My friend got arrested in a p2p scam

[Yogee]

Was your friend charged for transacting with BTC or was it just the hacking case? That part of your story wasn't clear to me. What kind of ban was issued in your country? Was it issued by your Central bank?

...It would have been better if he would have used some local exchange which supports their native currency.

The friend could have made a deal with Imran to sell the BTC for him since he knows better and just need to pay a small service fee.

[adzino]

That's why you shouldn't do any transaction with random people involving banks. I have heard many horror stories like this where criminals make you send them BTC and they send you cash. In the end, it turns out the money was from some illegal source. What happened over here is probably the seller was sending funds from a bank account that doesn't belong to him (elders are the victim over here in most of the cases) and the transaction was then reversed and reported by the original owner. Or it was the seller himself who reported that the transaction was unauthorized. If your friend explains everything to the cops, they should let him go. Aren't people from those p2p platforms verfied/KYCed?

[BTCtester.com]

Use decentral exchanges (DEX) like bisq.network and deal only with signed accounts which have some months account age or with whom you dealt before. And better you do three trades with amount X instead of one trade with amount 3x. And accept the fiat payment only in case it's from the same person and account number as registered in the DEX. Otherwise return it immediately and don't release the coins.

Doing so you have no KYC and less risk to get involved into triangle scams where e.g.

A buys bitcoin from you for $ 500 and you give him your bank account number
A sells a washing machine at ebay to B for $500 and gives B your bank account number
B sends you $500 and you release the bitcoin
B then goes to bank and police because he never got the washing machine
Police comes to you because the first impression is you're the ebay fraudster
The outcome is you have $500 in bitcoin less, A has $500 in bitcoin more and for B it was just trouble but no money loss or gain.

But don't give up to get the bitcoin back from the fraudster. Check the "Bitcoin privacy score" of the scammers BTC address and if the score is low you have good chances to get the scammer traced to exchanges. If the score is high you need to be patient, usually it goes down over time when the scammer is doing more and more transactions.

[zanezane]

That's why you shouldn't do any transaction with random people involving banks. I have heard many horror stories like this where criminals make you send them BTC and they send you cash. In the end, it turns out the money was from some illegal source. What happened over here is probably the seller was sending funds from a bank account that doesn't belong to him (elders are the victim over here in most of the cases) and the transaction was then reversed and reported by the original owner. Or it was the seller himself who reported that the transaction was unauthorized. If your friend explains everything to the cops, they should let him go. Aren't people from those p2p platforms verfied/KYCed?

Man, I never look at P2P that way, that kind of thing is really scary, being an unwilling accomplice to a crime that you have no idea have happened and it just so happens that you have the money moved to you, that's a scary one if you ask me. I think the platform doesn't force a KYC policy that's why OP's friend go there.

[Zilon]

This why it's always good to trade with an exchange that demand for KYC verification from their customers. Many do kick against this KYC stating it's bridging the anonymous nature of crypto currency but for the sake of cyber looters and scammers hiding their loots behind the blockchain network it's KYC should just be a necessity

[omone1]

Your friend must stop accepting physical cash transfer and use a reliable escrow services. I do escrow deals in a peer-peer group, and I put a limit to what I can escrow because my country is against crypto but want to launch her CBDC which is the height of hypocrisy. Using a reliable escrow is the best. I use binance for most of my bitcoin-cash transactions and histories are there.

[dothebeats]

P2P is good, though you can't really be sure that the person you're dealing with is trusted. The first sign of scamming is if the rates are too good to be true, and far more generous compared to those established accounts who have been in the platform for quite some time now. Your friend should have known this, and you should have warned him of the possible effects of choosing the said buyer that offers such rates.

Or you should have helped him with just a small fee since you know your way around this. In any case, what's done is done, and that you guys learned your lessons. Even in transactions involving banks, scammers can still do their schemes—and it's easier for them, too—and you will even land in legal trouble if you don't know what to say in such circumstances.

[Ryker1]

^[snip]
But my friend uses bitcoin and bitcoin is illegal in our country.

Well in the first place your friend already knows that it is illegal in your place but instead he accepts the deal. Your friend must tell the truth that it was a clean deal, show everything to lower the sentence will perhaps be possible because in the first place using bitcoin is already a mistake. It is a sad story that we must learn and not use crypto in a bank account, that is not safe at all. Even using crypto alone can be traced, how much more if also the banks involved that is a big problem. I think your friend must tell the truth to the authorities that he is not a scammer and he was a victim only here.

[isaac_clarke22]

~

This is what I was thinking actually. Why still hold cryptocurrency when it was indeed illegal in your country? Sure you can still do the p2p transactions, but when you get caught, don't expect any much of a defense because it is already written law in your country to not ever hold one.

It's a walk on a broken glass.

[Fortify]

My friend is a digital freelance marketer. He worked in marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork. He has been working for the last 3 years. He has some fixed clients who work without the marketplace because of marketplace fees. They work via skype and email. There was no problem recently. He got new clints through his personal website. And the Clints give him his payment through bitcoin and my friends approve it. Then he asked me to exchange it for cash.

I didn't have enough cash, otherwise I would have bought it. Thats why I suggested him some p2p services like Binance, Paxful, and local bitcoins, but he had a problem with KYC. He didn't want to provide KYC. That is why he can't use binance. Now I don't want to share the exact name, sorry for that, because I used that service but didn't fall into any problems. Though my friend knows how to use online sites, he tried his own account on a platform and did basic kyc. Though it has a limit, the limit is enough for him.

Now he is dealing with someone who gives a good return and is also our country's man. My friend fixed a deal with him and the deal will be a bank transaction. The scammer sent money to my friend and my friend got a deposit message from his bank.

Then my friend released bitcoin. Here is everything perfect. But the problem starts from now. After 5 hours in the afternoon, my friend goes to the bank to withdraw the cash because he needs it. The bank manager says the money is in hold because they got information from the sending branch of the bank that the account holder of the sender has filed a case about this transaction. This transaction is not made via the account holder. That means this has become a hacking case.

And after 1 hour, police came and arrested my friends for hacking. But my friends don't hack. After the introgression My friends tell them everything and show them proof, then they trust them. But my friend uses bitcoin and bitcoin is illegal in our country. He is a freelancer, and in our country, freelancers get priority from the government. Cyber experts got proof that he was taking payments in bitcoin because he had a problem with paypal. And the clints approach him. Then he was released on a bail basis. And cyber experts are now working on it and the case is running. 3 days ago, my friends came to me and shared everything. But the thing he didn't tell the police was that I suggested him about those sites and I also had btc. He understands that the site has no problems, but the scammers are bad people.

Now I feel worried about whether it is truly safe to use P2P. If we fall for such a kind of scam, Though I still didn't and I always verified and 100+ order completed people plus checked his review and 100% review gained people. And I want to know if you guys have any such experience on p2p? Please share your story.

It's a fairly typical story and has happened thousands of times before. There is a reason that places like localbitcoins are so successful over a long time - because they allow you to see a long trading history of successful transactions. You don't have to rely on somebody who could turn around and scam you, which is easier to do because Bitcoin doesn't leave an easily recoverable amount. Unfortunately KYC is a requirement for most financial institutions who have a professional setup because it is one way to stop scammers and other criminals from operating. It sounds even worse in your friends case, because the money probably came from an innocent third party - so not only did your friend lose his money, but he received money stolen from someone else in return. Maybe next time he should stick with KYC or this will happen again.

[worldofcoins]

Well, it's quite tragic for your friend.
Even you can't be blamed for such a mistake because the situation was unaccounted for and the scammer using the Bank account of someone else to pay your friend and your friend sending him payment in BTC sucked.

I haven't used Binance P2P till now but on LocalBitcoins there's a trust system just like Bitcointalk has which indicates the trustworthiness of a trader who made their offer.

It's better to opt for trusted people rather than random strangers, the type of scam that was pulled off on your friend is quite normal in local places.

[just_Alice]

And to think that people say cryptocurrencies are unsafe... In this particular story, the flaw was on the bank's side, the scammer couldn't have pulled this off with crypto. But as I understand, in this case, the bank transfer was part of the deal and this couldn't have been done otherwise.

And I guess there are two sides to the same coin with KYC. On the one hand, you can choose options with no KYC and stay anonymous, on the other - be prepared for scammers like this one, that take advantage of it.

[pealr12]

What an awful situation your friend find himself, see everything that has advantage also have disadvantage, people see p2p as one of the best decentralized way to trade crypto without kyc, imagine the massive situation, such kind of things cannot happen with centralized exchange. I feel sorry for the poor guy who is caught in the middle of this.

[Quidat]

Now I feel worried about whether it is truly safe to use P2P. If we fall for such a kind of scam, Though I still didn't and I always verified and 100+ order completed people plus checked his review and 100% review gained people. And I want to know if you guys have any such experience on p2p? Please share your story.

So far i dont have any problems about P2P transactions and im currently using up Binance though which i dont have any problems even using up Express p2p and so far i dont have any problem with my Bank.
It is just your friend did really just end up on transacting with a scammer or hacker and this is why it isnt really just enough for you to stick on 100+ orders because everything could really be faked out.
Better to make some KYC in Binance and i wont really be tending nor planning to deal with other platforms aside on this one.

[verita1]

First time I know of a problem as mentioned by OP.
Binance has some recommendations to watch out for scammers, it might be worth taking a look and being cautious.
It's a shame the problem for P2P users where their bitcoin countries are banned.

I am a Binance P2P user in Venezuela and so far everything has gone very well with my exchanges and sometimes I usually trade with the same people.
The Binance system is safe for both parties, the problem is when the bank holds your money. I would have to dig deeper to find out how scams happen.

A few days ago I made two transfers to a Binance user to send money to Brazil and fortunately it was successful and I told myself that Binance P2P users are creating new forms of business and income and in addition to a crypto culture where our reputation is an endorsement to make an online deal like the one I did and other people often do.

[Slow death]

this part that I considered extremely important:

But my friend uses bitcoin and bitcoin is illegal in our country.

if bitcoin is illegal in your country then you should be very careful because even in cases where you are a victim and present evidence that you have been robbed you can be arrested due to the fact that bitcoin is illegal in your country, your friends were lucky, i am not I know how far the laws in your country go, but I think it's still too early for your friend to feel safe because the government of your country can decide in court to punish your friend because he disobeyed the law when buying or negotiating bitcoin.

[Twinkledoe]

First time I know of a problem as mentioned by OP.
Binance has some recommendations to watch out for scammers, it might be worth taking a look and being cautious.
It's a shame the problem for P2P users where their bitcoin countries are banned.

I am a Binance P2P user in Venezuela and so far everything has gone very well with my exchanges and sometimes I usually trade with the same people.
The Binance system is safe for both parties, the problem is when the bank holds your money. I would have to dig deeper to find out how scams happen.

A few days ago I made two transfers to a Binance user to send money to Brazil and fortunately it was successful and I told myself that Binance P2P users are creating new forms of business and income and in addition to a crypto culture where our reputation is an endorsement to make an online deal like the one I did and other people often do.

As of now, I also use the binance P2P services and not other p2p platforms. I feel more confident using this platform. For other p2p services, you don't know if their reviews or feedback are genuine. So you should really be very cautious transacting them as in this digital age, everyone can pull off a scheme as they don't care who they screwed, but the money that they can milk out.

[stompix]

In the OP the poster wrote

But my friend uses bitcoin and bitcoin is illegal in our country.

That, in a nutshell is the crux of his problem. Despite the fact that you and him know that is illegal in your country you still chose to use BTC and are now bemoaning the predictable results of your illegal activity?  

I'm amazed people still ignore this and go and give advice on how to use p2p and avoid getting scammed, like that was the only problem!

You could avoid scammers, you could trade with an old account with a lot of good feedback just to realize that it was a honeypot operation and you were selling bitcoin to an undercover agent, and all those that left feedback can't erase it anymore cause they are sitting in jail awaiting trail!!!

Forget the scam, he used something deemed illegal by some moronic govern and he did with the help of a stranger, that's the real problem in this!

Use decentral exchanges (DEX) like bisq.network and deal only with signed accounts which have some months account age or with whom you dealt before. And better you do three trades with amount X instead of one trade with amount 3x. A

And when the trader with who he deals is caught because the banks are alerting the police a guy with no registered business is sending 10 wires a day to random people and they seize all the information from that bank guess whose name will be on one of those transactions?
Now I know why the police are able to seize that many coins and how so many people end up in court or jail, ignorance is truly bliss for some.

[crwth]

I feel for your friend where it's effed up in that situation and that he managed to be okay after all of that.

First of all, I think using a P2P service that doesn't have that kind of reputation of being safe, there's going to be trouble for sure. It's sad that he had problems with KYC in Binance but still did KYC on another service. It's kind of redundant that he had done KYC but saying that "He didn't want to provide KYC" to Binance.

I think that's the importance of having KYC in those P2P because you can check or verify whether it was from the actual sender. Checking if the name matches in the account in the exchange, just like in Binance.

I didn't experience any kind of problems in P2P because I'm exchanging with those highly verified and good completion rates in the platform.

[cabron]

It looks like the victim is going to experience way worse since Bitcoin is illegal in their country. If the scam is done differently, he could have been grateful even if his money is taken by this scammer as long as authorities are not involved here. This could lead to a thorough investigation that authorities might find out this isn't his first Bitcoin transaction.

Anyway, bailing out I guess is an option for him. Hope your friend will be able to work it out.