect yourself from this is to send coins and complete the order only when you see that the full amount has been deposited into the account. Screenshots of payment receipts cannot be the basis for coins release.

3. Similar amounts

The fraudster opens a transaction, for example, for 1,000 USD and asks for details. But instead of the full amount he transfers 10 USD 00 cents. The credit notification, depending on the bank, will show the receipt, which is shown as 10.00. In a hurry, the seller may not pay attention to such a detail and send the cryptocurrency.

The safest way to avoid such a trick is to always carefully check the amount of receipt and account balance.

4. Sending an amount in a different currency

By other currencies, we mean any currencies whose value is lower than the order currency. Fraudsters rely on the inattention of the seller of the cryptocurrency when checking the deposit of funds.

In the rush, which can be artificially created by the scammer, the seller may not pay attention to the currency that was transferred to his account. The amount will match the expected amount, but the exchange rate will not be in favor of the seller.

Therefore, it is always necessary to carefully check not only the amount, but also the currency of payment.

5. Accidentally released coins

The fraudster opens a deal with you to buy cryptocurrency, and brings up some meaningful topic for you. 

You may be facing a fraudster whose goal is to get your coins without paying anything, hoping that you will be distracted by the conversation and unlock the coins. To avoid this, you need to be focused specifically on the order. 

If the buyer starts to move the conversation to other topics, immediately think about whether he really wants to buy cryptocurrency from you. 

6. Trustful Seller

You must always remember the sequence of steps, even if you have already had transactions with this buyer. Transfer cryptocurrency only after receiving payment and don't trust the buyer's promises. If a buyer ignores your remarks that cryptocurrency will not be transferred without payment, immediately text to Wallet Bot support.

7. Misleading with the type of order

The buyer opens an order to buy cryptocurrency, but specifies details for payment from your side, as in a sale order.

If you conduct many orders at the same time, it is quite realistic that most of your actions will be performed automatically. Therefore, in order not to become a victim of conditioned reflexes, make all transactions consciously – each time pay attention to the type of order (sale or purchase). The best option is to conduct a series of transactions to buy, and only then to sell, without mixing them up.

8. Fake bank notifications

We are talking about fake SMS and notifications in the bank's app, notifying the seller of the cryptocurrency about the receipt of payment for it in order to convince him to close the order and send the cryptocurrency.

The important point here is to get the seller's phone number. Of course, if the buyer pays for the cryptocurrency directly using the seller's phone number, in this case the seller himself gives the phone number to the fraudster. 

Often, traders use several ads to sell cryptocurrency with different payment methods. If he sells cryptocurrency through systems where it is required to report the phone number, the fraudster can preliminarily make a deal from one of his accounts, and after finding out the phone number and waiting for some time, try to pull off this scheme.

To avoid mistaking a fake SMS or notification from the bank's app for a real one, it's enough to know the number from which the bank sends notifications, and to check the notifications in the app itself. 

9. Fake Wallet Bot support manager

Wallet Bot employees will never text you first! Any such messages should be blocked. 

Sometimes a buyer in the order chat tries to impersonate Wallet Bot administrators. He may send a message as if support or a moderator is writing in the order chat. However, this is all a hoax. Only the seller and the buyer can communicate in the order chat. The administration does not have the ability to communicate in order chats. 

Any such messages should be immediately reported to Wallet Bot support, and don't release the coins. 

10. Fake Wallet Bot on Telegram

This scheme comes from phishing sites that look just like the real thing, but are used by fraudsters to steal confidential information.

Such a bot fully imitates a real one – of course, only up to the moment when it is supposed to transfer money to your card or send coins to your wallet. So use only this bot: https://t.me/wallet. 

11. Orders of the same amount

If you simultaneously conduct several orders for the same amounts, then there is a possibility of releasing coins from the transaction for which you received the payment. And in this case the fraudster formally has the right to demand from you the fulfillment of obligations on the transaction, which was actually paid from his side.

A guaranteed way to avoid becoming a victim of the described fraud scheme is to avoid conducting several deals at once, and be extremely careful when releasing coins. It is important to check who you are sending the cryptocurrency to. 

12. Chargeback

Fraudsters can demand a refund from the seller's cryptocurrency account via a bank or payment systems such as PayPal because of, for example, an erroneous transfer.

Fraudsters may also try to take advantage of the seller's uncertainty about the legal "authenticity" of the transaction and convince them to return the funds, threatening to contact the bank or law enforcement agencies.

In such cases, it should be clearly understood that the transaction of selling cryptocurrency is absolutely legal and no threats should be perceived as a reason to return the funds.

13. A "profitable" deal off the platform

You open a deal to sell cryptocurrency, the buyer offers to go to messenger to communicate. In messenger, the buyer offers to conduct the transaction at a more favorable rate, as you do not have to pay a commission for a secure transaction, and it will save time. He asks for your details for payment, provides the address, you make the transfer, and the buyer disappears.

We recommend discussing all the details in an order chat and never transfer cryptocurrency outside of a secure order. Wallet Bot can guarantee full order security only if the order is conducted within the platform.