How I got Scammed.

[Hyphen(-)]

It's annoying when someone gets scammed because he or she places too much trust in someone. I was scammed in a P2P transaction this morning, not from Binance directly, but from a Telegram group. I was introduced to the Telegram group by a friend who suggested that if I am interested in purchasing cryptocurrencies through pear to pear, without involving exchanges, I join the group, which has over 5000 members, and the way the group was created, I never thought I would be scammed there, the group has Telegram bots, and more than one Admin. They've planned their guidelines, rules, and regulations.
So seeing all of this, I thought it was real. Then I saw many sells adverts by group members, and I chose the one I wanted to buy, I wanted to buy $50 worth of BTC, and the admin came and gave me instructions on how to go about the payment, the admin is the middle man, he will receive the payment first before the seller will release his coin.
We both agreed, and I paid the Admin in Fiat while waiting for my crypto; however, the seller did not send my crypto, and I was removed from the group immediately after making payment.
I share this not only to express my FEELINGS, but also to alart my fellow newbies who may fall victim to such a scam. No one should be trusted anymore.
Also more advice is needed in order to avoid being scammed again. THANKS YOU ALL.
Group Name: BINANCE NIGERIA P2P (Binance Trusted Escrow).

[acroman08]

Does the group have a name? if so, it would be best to share it here so it can be avoided in case someone stumbles upon it. as for the way they scammed, I've seen this type of scam a lot on MMORPG buy and sell groups on Facebook.

[JeromeTash]

On binance there are literally warnings advicing one not to carryout deals with strangers off the platform. That is how scammers get your money and there is no way to get it back or appeal.

Telegram is the last place you would think about making a deal from.

If you don't like KYC then try out exchanges like localcryptos.com, hodlhodl etc

[Lucius]

@Hyphen(-), The telegram is a real paradise for scammers, especially because it is possible to erase the entire history of the conversation and the one who is the victim can not prove what happened at all. In the future, stay away from doing business with strangers through social media, no matter how legitimate the opportunity may seem at the time.

I was introduced to the Telegram group by a friend who suggested that if I am interested in purchasing cryptocurrencies through pear to pear...

Are you sure this is a friend? It seems to me more like an online friend looking for victims like you and then directing them into a trap.

We both agreed, and I paid the Admin in Fiat while waiting for my crypto; however, the seller did not send my crypto, and I was removed from the group immediately after making payment.

Have you used a bank transaction or any form of payment where you can report fraud and claim a refund? If you have any evidence be sure to report that group directly through the Telegram.

On Android, you can report a group or channel via the three-dot menu, choosing "Report", and then selecting the reason.
On iOS, press and hold on a message, then select "Report" and the reason.

[SatoPrincess]

This is a well organized scam group, the amount of members or subscribers on telegram should not be criteria for legitimacy of a platform. The members could be inactive accounts or bots.  the admin could very well be the same person posting the sales advert with a different account. Sorry you got scammed.

No one should be trusted anymore.
Also more advice is needed in order to avoid being scammed again. THANKS YOU ALL.
Group Name: BINANCE NIGERIA P2P (Binance Trusted Escrow).

You’re right, no one should be trusted. I suggest from now on you trade with reputable forum members (check trust ratings and feedback). All transactions will be done here or via their telegram (make sure it’s theirs). There’s much more to bitcointalk than discussion crypto, join our local thread, some of us render p2p services CryptopreneurBrainboss for example.

[longlivecapitalism]

Oh no, man, Telegram is the last place you'd want to go to do that kind of job. Well, you definitely learned that lesson now. Also, that "friend" you mentioned, I think it's safe to say that is not your friend and you should be careful who you consider your friend on the internet. At least the lesson wasn't that expensive, other people have lost fortunes in scams.

[Daniel91]

Hyphen, I'm very sorry because of your experience.
You have learned the hardest way that it is very hard to trust anyone on the Internet, especially to some private groups without real contact and information about what kind of people they are.
Even if someone claims to be doing business on behalf of a company, this is not a guarantee either, because nowadays it is very easy to register a legal company and hide the personal data of the owner.
Even if you continue to trade on Binance be very careful and take all possible measures to keep your transactions safe there and that no one can hack you.
If you don't need some crypto funds on a daily basis, don't keep them on online wallets but offline, I use ledger.

[cryptoaddictchie]

So indeed they used Binance as affiliated name for their modus operation? I see they are doing their own version of p2p wherein using telegram and members numbers in the group to attract potential victims. Telegram is the least place you should do a teansaction. This is the site where I was scammed before and from that experience never gonna do a teansaction on telegram again. Very risky, sorry dude for what happened to you.

[DdmrDdmr]

Very similar testimonial to that which I found on this website, whilst further looking-up the matter:

Alot of scammers in many social media like facebook,telegrams,twitter, etc claiming to be binance Nigeria p2p have been scamming alot of people. once you indicate interest of buying or selling your coin,they will tell you to credit your money or coin to admin,as soon as you complete the transaction to admin,the admin will block you instantly. The admin and some seller or buyers are working together. please do not fall victim,many people have lost their money.These guy will claim to sell you coin at very cheaper rate and tell you to transfer money to admin,once transaction is completed,the admin will block you. if you are selling your coin,as soon as you transfer your coin to admin,he will block you. If you want to buy or sell,either you go to binance or buy from /sell to someone you know or any platform that is 100% legit.please do not fall victim.Kindly share to many people so that they won't fall victim. I will be updating more informations.do check back

The thread has reports from further back (2020, 20201) with similar modus operandi and captured screenshots of the dialogues: https://www.nairaland.com/5895583/telegram-crypto-scam-town

Although this can obviously happen anywhere on the planet, perhaps there are places that are more prone to carrying out P2P TXs through Telegram and such, and thus, these malpractices surge with more emphasis. From my stand, I wouldn’t go near one whatever the offer.

[lovesmayfamilis]

The presence of numerous people in the group does not mean its legality. Telegram groups are bought up, the name changes, and only bots remain. I'm surprised that nowadays there are people who trust strangers and also call people from the Internet friends. Some scammers have been preparing people for months, pretending to be beautiful dash girls, future brides, or real "partners". Of course, $50 is not a big amount, but you have gained experience, which I hope will give you a good trigger in the future, so as not to be deceived again.

[hugeblack]

the admin is the middle man, he will receive the payment first before the seller will release his coin.

How did the broker receive money? Did he give you a personal address or a Binance P2P address?
I don't know, but did you trust them because they only bear the name "Binance"? Will you believe a group in the name of Elon Musk that gives people free money or a group in the name of Apple that sends $ 100 and earns an iPhone?
If the address is on Binance platform, it is completely centralized, contact the support team and the funds may be frozen in that account.

[Shamm]

I feel you, bro. Way back a few months ago when I am new in telegram and I joined a group then someone trying to catch me, he offers a lot and he said that he is one of the owners of an investment site that offers a big amount of return.  I trust him because of the testimony videos that he sent to me then I'll give him a small amount of $40 and then he said to me that he does not receive any money from me and then I'll send him a proof but he not answered me. And the lesson learn of that is we must not give our trust to someone or in a group in a small period of time we must study their movement and platform before we are going to transact with them.

[Marvelman]

I suspect that any group with a name similar to "BINANCE" or another popular exchange is a scam. It is obvious that they are illegally using a well-known name to falsely present themselves as a legitimate group, which is a big red flag. I know it's too late for the OP, but you should avoid these type of P2P exchanges if at all possible.

[qwertyup23]

.......
We both agreed, and I paid the Admin in Fiat while waiting for my crypto; however, the seller did not send my crypto, and I was removed from the group immediately after making payment.
I share this not only to express my FEELINGS, but also to alart my fellow newbies who may fall victim to such a scam. No one should be trusted anymore.
Also more advice is needed in order to avoid being scammed again. THANKS YOU ALL.
Group Name: BINANCE NIGERIA P2P (Binance Trusted Escrow).

This is one of those instances where I emphatize with you- unfortunately, these so-called "telegram groups" should raise dozens of red flags already. Of all the scammed topics that I have read on this board, almost all of them involved people joining these "telegram groups" and they tend to fall to scams where they trusted users there.

Newbies and/or veterans, never trust these telegram groups. Though I do understand that there may be legitimate groups out there, better to avoid them as much as possible and trade only with people you really trust (e.g. sending KYC documents, etc.).

[Kalchef]

I bet the bots on the group are hailing the peer to peer transaction, saying all sort of good news about it, isn't it? When something is called P2P there would be someone (who doesn't take a side) right in the middle to make sure the seller gets payment and the buyer also get a successful transaction done, so tell me, how is this going to happen on telegram?.... A platform where anyone can pretend to be any body.

[The Cryptovator]

I am wondering how your friend suggests that kind of group where he isn't sure whether that is a scam or legit. Telegram is just full of scammers, especially if you are going to deal with Nigerians then need to be extra careful. Good thing that you lost a small amount, learn a big thing. This is the lesson why should avoid dealing out of a trusted platform. To save a small amount of money you may lose a big amount. If necessary use the forum escrow service to secure your funds. Don't believe in a few random groups or users.

[Hyphen(-)]

Thank you all for your concern and good advices, I appreciate.

[Rengga Jati]

Firstly, so sorry to hear that.
Secondly, this kind of scam is actually common to happen enough, many people have been scammed in this kind of very simple way.
Here, actually, I want to say something:
"rules no 1: Never trust anyone es[ecially in the online world"
This is not a kind of judgment, but we don't know about other people exactly in this forum and in this online world. We don't know them exactly.
This experience can be also taken as very worthy lesson because we can see that scammers still use these very simple ways of scamming and many people are still scammed. Additionally, never trust any telegram group especially one that leads you to buy something without escrow, transfer funds, to join a very promising investment with very big APY or profits. never trust them, because if something is too good to be true, it emans scam.

[passwordnow]

Never trust telegram groups even you know the person personally introduced you to that group. That's why exchanges are existing and they're safer than those p2p transactions that are happening in telegram groups. You've got no safe guard there and if you want to do p2p deal, much better to go on platforms like localcryptos. But since it has happened and it's so nice of you that you still get to share what has happened to you. There will be other newbies that will see this and it will serve as warning for them.

[sheenshane]

Sorry for your loss mate and I hope you've learned from this mistake and avoid that will not happen again.

Telegram is a house of scammers, never trust if there's someone PM you asking for financial advice or any that related to a financial because they are usually scammers.  I have been there before and was a victim of this kind of bogus, unfortunately, the scammer didn't succeed in his plan because I know how to verify.

You shouldn't trust random people on the internet, especially on Telegram or any kind of social media that you don't know personally.
However, despite your losses, you admit it here and warn newbies not to do the same as you did.