[!WARNING!] Escrow Impostors on Telegram [!WARNING!]

[DireWolfM14]

I want to post this here to give it more visibility, even though I don't have evidence to accuse anyone specific for this scam attempt.

What happened::

Several days ago, member Kami90kaza asked me to provide escrow for his transactions.  One didn't pan out, and the other was successfully completed with member Zwei.

A few days later I noticed that Kami90kaza's username on Telegram was "ecrw_services_btctalk," which I thought was a bit suspicious, but I couldn't remember if that was his original username or if he had changed it.  He initiated contact with me on Telegram, so I have no record of what the username was before, or if it was changed.  None the less, he pointed me to his bitcointalk username (Kami90kaza) because I insist on posting all official information here on the forum.

A few days later another member, eckobaba had contacted me to provide escrow services for him to buy Neosurf accounts.  This morning, eckobaba got into contact with me asking about another conversation in which I did not participate.  A user going by the Telegram username @whosay19292 had contacted him with an offer to sell him an account.  Somehow eckobaba was tricked into sending funds to someone he thought was me.

I believe the user behind the Kami90kaza account has been impersonating legitimate escrow providers in an effort to scam unsuspecting newbies.

Suspected Scammer's Profile Link: Kami90kaza
The user seems to be using many alts, and posting offers in the digital goods sections.

Telegram usernames associated with Kami90kaza:

Code:

@whosay19292
@grinmimer
@gugisa1112
@oasis190
@ecrw_services_btctalk
@harleyinhawai

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5209134.msg53330906#msg53330906
https://archive.md/39815

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5208998.msg53326155#msg53326155
https://archive.md/mb7ie

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5208777.msg53319516#msg53319516
https://archive.md/OXqJF

Please do not send funds to anyone who provides escrow addresses through Telegram!


Member Zwei posted this in another thread:

I echo what DireWolfM14 said.
The username he was using on telegram is @oasis190 and to add to that, my guess from what I have observed so far is the OP is trying to give some false sense of trust based on his previous trades(trust farming) so he can impersonate the escrow without too much suspicion, e.g. (I have traded with him before there no need for me to check my shit).

[1714761393]

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[suchmoon]

I just see words "do not [...] Telegram" and I wholeheartedly agree. It sounds like a scammer's dream - full of greedy gullible kids, makes it easy to pretend to be someone else, and chat history can be wiped out on both ends by one party. Seems more suitable for sexting than business.

[DireWolfM14]

I just see words "do not [...] Telegram" and I wholeheartedly agree. It sounds like a scammer's dream - full of greedy gullible kids, makes it easy to pretend to be someone else, and chat history can be wiped out on both ends by one party. Seems more suitable for sexting than business.

I'm seriously considering closing my account on that shit-show of a platform.  I want to be able to help newbies, but I am afraid that makes it easy for a scammer to convince a newbie that they are dealing with me when they are not.

[dkbit98]

Don't answer to any PM is the only solution for using Telegram.
And you also have to adjust privacy settings, and disable other people adding you to random groups.
I can'r even count how many scammers I reported and blocked there...

[owlcatz]

Thanks, I've changed my sig. Fuck telegram scams.

[AlexSimion]

I remember seeing users complain about him before in some posts , that he was trying to provide fake escrow . I'll update this post once I find the specific links , ( they haven't made official scam accusations against him ).

[DireWolfM14]

The most frustrating thing is this is just a wack-a-mole game.  Red-tagging Kami90kaza will just dive the scammer to create a new account, and prey on other unsuspecting victims.  I wish there was a way to effectively educate newbies about this threat.  One thing that occurred to me was to perhaps make a sticky thread that details all the ways scammers can dupe victims.  Royce777 created a pretty good one, but unfortunately the Impostor Scam is buried deep in his post, and is only briefly mentioned.

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive about this particular type of attempt because I was recently targeted, and then I wrongly accused a respected member of the community as being the culprit.

Here are a couple of posts from newbies complaining about this particular account:

Please be careful. kami scammed me out of $450. I created a “willing to buy” post and he impersonated MinerJones Escrow. I sent funds and he bailed. Do not do any business with him. Beware. It seems like he has several accounts on the forum and uses them to respond to his own post. Makes it seem as if he has transactions with people to lure others in. BEWARE!

Price 80$ per acc. Happy to use escrow. For bulk lower price telegram: @gugisa1112

@Kami90Kaza, is trying to scam on telegram. Luckily I saved screenshots  .

1. He requests  escrow of your choice.
2. He makes a dummy account impersonating the escrow representative. I opted for professional escrow. So this was impossible to do since my contact uses their real name and telegram is for communication only. He then tries to create a chat group between you and his dummy account.

3. He will require you both to put up a % transaction to be held by his dummy account.


What a loser lol 😂.

[eddie13]

I wish there was a way to effectively educate newbies about this threat.

Why is their no mention of proving identities in this thread then?
Teach them that they should expect anyone engaging in a position of trust to use their staked identity, period, on TG or on BTCT no matter..  
Telegram account usernames are not any proof of identity, nor are BTCT accounts.. A good escrow should sign every deal with a staked Bitcoin or PGP public key..

Please do not send funds to anyone who provides escrow addresses through Telegram! and does not use a staked escrow address as identity or sign their staked identity..

ftfy
That's better IMO..

Want to teach newbies?
Set a good example and sign your identity for them the first thing when dealing with them on TG just to be professional.. Get them used to this protective formality.. Sign every time you are expected to be the real you..
Every escrow contract or deal should be signed and/or received only to a staked receiving address no matter if on TG or BTCT..

This is the way to protect yourself from stolen identities across all platforms..

Bitcointalk accounts don't mean shit for proof of identity either...
Your staked keys are your identity and any accounts you use on any platform are just sockpuppets of your identity that can be hijacked at any time.. But your keys cannot..



Bitcointalk PMs, posts, and even quoted posts, are not even near the level of proof of agreed contract compared to receiving a signed message signing the terms of the contract, and saving it yourself..

What stops any account from making a deal with you, like taking a loan, and then coming back a week later with "I was hacked, I didn't agree to that!"?
Have their real identity sign the agreement terms, for future proof of their deal acceptance to protect yourself with ultimate proof..
Same with any deal requiring trust from any party.. Terms should be signed..

[DireWolfM14]

@eddie13, you make a very good point.  Initially I had mentioned in my escrow thread that all addresses I provide will be signed with my PGP key, but I didn't make it a prominent declaration.  In my defense, I have always signed the escrow addresses I provided.  I do you hope you are right that setting a good example will help.

Yesterday I added a very visible warning to my escrow thread, but again failed to mention the importance of a message signed with a staked key.  After reading your suggestion I made the following edits to the warning:

WARNING!
Beware of Impostors!
I will only provide an escrow address here on this forum, and I will always sign it with my staked PGP key.
If your address isn't posted in this thread or sent to you through a forum Private Message, and if it isn't provided with a PGP signature assume it came from an impostor and a scammer!

[eddie13]

Initially I had mentioned in my escrow thread that all addresses I provide will be signed with my PGP key

You can also stake escrow receiving addresses..

Example:
1erct98c45wut85cterc90g8fg098
"DWM14 will only ever ask funds to be delivered to one of these 3 escrow recieving addresses
1213423542532453 , 1rtgj89tgj49cgjc48rjgfwf8jrege , 1fjkgn58gj459ojfw5489ji
signature-5atw45cye67 56u yh65ers5 t54etrf
Or signed with PGP..

If you want to get around monotonous repeated formalities, only receiving to staked addresses still basically proves that it is going to be received by the correct identity without having to sign every time, unless you or your customer also want you to sign the specific terms of the contract, then you should, IMO..

I would think that PGP is better in that it is more proper and more widely accepted across all communities than Bitcoin address staking, but if you are dealing almost solely with Bitcoin communities, then it will probably be easier and more familiar for most users to verify signed BTC messages rather than PGP..
PGP is good for sending/receiving encrypted messages containing sensitive information, but may be overly formal for most Bitcoin related stuff..

Just my 2 sats..

[Patatas]

You wouldn't believe the type of imposters I come across on Telegram! I get messages from user-names like Og_Nasty, minnerjones, SebastainJu claiming to be the actual forum members. After you ask them for some details, they simply block you or change the user-names again! I legit was contacted by the same account pretending to be Og_Nasty in the morning and minnerjones in the evening.

[sandy-is-fine]

I tagged (and flagged) this guy in DIGITAL GOODS where he is basically selling $100 in "cash" for $85.  http://archive.md/wip/0FQTF
LOL, Sounds legit.

[Boris007]

Never trust telegram IDs.
They misplace certain letters in username to look as the authentic id.

[DireWolfM14]

Beware, there's another Telegram scammer trying his luck today.  This morning I found a PM from member mile616 in my inbox asking me if my Telegram user name is @harleyinhawai.  It is not.  Someone going by that username on Telegram was pretending to be me.  These are screen shots of the conversation that mile616 was having with the impersonator:









Coincidentally, someone using the same Telegram username had contacted me to ask if I was still buying BTC.  When I asked him to send me a PM on the forum, he deleted the conversation, and blocked me.

[LonelyBitcoiner]

I just see words "do not [...] Telegram" and I wholeheartedly agree. It sounds like a scammer's dream - full of greedy gullible kids, makes it easy to pretend to be someone else, and chat history can be wiped out on both ends by one party. Seems more suitable for sexting than business.

I'm seriously considering closing my account on that shit-show of a platform.  I want to be able to help newbies, but I am afraid that makes it easy for a scammer to convince a newbie that they are dealing with me when they are not.

Hi,
Same thing happened to me https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5211668.msg53413855#msg53413855

Basically this user tried to convince me that I am chatting with the escrow member. Then he copied wrong bitcoin address and I saw this. He edited the btc address after this. I have documented all of it in the thread. May be it is even the same person...

EDIT: I just saw the last post of this thread. Yes, it's the same.
EDIT2: Do profiles like that even get banned here? It is very clear what happened.

[Avirunes]

It's not only escrow imposters but there are also many currency exchange imposters. A few ago I was scammed by one of them but that was my mistake. The telegram UID was similar to the the actual guy but actual link behind that was different. Stay safe guys ..lots of imposters out there.

[shasan]

It's not only escrow imposters but there are also many currency exchange imposters. A few ago I was scammed by one of them but that was my mistake. The telegram UID was similar to the the actual guy but actual link behind that was different. Stay safe guys ..lots of imposters out there.

Imposters almosts all the time look alike, same name, same image, same bio (if available) almost same username (usually 1 character mismatch).

[Railai]

My first experience on this forum was with this user @herbert . https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5210489.msg53401755#msg53401755

It was hard to notice and realise that I am being scammed, luckily I had enough nerves to stay calm and avoid the demage. It is sad that users with potential and escrows arround here can be contacted outside the forum.

They should rely only on the conversations here in public topics or private messages; not such as telegram/skype/jabber

[LoyceV]

Today I learned Telegram users can hide their "handle" and add someone else's handle as their "Bio". Yesterday, I was contacted by a suspeciously interested person posing as a BlueWallet dev. I totally thought it was the real account doing rogue things!

I barely use Telegram so I'm not very familiar with what should be where exactly in the profile. Those are terrible features that shouldn't exist at all!

[DireWolfM14]

Today I learned Telegram users can hide their "handle" and add someone else's handle as their "Bio". Yesterday, I was contacted by a suspeciously interested person posing as a BlueWallet dev. I totally thought it was the real account doing rogue things!

I barely use Telegram so I'm not very familiar with what should be where exactly in the profile. Those are terrible features that shouldn't exist at all!

I also notice that some members are able to hided there handle.  I'm not exactly sure how that's done, maybe they aren't selecting one at all.  The @userinfobot still works to retrieve their unique user ID number.  That cannot be changed, but it may hidden from you if you are blocked by that user.

• Always check the Telegram ID of the person you are talking to

Are you exchanging currency, or maybe you need some help from a representative of some service - always check them by different ways to avoid a scammer. Usually scammers have multiple accounts. From one account they just watch the chat, and as soon as a new user is added, they offer their "help" immediately in direct messages from second account, pretending to be a representative of some service. (see screenshots at the end of the post).

Do not confuse the Telegram ID with the account name or username. Account name and username it's very easy to change them, as well as the profile image. Telegram ID -- is a special numerical code, which is assigned to everyone during registration. This identifier is necessary for the system to correctly save data and link it to a specific user.

Use @userinfobot to find out the Telegram ID:

• To find out your Telegram ID, send any message to the bot: @userinfobot
• To find out the Telegram ID of any user, forward any of his messages to the bot: @userinfobot

A couple of months ago, Telegram made it possible to hide even Telegram ID (it surprised me very much). To people who hide their Telegram ID you should be especially vigilant.