... Beware of the “increments scam”.
...
Can you elaborate on how this scam works?
Obviously I´m not looking for a tutorial in order to test it myself, but I think
the knowledge could be useful in order to prevent getting scammed using this method.
Do you mean that the fraudulent buyer/seller conducts a first increment
of the trade amount in a trustworthy manner only to start scamming after it
when he has gained the trust of the trading partner?
Thank you.
Hey... works this way:
Scammer tries to convince you to send entire coins or money first. If you refuse and insist on using a safe transaction method (for example, using a trusted escrow) the scammer will try to talk you out of it by bait and switching the trade terms. Here are the telltale red flags:
- ”I’m in a hurry. Will look for someone else if you can’t trade right now. I don’t have the time to wait for escrow to respond!”
- ”If we use escrow you pay the escrow fee and I’ll buy your coins at a lower price!”
- ”You send the coins first. No escrow.”
- Bossy attitude. Tries to boss you around to talk you into sending first.
etc etc
If you still refuse, the scammer will now use the “increments scam”. He will tell you to send
some of the coins first (usually half) and he promises to pay the full amount when he gets those coins. He will try to sweeten the deal and tempt you to do it by offering a better price. To make sure you have no time to doubt the deal or think about it or ask for second opinion on the forum, he will keep chatting to keep you focused on sending the coins quickly. He might send fake ID or links to his Facebook to boost the trust level.
To make it look like he is the more legit guy, he will pretend to be worried about you not sending the rest of the coins later.
“Don’t screw me dude, I’ll call the cops on you! Promise you’ll send me the rest of the coins after I pay?”It’s all about getting some of your bitcoins (increments of your coins) since he can’t talk you into sending the entire coins. After all, stealing 10% or even less of your coins is still better than stealing none.
Do you mean that the fraudulent buyer/seller conducts a first increment
of the trade amount in a trustworthy manner only to start scamming after it
when he has gained the trust of the trading partner?
Yes, that’s a variant of the scam. The scammer starts the trade with, say, just 10% of your coins. He then pays you quickly to make sure you are happy and satisfied with that first trade experience. He will then insist on doing the rest (90%) in one sting operation. You send and wait for payment... and he disappears.
