Be careful with your identity documents and KYC

[alastantiger]

I was reading this, that bitcoin and other crypto were banned in India in 2018. The ban was lifted, but later 30% crypto tax was imposed on crypto users and this led to Indians preferring to exchange crypto and rupee within themselves which can be on decentralized exchanges or centralized exchanges.

How the P2P scams happen

One way P2P scammers steal user data is with the help of fake crypto-centered channels on Telegram that promise high profits or airdrops. Many gullible users looking to make a quick profit often join these channels and share their personal banking information. In many other cases, the scammer simply buys or steals the user’s personal information.

The stolen data is then used to create a P2P account on any popular P2P platform — Binance and WazriX are common in India.

The scammer then initiates a buy order on the P2P platform looking for unsuspecting sellers. Once they match with a seller, they send the money to the seller using the victim’s account. Thus, they complete the P2P transaction on the platfrom where the buyer receives the cryptocurrency and the seller receives the money in their bank account.

The buyer (scammer) then vanishes with the crypto and the victim whose bank account was used to send the money only realizes it after the money has been deducted from their bank account.

The scammers will have the information to bank details and other necessary personal documents of the victim through fake airdrops and others means to lure the victims to provide their personal data. They will use the victims documents and necessary bank details to register on a centralized exchange. Create a centralized exchange P2P buy order, using the victims money that he has in bank to pay and receive crypto in return. And the scammer will transfer the coins out of the exchange.

You can read about this in complete from https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-p2p-scams-india

Avoid giving out your personal documents and personal data because it can be used to steal all your money.

I detest providing KYC. In actuality, the only thing KYC does is give jobs to those who check the documents aside this, Cyber Criminals will always be able to find a means to carryout their nefarious activities especially financial crimes when they want to. If you have ever given out your KYC documents know that it can be sold out to a third party , or the organization may be forced by the law to supply the  information to the government or other dubious entities. The only real reason why KYC is enforced is so that the can government use it as a measure to control you whenever they choose or to sell your details like the one it the story so that your money can be stolen. That's the real purpose.

[ZAINmalik75]

One thing which I did not get from the topic is what was the main purpose of first 2 or 3 lines like you could also start the topic without them but still you mentioned the ban on exchanges and tax etc. But afterwards you started to talk about KYC and how Airdrop hunters give away there personal details in those airdrops for the sake of useless tokens.

I agree with your points though but all I did not understand the point being made in first 1 or 2 lines. But still, I think it must have some relevancy so I might be wrong here.

And if we talk about KYC and we should not really do KYC in any airdrops even we should avoid to invest in airdrops too because what happens here is One or two airdrops when give huge profits then people in FOMO try not to leave any airdrop unattended and they try there luck on each and every airdrop even the requirements or task are so strict means they sometimes asking for KYC and in my opinion a wallet address is enough for a personal to provide it's details to win the airdrops because many airdrops gave huge rewards but lesser were there asking for KYC.

[Japinat]

Avoid giving out your personal documents and personal data because it can be used to steal all your money.

Avoid giving out personal information cause it can be used in a thousand and one ways against you and once that information is public you can never regain privacy.
You should consider any email address, password, name age and personal details you've submitted to any website to be compromised cause there is a huge black market for such information.

Do not rely on your Banks to do extra checks or on the exchange to be more careful with who the allow to register an account.

Simply, do not link your personal information to your bank account, that way you could avoid losing your money from your bank account. Or just avoid giving out all your information even when you see that there’s no shadow of scams, you may not be scam at the present but eventually your information will be used against you in the future. Caution is still the best key not to fall from every form of scam.

[Sandra_hakeem]

We've heard some incredulous quotes and have perceived and felt this is gonna happen in the future .... maybe the future is now?? Maybe not buh this has happened already, let's all learn from it.
Secondly, KYCs are usually made compulsory for most centralized exchanges or casino - this is gonna push some peeps in even more tight corners. If this hackers are basically looking for every means to dupe people, then they'll always do everything to facilitate Thier process.

Sandra 🧑‍🦰

[coupable]

I find it strange that this could happen for two reasons:
- First, all accounts on peer-to-peer platforms require identity verification using facial identification, in addition to sending copies of the documents. How will the skimmer be able to authenticate the account using a fake identity if he does not have the same face as on the official documents, unless he is carrying out elaborate forgery operations, which he excluded due to the failure to guarantee the results of the attempt.
- Transactions on peer-to-peer platforms require closing the amount at the escrow address until one of the parties confirms that the transmission has been completed in order to release the amount. How can this happen using a bank account?

[Myleschetty]

The scammers will have the information to bank details and other necessary personal documents of the victim through fake airdrops and others means to lure the victims to provide their personal data. They will use the victims documents and necessary bank details to register on a centralized exchange.

I believe the information you provide on this thread is enough to safeguard the rookies and the cryptocurrency users who barely care about the platform they are providing their personal document information. Meanwhile, the scammers do not only collect people's personal information through fake airdrops, they also do the same thing through bounty campaigns, and that's reason why the rookie must not participate in bounty campaigns is that the project will require KYC from them when they are not investors.
Many of these strategies are used to collect crypto enthusiast's email addresses and personal data.

[LogitechMouse]

I'm curious about how one could create a Binance account using fraudulent documents when they have a live face verification process.

Technology is growing at a rapid pace to the point that it becomes a problem for most of the users already. With AI, for sure this will happen even more in the future. Deepfake the pictures, AI, and a bit of knowledge is what the scammers need in order for this to be successful, and can't be detected by Binance.
I always watch videos on Youtube regarding Indian Scammers that are being busted by these Youtubers. I find it very entertaining for these scammers to get busted, and who will not be knowing that they're very notorious in scamming people.

This is the reason why people must not give their personal information to the public ever. The problem with most of these investors is that, they're very gullible that when you say to them that they will give at least 20% interest, they will fall for it even though it costs them personal information including bank accounts. What's the solution for this? I guess letting them experience will teach them what to do next in the future. Letting them experience getting scammed will make them realize that "Ohhh I don't want to give my personal information to a random stranger anymore", but TBH, this is a no-brainer already because why in the hell will give your personal information into somebody that you don't know personally.

Overall, this post is all about awareness for those newbies out there who are trying to join into these scam telegram channels. Please don't join, don't give information to strangers, don't be too gullible, and be vigilant.

[ImThour]

Damn, this is sad. I mean imagine you are scamming people online and then you get a case against you from Binance and you never did any transaction nor you have an account which got that money deposited. Binance surely needs to look into this if it's happening a lot. I mean, they need to make the P2P requirements much better and secure for others. And payments should only be allowed from pre-approved payment methods.

[tech30338]

I was reading this, that bitcoin and other crypto were banned in India in 2018. The ban was lifted, but later 30% crypto tax was imposed on crypto users and this led to Indians preferring to exchange crypto and rupee within themselves which can be on decentralized exchanges or centralized exchanges.

How the P2P scams happen

One way P2P scammers steal user data is with the help of fake crypto-centered channels on Telegram that promise high profits or airdrops. Many gullible users looking to make a quick profit often join these channels and share their personal banking information. In many other cases, the scammer simply buys or steals the user’s personal information.

The stolen data is then used to create a P2P account on any popular P2P platform — Binance and WazriX are common in India.

The scammer then initiates a buy order on the P2P platform looking for unsuspecting sellers. Once they match with a seller, they send the money to the seller using the victim’s account. Thus, they complete the P2P transaction on the platfrom where the buyer receives the cryptocurrency and the seller receives the money in their bank account.

The buyer (scammer) then vanishes with the crypto and the victim whose bank account was used to send the money only realizes it after the money has been deducted from their bank account.

The scammers will have the information to bank details and other necessary personal documents of the victim through fake airdrops and others means to lure the victims to provide their personal data. They will use the victims documents and necessary bank details to register on a centralized exchange. Create a centralized exchange P2P buy order, using the victims money that he has in bank to pay and receive crypto in return. And the scammer will transfer the coins out of the exchange.

You can read about this in complete from https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-p2p-scams-india

Avoid giving out your personal documents and personal data because it can be used to steal all your money.

OP post should be taken seriously by airdrop hunter, like the new comers they thought putting information on the airdrop give them more chance, to win lots of money they are all.wrong instead their information sometimes passwords were collected and can be sold in the darkweb, sometimes also can be use by scammers in an airdrop, and pretend that the information is them.

[Porfirii]

-snip-

The scammers will have the information to bank details and other necessary personal documents of the victim through fake airdrops and others means to lure the victims to provide their personal data. They will use the victims documents and necessary bank details to register on a centralized exchange. Create a centralized exchange P2P buy order, using the victims money that he has in bank to pay and receive crypto in return. And the scammer will transfer the coins out of the exchange.

You can read about this in complete from https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-p2p-scams-india

Avoid giving out your personal documents and personal data because it can be used to steal all your money.

Although that is true, and we should never compromise our personal documents and data for a few bucks shitty airdrops like the ones you mention grant, sometimes we have little to no choice, for example, if we want to trade a coin which is only listed in one exchange with mandatory KYC or to simply use any of the top, regulated, crypto (and not crypto) services.

We need a solution for this problem. How can we be identified and, at the same time, prevent our data from being leaked? could cryptography help?

[Lida93]

I was reading this, that bitcoin and other crypto were banned in India in 2018. The ban was lifted, but later 30% crypto tax was imposed on crypto users and this led to Indians preferring to exchange crypto and rupee within themselves which can be on decentralized exchanges or centralized exchanges.

How the P2P scams happen

One way P2P scammers steal user data is with the help of fake crypto-centered channels on Telegram that promise high profits or airdrops. Many gullible users looking to make a quick profit often join these channels and share their personal banking information. In many other cases, the scammer simply buys or steals the user’s personal information.

The stolen data is then used to create a P2P account on any popular P2P platform — Binance and WazriX are common in India.

The scammer then initiates a buy order on the P2P platform looking for unsuspecting sellers. Once they match with a seller, they send the money to the seller using the victim’s account. Thus, they complete the P2P transaction on the platfrom where the buyer receives the cryptocurrency and the seller receives the money in their bank account.

The buyer (scammer) then vanishes with the crypto and the victim whose bank account was used to send the money only realizes it after the money has been deducted from their bank account.

The scammers will have the information to bank details and other necessary personal documents of the victim through fake airdrops and others means to lure the victims to provide their personal data. They will use the victims documents and necessary bank details to register on a centralized exchange. Create a centralized exchange P2P buy order, using the victims money that he has in bank to pay and receive crypto in return. And the scammer will transfer the coins out of the exchange.

You can read about this in complete from https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-p2p-scams-india

Avoid giving out your personal documents and personal data because it can be used to steal all your money.

I am still trying to understand how someone will be giving out his financial account details online to some entity he doesn't know in a chase for airdrops. That's one easy ways to be stupid you know!

For a person to complete a p2p transaction on binance you must have undergone different process of kyc and when you're the buy then it means you still undergo another KYC from your bank before you can transfer your funds. So for a scammer to be able to gain success in all of this process is either the bank is suffering from a weak security which makes it unfit for modern banking. Or the individual must be brainless to have render his bank pin, password, email address, and OTP,  but how's this possible to let out all these information to a stranger when you ain't at a gun pointed to your head?

[Nheer]

I'm curious about how one could create a Binance account using fraudulent documents when they have a live face verification process. Other platforms might only ask for bank statements and government-issued ID cards. If that's the case, those platforms should consider modifying their verification methods. However, we must remain cautious and avoid falling for the idea of easy money through Airdrops. Sharing documents for a small amount of money can be risky and potentially lead to scams.

You are right, and I think it will be very difficult for scammers to carry out these type of scams in Binance because of the face verification attached to its KYC proceedure. There are Some other exchanges that doesn’t ask for face verification and they only ask of some national identification cards and bank accounts details which make it easy for scammers to make use of these exchanges and create account with someone else documents on the platform. I think such exchanges should learn from Binance and adopt a face verification system to prevent this kind of scam from happening.

Scammers use Airdrop as a hub for their fraudulent activities; they use it to entice victims and obtain their personal information by offering them a small sum of money. As a result, we should exercise caution while participating in airdrops and when disclosing personal information in order to pass KYC verification and be qualified to receive a small number of tokens. There are now very few legitimate airdrops, and they are no longer worthwhile. Let's refrain from giving personal information to an unrecognised or untrustworthy website.

[Mayor of ogba]

I was reading this, that bitcoin and other crypto were banned in India in 2018. The ban was lifted, but later 30% crypto tax was imposed on crypto users and this led to Indians preferring to exchange crypto and rupee within themselves which can be on decentralized exchanges or centralized exchanges.

How the P2P scams happen

One way P2P scammers steal user data is with the help of fake crypto-centered channels on Telegram that promise high profits or airdrops. Many gullible users looking to make a quick profit often join these channels and share their personal banking information. In many other cases, the scammer simply buys or steals the user’s personal information.

The stolen data is then used to create a P2P account on any popular P2P platform — Binance and WazriX are common in India.

The scammer then initiates a buy order on the P2P platform looking for unsuspecting sellers. Once they match with a seller, they send the money to the seller using the victim’s account. Thus, they complete the P2P transaction on the platform where the buyer receives the cryptocurrency and the seller receives the money in their bank account.

The buyer (scammer) then vanishes with the crypto and the victim whose bank account was used to send the money only realizes it after the money has been deducted from their bank account.

The scammers will have the information to bank details and other necessary personal documents of the victim through fake airdrops and other means to lure the victims to provide their data. They will use the victim's documents and necessary bank details to register on a centralized exchange. Create a centralized exchange P2P buy order, using the victim's money that he has in the bank to pay and receive crypto in return. The scammer will transfer the coins out of the exchange.

You can read about this in complete from https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-p2p-scams-india

Avoid giving out your personal documents and personal data because it can be used to steal all your money.

I'm still wondering how the scammers used the stolen data to create an account in Binance and set up a P2P trading account because if you want to set up a P2P trading account you will have to add your bank account details and a verification code will be sent to your phone number to prove you are the one setting up the P2P trading account. How do the scammers bypass the Binance P2P verification process

[o_e_l_e_o]

Those victims that are giving their bank details and allows these culprits to gain access on it must really be too gullible at all and greedy at the same time.

Is everyone who uses a centralized exchange gullible and greedy? Maybe you can argue such people are gullible, when they believe that the centralized exchange will keep their data safe, or keep their documents secure, or cares even the slightest about what happens to your KYC information. Every centralized exchange out there has leaked KYC data one way or another, whether it was a hack, sharing it with shady third parties, or even just selling it outright.

sometimes we have little to no choice, for example, if we want to trade a coin which is only listed in one exchange with mandatory KYC or to simply use any of the top, regulated, crypto (and not crypto) services.

You always have a choice. You can choose not to trade that shitcoin or choose not to use that service. That's what I do, and I get by just fine.

I'm still wondering how the scammers used the stolen data to create an account in Binance and set up a P2P trading account because if you want to set up a P2P trading account you will have to add your bank account details and a verification code will be sent to your phone number to prove you are the one setting up the P2P trading account. How do the scammers bypass the Binance P2P verification process

Once your KYC data has been leaked, it is almost trivial for a scammer to perform a SIM swap attack and take control of your phone number.

[sokani]

Most people don't know the risks when they submit their personal documents to CEX and other crypto platforms as these could be used by bad actors to cause great harm to them. I read this article^[1] by GazetaBitcoin, which reveals an interesting story of the identity theft of a young man whose life was wrecked apart by the scammer. This is one of the many ways KYC can be used against you, some persons are even languishing in jail for crimes they did not commit.

KYC should be avoided at all cost because of the dangers it pose. I do make use of Kucoin when it was a KYC free exchange, but the moment KYC became compulsory I had to stay away. DEX and P2P trading are better and safer.

1. What happens when your identity is stolen - real story || Avoid CEXs!

[isaac_clarke22]

~

Well people would everything just for the sake of earning something. Back then, I almost gave away my personal infor when airdrops were still like a hot topic here in the forum and good thing I didn't really do that. What's more alarming from this is that scammers might even do it through dark web and God knows what will happen to the victim once the people found out about not just the banking information but also their personal information.

Reality is people wouldn't stop risking that action until they encountered the consequences involved with it.

[Crypto coiner]

If we want to summarize I would say stay cautious in the crypto world. Protect your personal information, be mindful of KYC requests, and do your due diligence before engaging in any campaigns or airdrops. Let's all work together to create a safer environment for crypto enthusiasts, both new and experienced.

As, Promoting awareness and vigilance within the community is essential to ensure that everyone can enjoy the benefits of the cryptocurrency space while minimizing the risks associated with it.

[Odusko]

The case in your OP is different from the usual seller refusing to release funds from escrow or buyer not actually sending funds but marked the order as paid, etc.

Thank you for telling me this. I have edited the OP to make it perfect for people to understand. The people that submit their KYC documents to scammers unknowingly are the victims which are not even involved in the transaction between buyer and seller, but because their bank account details was known to the scammers, it was used to make transaction from the victims bank account.

I see this as a way not to steal directly from the victim's bank account, but instead, they use it to buy crypto from a centralized exchange.

Far from it mate,  I think highest the identity theft can do is to create some fake accounts on some social media but having to involve the bank details or control of the bank account of the victim is no longer KYC document linkage,  for such extent of transaction to happen with victims account there most be either an insider or a time the bank account holder may have comprise the log in security of their bank account.
So I don't believe in that assumption that once your KYC documents are comprise your bank accounts are also comprised,  because this are two different things,  let not forget that,  most of the documents we provides during KYC are all public documents like ID,  Passport and signature,  this is all public information that anyone can get access to.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Far from it mate,  I think highest the identity theft can do is to create some fake accounts on some social media

This is simply incorrect. In the US alone, identity theft affects ~40 million individuals each year and costs those individuals upwards of $50 billion:

https://javelinstrategy.com/2022-Identity-fraud-scams-report
https://javelinstrategy.com/research/2023-identity-fraud-study-butterfly-effect

Once someone has your identity, they can take out loans in your name, open credit cards in your name, use your insurance to rack up enormous bills, commit tax fraud in your name, and more.

most of the documents we provides during KYC are all public documents like ID,  Passport and signature,  this is all public information that anyone can get access to.

What? In what country do you live that individuals' personal ID cards and passports are public information that anyone can look up?

[Franctoshi]

Once your KYC data has been leaked, it is almost trivial for a scammer to perform a SIM swap attack and take control of your phone number.

Exactly, scammers can go any lent they want to try to get access and steal someone else's funds.
This is why keeping your funds in those exchanges is highly risky because they get your data when you pass the KYC verification, coupled with the fact that in the exchange in which you store your cryptos, you don't have the keys,  so you can easily get screwd.

Giving out your identity or passing the KCY process poses a gigantic kind of risk, it means that you have granted someone access to your privacy, and those details could be used to commit various cyber crimes if sold out. These cases are as a result of an insider job,