TL:DR at the bottom of post
Images:
https://imgur.com/a/FRUHa1p (trade logs)
https://imgur.com/a/7axeyI2 (aftermath of trade, scammer confessing and attempting to scam more, and Paxful’s attempts at censorship)
Paxful.com has caused me to lose €10,700 (0.22 BTC) to a scammer from Kenya.
I opened a trade to sell Bitcoin, provided everything as usual, and then the buyer attempted to pressure me into releasing the Bitcoin. I’m not stupid, so I didn’t.
Wait a week, no sign of the money, assume it’s a scam: open a dispute.
Now this is where it gets funnyPaxful moderator requested proof, I sent him proof. The scammer also sent stuff, but was one sided so I cannot see what it was. 24 hours passes and a moderator releases the money to the scammer.
The scammer then gets cocksure, tries to get me to reopen the trade (so he can steal another 11k eur), I lure him into a Telegram chat to try get him to admit it was a scam, as I knew he was thirsty for more.
The plan worked, and he ended up admitting it was a scam, and said he would return the Bitcoin he stole and teach me his “methods” if I sent him €4,000 in Bitcoin - extortion.
So what happened then?Scammer was stupid enough not to hide his phone number when I contacted him, so I had his phone number. Did some recon, and I managed to unmask the man who scammed me. I’m sure posting personal info on this forum is not allowed, so I will use his initials: CN
I confronted CN, he panics and starts wiping his social media accounts, blocks me everywhere, says “blame Paxful not me”. And you know he has a point,
Paxful is to blame.Paxful shares the first name and last initial of the account holder you are trading with. In this case, the account was verified as belonging to a “Esther K.”, and the forged documents he provided to me as proof of payment as made out to a “Dennis N”.
The Paxful moderator who sided with him could see all this, so this leads me to believe that these scammers have insiders working at Paxful to determine disputes in their favor. If this is not the case, then it is clear Paxful’s management of their platform is dangerous, and their gross negligence could cost any customer who uses their service dearly.
I have opened a ticket with Paxful, contacted them on every social media they own, and used their form to “escalate” my ticket. No response.
I made a post on Paxful’s subreddit, and DM’d the administrator of that subreddit, a Paxful employee going by the username “Martha_Paxful”. No response. However,
Paxful delete any post or thread I make on this matter.Which is why I’m here on BitcoinTalk, to post it where they can’t censor it, and to bring attention to the corruption among the staff team at Paxful.
If you have read all this, you have my deepest gratitude and I hope you would help spread the word. Thank you.
TL;DR: Paxful is allowing and aiding scammers on their Platform, and are censoring attempts to warn potential marks of the dangers. Images at top of post
