Something dangerous we do when using Binance P2P platform

[Crypt0Gore]

Now that I see this topic by @_act_ https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5469879.msg62974201#msg62974201

I am starting to believe that this is possible, not even by a professional hacker but a small time thieves, you want to know why I said this? I have been using Binance exchange and also the service they provide through their P2P, and I always see buyers telling sellers to drop their mobile number or else they won't go ahead with the transaction.

Take a look at this screenshot, I took this on Binance P2P service and I am sure that users of Binance P2P must be familiar with this.



Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

[Cantsay]

I have come across such users that do request for your phone number for swift payment and never have I sent them my number because I truly do not see how my phone number will hasten the transaction process.

And if they insist on sending number before payment then just leave the transaction time to elapse so that everything automatically cancel,

[BlackBoss_]

Take a look at this screenshot, I took this on Binance P2P service and I am sure that users of Binance P2P must be familiar with this.

Exchanges from centralized, decentralized to Peer-to-Peer nowadays have some reminders for their users but I am sure not every user will spend time to read those reminders. Some of them, unfortunately, will be scammed by ignoring those reminders that are all a platform can give to their users.

With careless people, their hands usually are quickly responding than their brain so eventually they will end with mistakes.
The screenshot shows the trade partner's terms are very suspicious. Peer to Peer platforms have their rules for offer and trade terms too. If you are a Binance P2P user, you can report tricky terms to their moderators who will handle those terms and perhaps will send warnings to those traders too.

Anti-Scam Ninja Program: Report Suspicious P2P Activities.

[wd1]

Now that I see this topic by @_act_ https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5469879.msg62974201#msg62974201

I am starting to believe that this is possible, not even by a professional hacker but a small time thieves, you want to know why I said this? I have been using Binance exchange and also the service they provide through their P2P, and I always see buyers telling sellers to drop their mobile number or else they won't go ahead with the transaction.

Take a look at this screenshot, I took this on Binance P2P service and I am sure that users of Binance P2P must be familiar with this.



Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

Yes, this has a scummy feel to it. If you ever do find yourself in this situation though, stand your ground!. And at least let the escrow people try to quell the situation in a fair way.

[Odohu]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

I have seen the request of phone number in Binance p2p a couple of times but not that it is a prerequisite to be paid. Personally, anybody that makes phone number mandatory is more or less nursing some nefarious motives which might be executed in the future.

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

I do not know the extent to which phone number given to someone will constitute security threat or lead to the loss of the number but it is always good to act safely. The chatbox of Binance p2p is ok for communication, and if you don't feel comfortable sending your phone number to a stranger, it is better to avoid trading with people who make phone numbers mandatory.

[wd1]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

I have seen the request of phone number in Binance p2p a couple of times but not that it is a prerequisite to be paid. Personally, anybody that makes phone number mandatory is more or less nursing some nefarious motives which might be executed in the future.

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

I do not know the extent to which phone number given to someone will constitute security threat or lead to the loss of the number but it is always good to act safely. The chatbox of Binance p2p is ok for communication, and if you don't feel comfortable sending your phone number to a stranger, it is better to avoid trading with people who make phone numbers mandatory.

Even if someone does add it is a prerequisite to be paid, and you imprudently accept the deal, I think its perfectly valid for you to stand your ground and just refuse to be compliant in that situation. Because the rule absolutely doesn't make sense. And I can't see if it has got much to do with the matter at hand, which is trading currency.

[Hyphen(-)]

Even if someone does add it is a prerequisite to be paid, and you imprudently accept the deal, I think its perfectly valid for you to stand your ground and just refuse to be compliant in that situation. Because the rule absolutely doesn't make sense. And I can't see if it has got much to do with the matter at hand, which is trading currency.

Exactly! You can just ignore the number aspect because most of them just include it because others have included it in their terms and conditions. That is why almost all the traders are including phone number requests before making payment, whereas some of them don't even read the messages in the chat after their default message; they only go ahead and make payment and ask you to release your coin, not checking or confirming if you have dropped your phone number.
 
This has happened to me because I don't like being given my phone number, but if I notice that the vendor is active and insists I send my number, I do give another number that is not my main line, or sometimes I give them a fake phone number just to get my trade completed.

[Hamza2424]

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

There are many other disturbing terms from the buyer's side on Binance P2P, I would highly recommend never trade accepting these terms better to find a local dealer for cash payments, 0 terms, and most safest option.

Even if you are as well tricking him by giving a wrong/fake number still you are giving him a number, sometimes these terms suck. I have seen many of my local fellows using the Binance P2P at a time I was also using it regularly for both buying and selling purposes but when i di realized the outcomes, I made an instant exit from it.

Better to be honest with your identity, and keep it safe rest of the things don't matter, identity abuse is very common here so be very careful with such deals.

[Ndabagi01]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

As you stated, this is the reason why they always ask for phone numbers before making payment, and in some circumstances, even before dropping the phone number, they'll proceed with the payment without delay.

Binance always sends messages to their users via the email address they have registered with the exchange or via the exchange app's notification Centre. You may also receive messages to release coin or for OTP during exchange transactions. Aside from that, Binance does not simply send messages to your phone number when they wish to make any changes to their exchange.

Always remember that a message delivered to your phone number indicates a scammer alert, and you should never take such a message seriously or act on it. Binance would never send you a message through your phone number seeking anything. As a result, all users must be cautious of such scam alerts.

[Learn Bitcoin]

Most of these exchanges warn their users not to contact the counterparty outside of the platform. Unfortunately, I also use these exchanges and I was also a victim of these scam attempts. I am not sure if Victim is the correct word because they were not able to scam me. Once I played a sell order and the scammer sent me a fake message that I received the funds. But when I checked my account, I noticed there was nothing. I went ahead and reported it and the scammer was banned from the platform. But the scammer tried his best to fool me. He even threaten me that he will report my account and the platform will ban me. But he was banned instead.

[cryptoaddictchie]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

On the other note. I usually encountered some of these in our local p2p (via Binance p2p) since we are conducting transaction called Gcash which uses phone number. They are asking the number to confirm that one we saved or recorded on the profile is same number you are using to make sure the user is 100% confirmation and sometimes the initial name you save on that Gcash app to be sure it is you.

If the third party merchant platform you uses doesnt need the number or name then dont give that is probably a possible modus but something like I explained on the first paragraph might be the case.

[Tuturtinular]

I often use the P2P service from binance and have never had any problems. I often see chats to send the seller's WA if the transaction is not responded to quickly, but I have never sent the chat because I choose traders who are online so transactions can still be done quickly and there is no need to send messages via WA

Honestly, I also don't like sending messages to sellers via WA because I don't want my number to be known by people I don't know. Because it may be dangerous for my security and privacy.

[wd1]

Personally I sometimes do request the recipient number when selling but when buying I take it as a must.
I can't really trust binance report only to ensure safety during exchange( did before didn't really fall through or maybe I didn't use the right channel can't tell). I request number to speak with who am buying/selling to for reasons like to confirm if they serious, to inform them about the transaction and most importantly to have access to who am transacting with.

Besides Binance has never texted me via my number except my log in code. So why would I trust a message from them without any proper enquiry or confirmation

If you can't trust Binance (the party who is supposed to be escrow), why would someone trust you and what are you doing there in the first place? The whole point of escrow is to keep all the communication there on the platform and fairly solve the issue in case of a dispute.

1- I think the fact you able to start a buying transaction is a decent indication of whether someone is serious or not, because they will need to have actual funds in the first place to start the transaction. And if somebody that has bad intentions can go that far, they can give you an anonymous number too (which I think is the easier step here by far). In that case an escrow will need to step in any way, but generally the fact that you are able to start a transaction is enough to confirm if they are serious. And you going out of your way to start asking for numbers actually harms the process.

2- I think you can inform them about the transaction via binance communication just fine??

3- Your third point is interesting as well, you do have access to them via binance communication. But I guess you are talking about someone who is trying to scam and you want to have their number. Again it does nothing to the process, leave it to the escrow and they will handle it. You going out of your way to talk to them outside of binance communication only makes matters difficult and in case of a genuine misunderstanding, could be considered harassment (not saying you are doing that here).

[stompix]

Even if you are as well tricking him by giving a wrong/fake number still you are giving him a number, sometimes these terms suck.

Burner phone or far less expensive a sim card.
All my accounts sit on a different 2FA than my usual number all my friends know about and it just sits in an old Samsung that I  plug once a week in the charger. Hard to clone as I don't use it for social media or anything else, I can't lose it since I don't carry it with me, I don't install anything as I don't need it, just codes and that's all.

Anyhow, I'm intrigued why everyone is focusing on the number and not on the fact you're receiving money from a business account, at least here that would trigger a hundred red signs, you're getting paid $ by a company, I don't even want to know the mess that will cause if the taxes agency picks up the trail.

Personally I sometimes do request the recipient number when selling but when buying I take it as a must.

Why and what does it change?

[wd1]

Even if you are as well tricking him by giving a wrong/fake number still you are giving him a number, sometimes these terms suck.

Burner phone or far less expensive a sim card.
All my accounts sit on a different 2FA than my usual number all my friends know about and it just sits in an old Samsung that I  plug once a week in the charger. Hard to clone as I don't use it for social media or anything else, I can't lose it since I don't carry it with me, I don't install anything as I don't need it, just codes and that's all.

Anyhow, I'm intrigued why everyone is focusing on the number and not on the fact you're receiving money from a business account, at least here that would trigger a hundred red signs, you're getting paid $ by a company, I don't even want to know the mess that will cause if the taxes agency picks up the trail.

Personally I sometimes do request the recipient number when selling but when buying I take it as a must.

Why and what does it change?

I agree their whole statement doesn't make much sense. But I guess the difference between buying and selling is that, in the former you are supposed to make the first move and its the opposite in selling.

[sokani]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

I've actually come across some P2P users on Binance exchange requesting for phone numbers, and some of them do claim that the reason for equesting for phone number is to notify the seller, Incase he forgets to release the funds. I cannot agree or dispute about this, however, your thought is quite noted and getting the contact of a crypto hodler in other to launch a phishing attack through such manner could only be on a small scale. Also, let's not forget that exchanges contract third party agencies to carry out KYC on their behalf. Our data could be sold to bad actors by these exchanges or third party companies.

[Coin_trader]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

They will not pay you on your Binance account to complete the trade but they are required to return the funds if they don’t want to initiate the P2P deals. That’s the real message as a P2P user. His trust feedback speak for himself and he will not get that kind of huge volume of transactions if he is doing shady things. You will not a victim on any scam even if you give your number as long as you didn’t share an OTP to stranger.

It’s understandable as a seller to ask contact number to save time once someone placing order forgot to release fund after placing order. A trusted P2P seller like probably will choose his current business which he profited regularly instead of wasting his time on lousy sms scam.

The real danger on P2P is receiving a tainted money!

[wd1]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

I've actually come across some P2P users on Binance exchange requesting for phone numbers, and some of them do claim that the reason for equesting for phone number is to notify the seller, Incase he forgets to release the funds. I cannot agree or dispute about this, however, your thought is quite noted and getting the contact of a crypto hodler in other to launch a phishing attack through such manner could only be on a small scale. Also, let's not forget that exchanges contract third party agencies to carry out KYC on their behalf. Our data could be sold to bad actors by these exchanges or third party companies.

Even if someone's intention was genuinely that, I would still stay entrenched on the side of caution. Because there's no way for me to know that, and the harms are much more serious (communication getting dubious, phishing) than the potential benefits (convincience). At the end of the day, moving outside a platform to do communication is very bad for escrows and can seriously harm you, even at the price of occasional convenience.

Yeah, they probably do sell your info, but that doesn't justify me giving my phone number to someone for whom I can't just see a valid reason for asking it and actually can do bad things with it, no matter the scale.

[wd1]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

They will not pay you on your Binance account to complete the trade but they are required to return the funds if they don’t want to initiate the P2P deals. That’s the real message as a P2P user. His trust feedback speak for himself and he will not get that kind of huge volume of transactions if he is doing shady things. You will not a victim on any scam even if you give your number as long as you didn’t share an OTP to stranger.

It’s understandable as a seller to ask contact number to save time once someone placing order forgot to release fund after placing order. A trusted P2P seller like probably will choose his current business which he profited regularly instead of wasting his time on lousy sms scam.

The real danger on P2P is receiving a tainted money!

How is it reasonable for a seller to ask for a number for communication outside the platform, no matter how trusted they are, if Binance itself doesn't allow it.

[Faisal2202]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

What in the world! I never read the agreement terms, but fortunately never received any phishing link on my number, but thanks for the info as I will try to be more careful next time while making P2p on Binance, I rarely make TXs on Binance but whenever I make, I didn't read the terms.

I also read the topic of _act_ and replied in it, and I did not come to think of this reason, like why those people are getting such phishing messages. I thought, as many other also thought, it might be inside job, but no, this is really happening outside of the Binance and they have nothing to do with such scams. All is happening, due to the mistakes of the users themselves.

Well, awareness of this information is compulsory because, when more people will be aware of it, then people will definitely try to avoid such sellers or buyers, and S&B have to change this term.

[Nheer]

I have come across such users that do request for your phone number for swift payment and never have I sent them my number because I truly do not see how my phone number will hasten the transaction process.

I have also come across them numerous times and had a little chat with a buyer once about how improper it is to ask for sellers numbers but the answer he gave me was understandable, he said most times he don’t even have to make use of the numbers but just incase there is an issue with the banking system or probably when the seller is delaying in completing the trade or not responding to the messages sent in the chat box but it’s really not necessary as the trade can be completed at any time. Scammers can use this at their own advantage to track their victims.

[serjent05]

I have come across such users that do request for your phone number for swift payment and never have I sent them my number because I truly do not see how my phone number will hasten the transaction process.

And if they insist on sending number before payment then just leave the transaction time to elapse so that everything automatically cancel,

I am using Binance P2P and do use an apps that is linked to my phone number.  The details of payment are already on the information window when selling in Binance, there is really no need to send any additional information because it is unnecessary. 

If someone asks me for my number, I just ignore it because it is already on my sell page information.  Copy-pasting information may cause an error for the transaction in case we pasted or input the wrong phone number.

[Antotena]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

I recently observed that behavior of them when trading in p2p. Back then, this don't use to happen, if you are a seller, buyer will not ask for your number but they have normalized that now, if you don't drop your number, they don't pay. But actually, I don't don't drop my number and they do pay me, and I make sure I'm online to release the fund as soon as I received the money on my bank wallet.

Simply ignore them when they ask for your number, that's the only way this problem can be avoided or look for a trader that has 98% trade completion rate, such buyers don't stress sellers and they are fast in trade completion.

[Findingnemo]

I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

The platform will notify to the user so no need to ask for personal information as mandatory but the actual reason why the number asked by the p2p trader is to send your fake payment proof messages like an SMS coming from your bank that the amount is credited.

These are very basic methods to scam but it's a worrying sign that people who are buying/selling Bitcoin don't even realize they need to validate the payment proof by visiting the bank account online and matching the reference number.

Now most of the big traders moved to auto payments, like you will be paid from their account to the details you share with them so no need to make payments manually, and thousands of trades happen every day with no actual work.

[ZAINmalik75]

I recently observed that behavior of them when trading in p2p. Back then, this don't use to happen, if you are a seller, buyer will not ask for your number but they have normalized that now, if you don't drop your number, they don't pay. But actually, I don't don't drop my number and they do pay me, and I make sure I'm online to release the fund as soon as I received the money on my bank wallet.

Simply ignore them when they ask for your number, that's the only way this problem can be avoided or look for a trader that has 98% trade completion rate, such buyers don't stress sellers and they are fast in trade completion.

You are right, there is nothing wrong in accepting such terms and giving them the number because they don't come to your home to verify the number, just give them your dead number maybe, as we are not asking them to send the funds on that number and they don't ask for OTPs either then what's bad in that, we can easily doge such terms if we play smart. And other than that, we can avoid trading with them, because if they have evil minds, then they might try to scam you in the trade you are making with them.

So the best practice is to avoid them and try to find repeated traders, check some videos on YT on how to get the deal done or find a good dealer on P2P by analyzing the stats.

Other than that, we should not react with any messages instantly, that we receive on our numbers or Telegram, or any DMs. And first, confirm from the main source about such messages like contacting the customer support of Binance and ask them if they contact us on our numbers, If you get approval then proceed otherwise simply ignore them.

[Davidvictorson]

I have come across such users that do request for your phone number for swift payment and never have I sent them my number because I truly do not see how my phone number will hasten the transaction process.

And if they insist on sending number before payment then just leave the transaction time to elapse so that everything automatically cancel,

It is only on Binance that you experienced this sort of issue. I have yet to experience this issue on remitano and kucoin P2P services. These other exchanges have made it such a smooth going process where you do not even need to reach out to the seller or buyer. if you have an issue, all you have to do is contact the customer support agent and they will sort out whatever issues you are having. For Binance it seems they have no control over this aspect of the P2P. It doesn't look very safe.

Assuming you have no other option, you should have a dedicated number for these sort of transactions. One advantage of this is that if you have a scam or hacker attempt, you will be able to pinpoint where it is coming up from.

[SatoPrincess]

It’s indeed an unusual request to see in a p2p trade, Binance acts the middleman between the buyer and the seller so there isn’t any need for there to be any exchange of personal information like phone numbers since the coins are in escrow. This trade made a sly move to add it in his terms of trade. While Binance p2p is not my first option nor second, but if I must use it I would avoid traders with such terms. 

[Abu-Naim]

How is it reasonable for a seller to ask for a number for communication outside the platform, no matter how trusted they are, if Binance itself doesn't allow it.

Some of the merchants are asking for the number to reach out to you if they have made their payment and you are yet to release their crypto for them, but I think they are just doing it because it is against the rule to have any discussion outside the Binance exchange, where as some will chat you and let you know that they will be available for your service even outside the exchange, and those once are the ones that can easily scam you if you trust them.
The best thing to do is to make sure you select a merchant who does not demand a phone number before trading.

[Ever-young]

When using any P2P exchange not just Binance, you can decide to go ahead and trade with such person who place such rules or you leave the person and move to the next order, if the person don’t want to pay if you don’t share number then the trade will cancel at the specific time as assigned by the exchange none among you both will lose anything and if you as the seller is not comfortable you can always report the matter to the support team.

I believe Binance has a reason for them to disable that mobile number being visible as it used to be before, so if you need to send your number to anyone for any reason, one can always use an alternative number instead of using their mobile number linked to the binance app, that’s what I do most times, I have a mobile number for calls and another one for online stuffs, if am in a hurry to trade and I need to complete it that fast, all I do is to give out my number which I only use for call to the vendor so if I get any unwanted message from anyone then I will just know that it’s a scam and ignore it and also I don’t forget to report the sender to my network provider.

[m2017]

~snip

Getting used to the “conveniences” that Binance offers in its eco-system, we become more and more “stuck” in it. Users are becoming more loyal to issues of privacy and discretion. Undoubtedly, this is wrong if the seller can get your number in Binance P2P platform  and it is highly undesirable to do this.

In general, why use the Binance P2P platform when there is Bisq? Why not use this for "true" P2P platform?

This won't teach people anything. Too few people learn from other people's mistakes. Most people don’t learn from their mistakes. What can I say.

Most people don’t even learn from their own mistakes, let alone learn from other's.

[Baki202]

It’s indeed an unusual request to see in a p2p trade, Binance acts the middleman between the buyer and the seller so there isn’t any need for there to be any exchange of personal information like phone numbers since the coins are in escrow. This trade made a sly move to add it in his terms of trade. While Binance p2p is not my first option nor second, but if I must use it I would avoid traders with such terms. 

I have read about how a lot of people complain about how they encounter several misunderstandings while using p2p, and maybe that is why they exchange information or even phone numbers, a lot of people complain how there is always delay in the transaction, and its good we try has much has possible to secure our information while transacting.

[Coyster]

I have read about how a lot of people complain about how they encounter several misunderstandings while using p2p, and maybe that is why they exchange information or even phone numbers, a lot of people complain how there is always delay in the transaction, and its good we try has much has possible to secure our information while transacting.

That is why there is an in-built chat platform for traders, you can chat with your trading partner there and iron out any 'misunderstanding' or resolve any issues without giving out your personal phone number to them or any other data. Using a centralized exchange like binance is already bad enough for your privacy and you only make things worse when you begin to give out sensitive information to parties you trade with, you don't know who they are and what they might do with that information.

[nelson4lov]

The request for phone numbers by Binance p2p traders is a recent occurrence and not all the traders take it serious. The reason why must traders make it mandatory is because they are dealing in a time-sensitive space so if they sent payment and you take much longer to reply, they might be in a loss before you eventually get to release the asset.

There can be a compromise most times.

Anyhow, I'm intrigued why everyone is focusing on the number and not on the fact you're receiving money from a business account, at least here that would trigger a hundred red signs, you're getting paid $ by a company, I don't even want to know the mess that will cause if the taxes agency picks up the trail.

I think this is dependent on the country so it is negligible. Not all countries enforce rigorous taxation processes like the way I've seen in European countries or even in the US. If that was the case, then I'm sure people making such trades will be a lot more careful.

[SatoPrincess]

It’s indeed an unusual request to see in a p2p trade, Binance acts the middleman between the buyer and the seller so there isn’t any need for there to be any exchange of personal information like phone numbers since the coins are in escrow. This trade made a sly move to add it in his terms of trade. While Binance p2p is not my first option nor second, but if I must use it I would avoid traders with such terms. 

I have read about how a lot of people complain about how they encounter several misunderstandings while using p2p, and maybe that is why they exchange information or even phone numbers, a lot of people complain how there is always delay in the transaction, and its good we try has much has possible to secure our information while transacting.

Delay in transaction is not a good enough reason, you can tell a good trader by his trade history and reviews by other p2p traders on the platform. Also Binance displays the seller’s average release time so you can predict how long this person is going to hold the transaction for. Like I said before, there is no need to exchange personal information, there is chat room where both parties can communicate under the supervision of Binance, this way disputes can be easily resolved

[Crypt0Gore]

I have come across such users that do request for your phone number for swift payment and never have I sent them my number because I truly do not see how my phone number will hasten the transaction process.

And if they insist on sending number before payment then just leave the transaction time to elapse so that everything automatically cancel,

You do have a point and for the fact that such buyers have good reviews on the exchange could make people believe that nothing is going to get wrong, someone who is close to me once said they have good reviews because they can be trusted.

I replied my friend that they can maintain good reviews on the binance exchange so that the exchange won't kick them out and also the good reviews they have is why people like my friend fall into their hands.

Many users on the Binance exchange seem more concerned about reviews than anything else, that's why they entrust their data e.g mobile number to these strangers they know nothing about which is not a safe thing to do.

[goxcraft]

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

It sounds a bit illogical to me. I won't give away my personal number to a stranger I met online. Who does that? He may pull up my entire information with just a number. And it's possible.

One time, I had to give my number to a small company. It was for something like a customer feedback system. The next day, I got tons of spam messages and calls.

Even if I give my number, there is no guarantee that I will give my real number. I could just give a fake, and he wouldn't know. What does that make him, then?

If that person is so concerned with security, then he shouldn't trade with a stranger at all. He should only trade with those he trusts.

Binance already has all the information through KYC. I won't give any more information to others.

[noorman0]

That's a bad trading system from the "best" exchanges, giving users the opportunity to make deals outside of their own platform's responsibility with that phone number.

I have purchased digital products several times through freelance platforms and they do not allow anyone to exchange contacts that have nothing to do with the platform. Some people think it is too strict, but this proves to be a scam and even non-serious users don't have a chance to act.

[Coyster]

That's a bad trading system from the "best" exchanges, giving users the opportunity to make deals outside of their own platform's responsibility with that phone number.

To be fair, this has nothing to do with the exchange and you ought to read the terms of a buyer/seller before engaging in the trade. The in-built chat for traders is there for them to message one another if there is any need for it, prolly if there is a dispute or anything that needs to be resolved between the traders, they won't stop you from sending phone numbers or anything sensitive if you wish to, the responsibility has to be on the trader here to know exactly what to do.

[Gladitorcomeback]

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

Thanks OP for your information. I was completely unaware of this and maybe if any merchant asked for it, I would probably give it to him. I have never faced this type of Merchants so far and my P2P trading goes very smoothly.

Yes, I agree, giving mobile number is risky and one can not only send spam message there is possibility of sim swap scam. I think we should report this issue to Binance so that they block this kind of message or warn at the start. Binance is mostly used for P2P trading and hacker will not this place free. Binance should take proper action upon this case .

[Ruttoshi]

If you are not cool with dropping your phone number, you can cancel the trade or wait till the time elapse as it isn't a must that you must drop your phone number before payment. There are many other traders on Binance that don't actually care about your phone number and they would pay you immediately.

 Look for other traders that don't make phone number mandatory before payment or better still, you can use other exchanges to keep your phone number private. This is the new things that Binance traders just started. Everyone is after a safe and quick transaction, so I wouldn't blame them for asking of your phone number to call you that you should release the coins that you have been credited for.

[Crypt0Gore]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

What in the world! I never read the agreement terms, but fortunately never received any phishing link on my number, but thanks for the info as I will try to be more careful next time while making P2p on Binance, I rarely make TXs on Binance but whenever I make, I didn't read the terms.

I also read the topic of _act_ and replied in it, and I did not come to think of this reason, like why those people are getting such phishing messages. I thought, as many other also thought, it might be inside job, but no, this is really happening outside of the Binance and they have nothing to do with such scams. All is happening, due to the mistakes of the users themselves.

Well, awareness of this information is compulsory because, when more people will be aware of it, then people will definitely try to avoid such sellers or buyers, and S&B have to change this term.

Yeah it's possible not to receive any link as SMS on your phone number and that's because not all of them are bad people, some get your number so that they can reach you when the money they sent you haven't be verified by bank yet or maybe network delays at times, but there are scammers among them too and if you are already used to dropping your number you won't mind dropping it for the scammer, since you won't know they are scammers.

Some people don't actually care about asking for phone number, they still proceed with the transaction and they are legit, also snappier when making the transaction so it's a matter of choice, also Binance have the Express p2p trading where the exchange rate is same with other and there is no need for someone asking you for your number or anything else, it's straight forward.

[UchihaSarada]

The PATRIOT Act comes to cryptocurrency

With new serious attack type on cryptocurrency plus with known risk of centralized exchanges, don't do KYC if you can avoid it and don't store your cryptocurrency on exchanges if you can.

Do not keep your money in online accounts.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

I am starting to believe that this is possible, not even by a professional hacker but a small time thieves, you want to know why I said this? I have been using Binance exchange and also the service they provide through their P2P, and I always see buyers telling sellers to drop their mobile number or else they won't go ahead with the transaction.

Don't trade with this merchant or if you must don't drop your phone number to them, not a big fan of Binance exchange (centralized exchange) but I'm sure there's a reason Binance Exchange removing the phone number features on their CEX P2P platform because of I can remember correctly, they had those there before. If you received your funds and are fast to confirm on the platform there'll be no need for communication outside Binance. Scammers can use your number for various scam like sending you messages pretending to be your bank or Binance saying you have received your deposit and asking you to confirm. They could also send you malicious links and hack your exchange account or other sites relating to cryptocurrency.

There are many marchant available so when you don't feel comfortable with one you can move on to another marchant by asking the previous marchant to cancel the trade or you allow the trade to cancel on its own. If your phone numbers get into the hands of wrong people they can cause you harm online or physically. Don't exchange contact with strangers that you meet online because you don't know what they might use that information to do. They can also clone your number and use them in scamming that'll point back to you without having any idea and yet you pay for the crime if you don't have a strong counter defends.

[Broadanbig]

OP, your observations are very correct. I have clicked on trades of that nature my few pay here trying to using the p2p platform on binance and I encountered buyers with that condition. I do not bother engaging much with them as I already know their intentions. And at the entire end they still pay without still requesting for my number.

Newbies are always the victim of these nefarious act buy hackers. Once their clients or seller drops phone number, they start sending phishing link to them and most of the newbies fall for such scam. Sometimes they call you to make trade offer which they do with ill intentions of scamming you because they already know you are a newbie in the system and as such do not have clues on how things works and if you are the desperate type, you can easily fall for their scam without you knowing they are not for real and you can not complain to binance irrespective of the fact that you gave them your number on their p2p platform as they already caution users of the p2p platform to trade safely.

Nevertheless, newbies should be able to read the terms and conditions like terms of service so as to be on the safe side. No buyer should coherse anybody to drop their number so as to facilitate their trade. Do not believe them as they are jackers and scammers as it is against binance policy. There are other buyers on the platform, if any buyer gives such conditions, skip the to another and do not bother about them. Trade wisely.

[Hypnosis00]

Lesson; we should not rush to place our order but rather take time to read and review to avoid missing the warning. Though I haven't experienced this yet but probably someday.

Usually, I check these things - rate, number of trades, status of the buyer (online/offline). I send a message after placing the order and waiting for their reply, if none, then the last option is to wait time is over and the transaction is canceled. I refrain from sending any alternative payment option nor sending my number. The platform is just a tool and it was not the problem but the seller/buyer itself that is why we should take extra caution. In fact, there is a warning to read...and we don't have to skip them.

[Winterfrost]

OP your right about that. Most persons ignore the text there and drop their phone number. I feel that the intention of most traders a re fair some only needed to get your number incase you delay to release the asset or you have network issue then they will communicate with you to know the next step. Why some needed the phone number for bad reasons like scam or text you links that will lead to a place where they can scam someone. I have seen cases where during a trade the other person would call and pressure the next person to release crypto that he has send the payment when it is a lie. To stay safe and avoid all this is to be sure of receiving a payment before releasing crypto no matter the pressure. It is more best if you check the transaction history of the said buyer/seller to see if he had good reputation during the numbers of trade he has done. Once i see a low reputation I do not bother to trade anymore.

[Obari]

Thanks for the information  mate but anyone who is a frequent  user of p2p on exchanges  like binance or paxful already knows that they aren't supposed to trade outside of the platform as trades outside the exchanges aren't guaranteed and nothing will be done by the exchanges in case of casualties.
Just as op already stated that one of the reasons for this act of demanding for phone number by vendors is simply to be able to remind sellers after the money is been paid to them as sime sellers cab be crazy at times but there is absolutely no need to drop number if you're sure you'll  be active to seal the deal from your end.

[HelliumZ]

Binance P2P also provides more warning messages for trading so that you don't get cheated by any counter party or third party. All these cautionary rules must be followed while trading on Binance P2P otherwise you will definitely get scammed. When making a transaction in your account, Binance P2p must give you a warning message about whether the money has reached the account and then a message to release your dollars. However, in order to trade on Binance P2P, users must have a privacy policy.

[Faisal2202]

Yeah it's possible not to receive any link as SMS on your phone number and that's because not all of them are bad people, some get your number so that they can reach you when the money they sent you haven't be verified by bank yet or maybe network delays at times, but there are scammers among them too and if you are already used to dropping your number you won't mind dropping it for the scammer, since you won't know they are scammers.

You are right, we don't know who we are dealing with, but the best practice is to make a deal with a dealer, who has got some trust, and has many trades already done (high completion rate). And just to clarify, I don't receive funds on my banks, i receive them on my phone number, which means, my phone number is automatically exposed to the dealer, who is going to send me money. But till now I did not receive any mail. But again, I got the idea to read policies from your topic.

Some people don't actually care about asking for phone number, they still proceed with the transaction and they are legit, also snappier when making the transaction so it's a matter of choice, also Binance have the Express p2p trading where the exchange rate is same with other and there is no need for someone asking you for your number or anything else, it's straight forward.

I have not used express p2p yet, I am planning to, but don't know how that works, so I will look into it. Thanks for reminding me of this features.

[coupable]

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

In my country, the only way to perform transactions through Binance P2P is by using PostePay service which is a service provided by national poste in form of payment cards without the need to connect them to your other accounts. Those cards are only issued with your phone number which will be used later to receive funds into your card. It means that it is a mast to show your phone number (used to issue the card) in order to receive funds.
And because i care a lot for my privacy, the phone number i use with my card isn't an active number and different from the number i use in my binance account or other accounts. Unfortunately we have no other ways in my country as we have no access for international payment cards.

[Coyster]

Binance P2P also provides more warning messages for trading so that you don't get cheated by any counter party or third party. All these cautionary rules must be followed while trading on Binance P2P otherwise you will definitely get scammed.

Whilst trading on Binance, the exchange locks the funds and you can only release the coins if you agree that you have received the money and everything went smooth, thus Binance is a third party in the trade and they can confiscate your funds, so it isn't really peer to peer. However, if you make a personal mistake of releasing funds without verifying if you've received payment, then it is on you.

However, in order to trade on Binance P2P, users must have a privacy policy.

I really do not get what you mean by "privacy policy" here, but mind you that there is really zero privacy when you trade with centralized exchanges.

[Crypto Library]

In my country, the only way to perform transactions through Binance P2P is by using PostePay service which is a service provided by national poste in form of payment cards without the need to connect them to your other accounts. Those cards are only issued with your phone number which will be used later to receive funds into your card. It means that it is a mast to show your phone number (used to issue the card) in order to receive funds.
And because i care a lot for my privacy, the phone number i use with my card isn't an active number and different from the number i use in my binance account or other accounts. Unfortunately we have no other ways in my country as we have no access for international payment cards.

I think converting Bitcoin or crypto currency to fiat currency always involves some privacy violation. And especially if it is in this kind of P2P service. However, the method you have adopted may work in some cases. If there is a way to use such a separate SIM for these transactions, it may be possible to protect some privacy.
If I talk about my country, if P2P trading is done there using mobile banking then mobile number must be given. A few days ago, during a P2P transaction, a buyer asked for my mobile number, but the banking system I was using to do the P2P transaction doesn't need a mobile number.  I also reported it as suspicious and asked him to contract for my Telegram ID.  I think it is better to avoid such traders

[jrrsparkles]

I really do not get what you mean by "privacy policy" here, but mind you that there is really zero privacy when you trade with centralized exchanges.

Literally, we can't expect complete anonymity from the other party since we have to share the payment mode with the other party even if the exchange is non-KYC so one who wants complete anonymity can choose the Face to face trade with complete stranger or go with other payment modes which doesn't expose your details like name, contact info etc.

[Broadanbig]

I think converting Bitcoin or crypto currency to fiat currency always involves some privacy violation.

I think I would agree with you in this particular aspect. When making payment, definitely one would make payment with buyer and seller account names revealed which one can easily trace them from. P2P can only be okay when it comes to the buyer and seller location from different places for which they have no contact but their names revealed which means their identity been revealed. This alone tells that p2p have some privacy violation too.

[Issa56]

Truthfully, if you don't drop your phone number they aren't paying, I know that some are doing this to notify you to release funds after, as some sellers are not serious, they can initial the trade and start doing something else, wasting someone else time, but the truth is this act is out of Binance platform, you break the rules if you decide to do trade with such people, they have your phone number and they can text dangerous link to you pretending to be from Binance.

When Binance started their P2P, I can still remember there was a future where you could see your buy’s and seller’s numbers when they started P2P in my country, but all of a sudden I couldn't see the future anymore, all what you can do is just to message each other, but you could no longer access each other’s phone number. But I am sure Binance did that just for security purposes. I am sure they were receiving some complaints, which is why they decided to disable the future. But to be honest, the future was also helpful, but maybe people were misusing it.
 
I'm sure scammers will definitely want to take advantage of it, which is why Binance decided to stop it. Maybe sometimes buyers are always pressuring sellers to release coins even if they haven’t made payment, which is why they decided to remove the futures, and I'm sure there are other illegal activities that they will be using it for.

[Sophokles]

I think converting Bitcoin or crypto currency to fiat currency always involves some privacy violation.

I think I would agree with you in this particular aspect. When making payment, definitely one would make payment with buyer and seller account names revealed which one can easily trace them from. P2P can only be okay when it comes to the buyer and seller location from different places for which they have no contact but their names revealed which means their identity been revealed. This alone tells that p2p have some privacy violation too.

I am not seeing any problem with the P2P service Binance providing even though you can not see your buyers or sellers name or identity. If the seller doesn't want to release the funds after you make the payments then appeal to the exchange with proof they will take a look at it and if your data is correct they will hand over the funds to you not to the seller. So I think it's simple and secure to use this kind of service on an exchange like binance.

[nakamura12]

If you don't want someone know your phone then you should avoid making trade with that person where providing phone number is a must or mandatory so that person will pay or release the funds. If you don't have a choice for example then when you receive a text with a link then you shouldn't open it no matter what happens and also be careful. It's not always safe to open links as scammers create new scam attempts and that's why there are many ways that they have used already.

[coupable]

In my country, the only way to perform transactions through Binance P2P is by using PostePay service which is a service provided by national poste in form of payment cards without the need to connect them to your other accounts. Those cards are only issued with your phone number which will be used later to receive funds into your card. It means that it is a mast to show your phone number (used to issue the card) in order to receive funds.
And because i care a lot for my privacy, the phone number i use with my card isn't an active number and different from the number i use in my binance account or other accounts. Unfortunately we have no other ways in my country as we have no access for international payment cards.

I think converting Bitcoin or crypto currency to fiat currency always involves some privacy violation. And especially if it is in this kind of P2P service. However, the method you have adopted may work in some cases. If there is a way to use such a separate SIM for these transactions, it may be possible to protect some privacy.
If I talk about my country, if P2P trading is done there using mobile banking then mobile number must be given. A few days ago, during a P2P transaction, a buyer asked for my mobile number, but the banking system I was using to do the P2P transaction doesn't need a mobile number.  I also reported it as suspicious and asked him to contract for my Telegram ID.  I think it is better to avoid such traders

In most transactions that do not take into account privacy aspects, there are many assumptions that can be said to be completely avoided. But this is one of the most important crises that crypto users suffer from in most countries of the world, including countries that adopt Bitcoin. People will prefer peer-to-peer transactions to avoid taxes and preserve privacy as much as possible.
One of the dangers of a system like Binance Peer-to-Peer is that it represents a record of all the user's financial activities, and this record cannot be erased except by closing the account permanently. This system does not take into account any privacy aspect.

[albon]

I am starting to believe that this is possible, not even by a professional hacker but a small time thieves, you want to know why I said this? I have been using Binance exchange and also the service they provide through their P2P, and I always see buyers telling sellers to drop their mobile number or else they won't go ahead with the transaction.

Take a look at this screenshot, I took this on Binance P2P service and I am sure that users of Binance P2P must be familiar with this.
https://i.postimg.cc/mDpHT83R/Screenshot-2023-10-12-11-58-47-829-com-binance-dev-edit.jpg

I strongly believe this is how the victim lost is phone number to strangers, to make some transactions a success, and yet losing your data in the process, I hope this teach people something new today.

You have attached a screenshot of one of the P2P merchants who have achieved a 99.9% positive rating and have received more than 3,000 reviews. This indicates that this P2P merchant has a high reputation and integrity, and it is unlikely that he is a scammer who wants to collect phone numbers to send phishing messages, as you mentioned. If he did such behavior, Binance would freeze his assets and ban his account. I expect that he placed this condition in his advertisement to confirm with the buyer and verify his identity.

You can search for another advertisement for another P2P merchant who did not mention this condition or use any other phone number that is not your primary number. It is also possible for one of the untrusted and low-rated merchants to create a SIM swap scam for the customer’s phone number, but if the customer is active on his phone, he will notice and recognize this type of scam. But of course, I do not like anyone to disclose their personal information and privacy, whether with phone numbers or the like, and the matter gets worse if it's in a country where laws prohibit crypto, and I generally do not prefer centralized exchange platforms.

[TimeTeller]

I think converting Bitcoin or crypto currency to fiat currency always involves some privacy violation.

I think I would agree with you in this particular aspect. When making payment, definitely one would make payment with buyer and seller account names revealed which one can easily trace them from. P2P can only be okay when it comes to the buyer and seller location from different places for which they have no contact but their names revealed which means their identity been revealed. This alone tells that p2p have some privacy violation too.

I am not seeing any problem with the P2P service Binance providing even though you can not see your buyers or sellers name or identity. If the seller doesn't want to release the funds after you make the payments then appeal to the exchange with proof they will take a look at it and if your data is correct they will hand over the funds to you not to the seller. So I think it's simple and secure to use this kind of service on an exchange like binance.

That's the good thing with binance p2p, if you have complaints, you can easily file as they have buttons to report your tx.
And if you happen to use their p2p services, it means, you agree with the terms and conditions attached to it.
This is why if you have privacy issues, then, don't use this type of trading. However, it is hard to find trustworthy p2p services these days.
You can't avoid such privacy concern because it is hard to send funds to someone if you don't know their name and acct number, if you opt to send it to your bank account for instance.

[Outhue]

I think converting Bitcoin or crypto currency to fiat currency always involves some privacy violation.

I think I would agree with you in this particular aspect. When making payment, definitely one would make payment with buyer and seller account names revealed which one can easily trace them from. P2P can only be okay when it comes to the buyer and seller location from different places for which they have no contact but their names revealed which means their identity been revealed. This alone tells that p2p have some privacy violation too.

I am not seeing any problem with the P2P service Binance providing even though you can not see your buyers or sellers name or identity. If the seller doesn't want to release the funds after you make the payments then appeal to the exchange with proof they will take a look at it and if your data is correct they will hand over the funds to you not to the seller. So I think it's simple and secure to use this kind of service on an exchange like binance.

That's the good thing with binance p2p, if you have complaints, you can easily file as they have buttons to report your tx.
And if you happen to use their p2p services, it means, you agree with the terms and conditions attached to it.
This is why if you have privacy issues, then, don't use this type of trading. However, it is hard to find trustworthy p2p services these days.
You can't avoid such privacy concern because it is hard to send funds to someone if you don't know their name and acct number, if you opt to send it to your bank account for instance.

One thing about Binance P2P service is you can't get scammed, I have been scammed using a p2p website before and the customer services don't helps instead they supported the criminal that I was paid with, since that day I was scared to use any P2P services, until I started using Binance exchange, the way they handle transactions is very well planned.

If you don't worry about privacy I don't think there is another exchange that's better than binance exchange peer to peer service, I have used Luno and Kucoin in the past too but the feel of security is not like Binance, it's true that Binance is centralized, but securing my transaction is what they do really well.

About what OP is talking about, not all those who asked for phone numbers plan to take advantage of you, they want your number to alert you to release fund when you get your money credited to your account, have none of you on a single transaction for over 24hours? Especially when there is a network issue with your banks, so I don't really think it's wrong, but this is a matter of choice, you are free to say no to submitting your numbers.

[libert19]

Back then when crypto was banned in my country, I used p2p platforms (I usually sell) and it's my assumption they shared the phone number with the buyers, after receiving the payment, if I had not confirmed the payment on time I'd receive a text or phone (in rare cases) from the buyer to confirm the payment.

Never have I received phishing or anything scammy, it probably depends but this is my experience.