Tips to Avoid Scams on Cryptocurrency p2p Exchanges

[Hatchy]

Since the banning of cryptocurrency transactions with banks in 2021, Nigerians turned to using peer-to-peer (p2p) trading platforms for their transactions. These platforms offer an easier way to convert, buy, or sell cryptocurrency in the country. Even after the ban was lifted last year, Nigerians still prefer using p2p platforms over banks. However, there's been a rise in scammers flooding these exchanges, making it difficult to distinguish between legitimate traders and scammers. These scammers manipulate these platforms, adding fake testimonials to their profiles. As Nigerians become more familiar with cryptocurrency platforms and exchanges, they become more vulnerable to scams.

Just yesterday, I read a post where someone shared a story about a friend who fell victim to a scammer on an exchange. The friend engaged in a discussion with the trader, who then persuaded her to invest, claiming to have a way to make thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, she sent him the funds and lost contact with him afterward.

You might wonder why she didn't report him to exchange officials. She did report him, but he hasn't been heard of, and the exchange couldn't help her. The lesson here is that when using online platforms filled with unknown entities, we should be cautious, especially regarding offers promising easy money online. Legitimate opportunities are rare and usually offer minimal returns over time.

I've compiled some methods to help newbies and members avoid being scammed on p2p exchanges during transactions:

• Avoid unnecessary discussions with traders:
  Engaging in unnecessary conversations can lead to scams, as seen in the story shared earlier. Simply conduct your trades and avoid prolonged discussions.
• Don't share personal information or contact the trader: Sharing personal information can make you vulnerable to scams. Recently, I encountered a similar situation where a trader demanded my phone number, before he would send my funds which seemed suspicious. I decided to provide a fake number and immediately I received my money. Be cautious and avoid sharing unnecessary personal details.
• Consider using online microfinance banks:
  These banks offer faster transactions without the issues associated with traditional banks. Examples include Opay, Kuda Bank, Palmpay, and Moniepoint Microfinance Bank. Using these banks can help avoid situations where scam traders claim your bank has issues to delay transactions.
• Don't release funds without confirming receipt:Always confirm you have received funds before releasing them. Even these exchange has a notification that you shouldn't Releasing funds without confirmation or puts your money at risk of being lost permanently. Many have fallen victim to scams due to releasing funds prematurely.
• Ensure a stable data connection:
   Before initiating a transaction, ensure you have a stable data connection. This ensures you can confirm receipt without being deceived by scammers. Additionally, keep your bank app open during the transaction process.

By following these practices, I've managed to avoid falling victim to scams, and I hope others can benefit from these steps as well. Stay vigilant and cautious when conducting transactions on centralized exchanges or platforms.

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[Barikui1]

Brother thanks for this piece of information, expecially to our newbies, because 2 weeks ago I also had an encounter with one of this scammers on binance p2p, because I usually bought 30k naira amount of usdt, which I do regularly monthly since i save in dollar.

After I made payment, this guy refuses to release the asset to me, after I have even send him the confirmation receipt from my opay account, what I did was to appeal to the binance customer support and my receipt as evidence that the guy have refused to release the asset, they gave him an hour grace to reply to my complain why he doesn't want to release or his account is going to be blocked and the asset released to me, when the 1hour is almost exhausted, that was when he finally released the asset, why am I say this? When doing a trade on p2p as a newbie, it's very important to that someone experience is present, so as to show him how to go about it, and the measures that should be taken if the next person is a potential scammer.
Please Scammers are getting more sophisticated everyday, we should all thread with caution.

[Benedictare]

   Here are some additional tips .
Cryptocurrency p2p exchange scams always happens because the scammers goes behind the a platform's escrow system and makes transactions outside the platform's,and so trades should not be done outside the platform in respective of how much you will be pressured and choose a trustworthy platform.
   Check your bank account/wallet regularly in other to make sure that the agreed amount have been received before transferring of your cryptocurrency asset and the transaction is complete successfully also verify the user's identity,just trade and prevent long discussions.
   Do not share you personal details with the trader and also your contacts.

These scammers rates their customers badly,and they lack escrow system,and when you  rely on your  counterpart for evidence, they are likely to give alot of evidence of payment.

[Cryptoprincess101]

Brother thanks for this piece of information, expecially to our newbies, because 2 weeks ago I also had an encounter with one of this scammers on binance p2p, because I usually bought 30k naira amount of usdt, which I do regularly monthly since i save in dollar.

After I made payment, this guy refuses to release the asset to me, after I have even send him the confirmation receipt from my opay account, what I did was to appeal to the binance customer support and my receipt as evidence that the guy have refused to release the asset, they gave him an hour grace to reply to my complain why he doesn't want to release or his account is going to be blocked and the asset released to me, when the 1hour is almost exhausted, that was when he finally released the asset, why am I say this? When doing a trade on p2p as a newbie, it's very important to that someone experience is present, so as to show him how to go about it, and the measures that should be taken if the next person is a potential scammer.
Please Scammers are getting more sophisticated everyday, we should all thread with caution.

Like almost every day scammers uses new strategies to defraud people more especially newbies are always victims to this effect and sometimes before entering to do any p2p transactions, make sure you're mentally okay like nothing is bothering you at that material time otherwise you might make mistakes in the process. Though everyone should be cautious not only newbies on how they go about p2p transactions otherwise you would get scammed.

[Kelward]

Crypto scams and hacks de increase everyday and na so scammers de improve dem crafts everyday on ways to de scam people, so for any crypto transactions for exchanges or any social media platforms e de very important say make we no trust anybody or begin de do familiarity with person wey we meet dia. Infact no to see anybody wey you de do transaction with for online as a potential scammer, dat perception go help to keep you on guard not to trust anybody for business matter. A very important matter wey di OP raise be say make we no live di business of di crypto transaction go de discuss anoda matter, because na so scammers go deviate from di p2p matter come de introduce you to one project wey you go put small money and begin get plenty ROI within a very short time, in di end you investment r money go burn.

[knowngunman]

After I made payment, this guy refuses to release the asset to me, after I have even send him the confirmation receipt from my opay account, what I did was to appeal to the binance customer support and my receipt as evidence that the guy have refused to release the asset, they gave him an hour grace to reply to my complain why he doesn't want to release or his account is going to be blocked and the asset released to me, when the 1hour is almost exhausted, that was when he finally released the asset, why am I say this? When doing a trade on p2p as a newbie, it's very important to that someone experience is present, so as to show him how to go about it, and the measures that should be taken if the next person is a potential scammer.
Please Scammers are getting more sophisticated everyday, we should all thread with caution.

This experience might probably not be a scam bro. From the original post, Op says that you should not release your coin if you have not received your money in your account even if the buyer present a payment receipt. This payment receipt can be altered and edited. I think the seller was just playing safe before releasing your coin. Perhaps, the bank delay the transaction and not that he intend to scam you. I also had a similar experience just last week despite that I am using Opay. The buyer sent the money and Opay notified me of the incoming payment but when I checked, the transaction was not successful but still on pending. The transaction later show failed and that's how the drama began. He asked me to release the coin because he made the payment and the problem is from my bank. I insist that I will not release anything until the money drop in my account.

I appealed the case and he was queried to provide payment evidence. Both of us provide the necessary details and while waiting for the judgment from the support team, the money was reverse to him on the following day. He made the payment again and after I received it, I release the coin. From this experience, none of us is a scammer but due to what happened we both were suspecting each other to be a scammer. So, in essence, such encounter is not enough to tagged someone as scammer. It's due to bank network sometimes and one must be patient. You know, this vendors are also human and they might be asleep some time when you make payment or busy with some other things.

I'm not saying scammers are not on P2P but all I'm saying is that not all cases of bad experience is attributed to scammers, some are due to network issues or other circumstances. Whatever the case maybe, hold your coin tight until you receive your money completely in your account.

[Stable090]

P2p na another place wey scammers dey hide, and if you go lose guard, then your money don go be that ooo, na why you suppose dey very smart if you dey use p2p, scammers fit come up with strategy wey we no expect, so when using p2p, make we dey smart, make we dey sure say we sell coin give people wey get reputation for that side, people wey don complete plenty trades.

• Avoid unnecessary discussions with traders:
  Engaging in unnecessary conversations can lead to scams, as seen in the story shared earlier. Simply conduct your trades and avoid prolonged discussions.
• Don't share personal information or contact the trader: Sharing personal information can make you vulnerable to scams. Recently, I encountered a similar situation where a trader demanded my phone number, before he would send my funds which seemed suspicious. I decided to provide a fake number and immediately I received my money. Be cautious and avoid sharing unnecessary personal details.

When you are trading, just go straight to the point, and nothing concern you with anything, no go dey talk things wey go give the sell more opportunity to scam you, and make sure say you no dey share your information give anybody, if dem request for your number, then make sure you give them the number which you are not using to receive alert, give them number wey be say no be him u use open account, so if them wan send fake alert, dem go easily cast for your side.

• Consider using online microfinance banks:
  These banks offer faster transactions without the issues associated with traditional banks. Examples include Opay, Kuda Bank, Palmpay, and Moniepoint Microfinance Bank. Using these banks can help avoid situations where scam traders claim your bank has issues to delay transactions.

If you are using online Microfinance bank, e make sense pass, because immediately them send you money, you go receive an instantly, if you give all those scammers normal commercial banks, they will claim they have sent it, and if you claim say you never receive alert, dem go talk say na from your bank, and they will want to pressurize you to release the coin, but if you dey use mobile Microfinance bank, then e make sense pass.[/list]

[7juju]

P2p na another place wey scammers dey hide, and if you go lose guard, then your money don go be that ooo, na why you suppose dey very smart if you dey use p2p, scammers fit come up with strategy wey we no expect, so when using p2p, make we dey smart, make we dey sure say we sell coin give people wey get reputation for that side, people wey don complete plenty trades.

• Avoid unnecessary discussions with traders:
  Engaging in unnecessary conversations can lead to scams, as seen in the story shared earlier. Simply conduct your trades and avoid prolonged discussions.
• Don't share personal information or contact the trader: Sharing personal information can make you vulnerable to scams. Recently, I encountered a similar situation where a trader demanded my phone number, before he would send my funds which seemed suspicious. I decided to provide a fake number and immediately I received my money. Be cautious and avoid sharing unnecessary personal details.

When you are trading, just go straight to the point, and nothing concern you with anything, no go dey talk things wey go give the sell more opportunity to scam you, and make sure say you no dey share your information give anybody, if dem request for your number, then make sure you give them the number which you are not using to receive alert, give them number wey be say no be him u use open account, so if them wan send fake alert, dem go easily cast for your side.

• Consider using online microfinance banks:
  These banks offer faster transactions without the issues associated with traditional banks. Examples include Opay, Kuda Bank, Palmpay, and Moniepoint Microfinance Bank. Using these banks can help avoid situations where scam traders claim your bank has issues to delay transactions.

If you are using online Microfinance bank, e make sense pass, because immediately them send you money, you go receive an instantly, if you give all those scammers normal commercial banks, they will claim they have sent it, and if you claim say you never receive alert, dem go talk say na from your bank, and they will want to pressurize you to release the coin, but if you dey use mobile Microfinance bank, then e make sense pass.[/list]

Normally Mobile banking is the best option when it comes to P2p platform. With the peculiarity of our country when it comes to network one just have to avoid normal commercial banks for trading. A successful trading is the one you have seen your money. But I have see situation man young people say they don't trust mobile banking and I laugh at them. These mobile banking is the best choice if you must avoid scams in the crypto industry when it comes to P2p trading.

[rachael9385]

(⁠^⁠^⁠)(⁠^⁠^⁠)(⁠^⁠^⁠)(⁠^⁠^⁠)(⁠^⁠^⁠)(⁠^⁠^⁠)(⁠^⁠^⁠)

This microfinance banks are the best for anything online transaction, them dey very fast both transfers, withdrawal, or deposit but make we still make sure to use the reliable ones instead of to use anyhow ones way we see their ads online.
Most of banks network dey always get one problems or the others so in this case so microfinance banks that are fast and reliable should be the nextdoor for a p2p trader to use because ones the vendor have credited you, you will just receive the notification ASAP, unless the vendor is a scammer that will tell you to release your coins when e be say em never credit you. We just gets they smart when we dey deal with p2p especially for exchanges as e be say you know know who you dey deal with.

[Mayor of ogba]

Everyone makes use of P2P trading, so the information should not only be for newbies because if high-ranking members are not aware of the P2P scam, I think they will lose their money to scammers. When using the P2P trade, always make sure that you have received your money in your bank account before you release your asset to the buyer, and don't use your Nokia torch to receive payment from your P2P transactions because scammers might send you a fake transfer that will show that your money has increased in your bank account balance when you receive the transfer message from your bank, and you cannot detect the fake transfer with your Nokia torch. Before you start your P2P journey, make sure to set up your mobile banking app, which will help you detect a fake transfer. If someone sends you a fake transfer, you can detect it because, when you log in to your mobile banking app, you will not see the money added to your existing account balance, and you will be on high alert that this could be a fake transfer. We should not make use of third parties when paying someone on P2P trading; if not, you will lose your money because the person will claim he or she didn't receive any payment. After all, the name you used to create an account on the P2P platform is not the same as the name in your bank details.

[Miles2006]

I agree with your points, surprising how people see such advice and decide to neglect the advice, although no one is perfect but with all this daily guidelines we get from different forum members talking about scam it's enough to enlighten our mindset about scam.
Blaming people who have fallen victim to different kinds of scam is not necessary cause there's always a room to learn and take correction in crypto space so it's advisable people like this should take correction and learn.

• Avoid unnecessary discussions with traders:
  Engaging in unnecessary conversations can lead to scams, as seen in the story shared earlier. Simply conduct your trades and avoid prolonged discussions.

If no be problem person dey find why will anyone go further to discuss something else with a trader or in the history of bitcoin transaction has any trader given someone free money, I don't know why people will get another different motive of stealing people's money for gain, this is very bad and victims should take correction so this practice can reduce.

Sometimes we should also not give room for discussions and sharing of ideas, for example where we share our crypto ideas matters and some people intend to discuss all this in a wrong place, aside from bitcoin forum I have not seen a gathering where I can comfortably talk about bitcoin, although we have different safe place to talk and discuss but we should never share our idea with a wrong person that has another motive towards our idea.

• Consider using online microfinance banks:
  These banks offer faster transactions without the issues associated with traditional banks. Examples include Opay, Kuda Bank, Palmpay, and Moniepoint Microfinance Bank. Using these banks can help avoid situations where scam traders claim your bank has issues to delay transactions.

This is just accurate, a lot of people use opay, palmpay etc but some people have never though of this idea including me, although opay network is one of the fastest network in terms of transaction and with this confidence I believe no one will fool you in terms of slow transaction and network issue.
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[sokani]

All the points wey you list make sense and I know say e go help people wey no kno this before, I don also go through the link you post. The person really jonse wella, she no suppose trust a stranger wey you meet online blindly. P2P trade na place where we suppose dey shine our eyes, scammers don blend among the legit traders, and if you loose guard dem go run you street. Whenever I dey do P2P trade, I dey barely respond to messages from a trader, na after the transaction, if I like to drop feedback i drop.

[1miau]

Very important advice here, @Hatchy

Keep in mind as well that scammers / criminals are exactly knowing what they are doing, when targeting inexperienced people on such platforms.
Scammers / criminals will deliberately target and exploit anyone's lack of knowledge / experience when participating is such services or similar shady tricks to steal your hard earned money.

They are experienced, know how loopholes / shady strategies can be exploited and how to scam someone.
You (Newbie) might be unaware how some sophisticated features / scam tricks are working in detail (in case of a scam, you'll only know after getting scammed  ).

[I_Anime]

Very important advice here, @Hatchy

Keep in mind as well that scammers / criminals are exactly knowing what they are doing, when targeting inexperienced people on such platforms.
Scammers / criminals will deliberately target and exploit anyone's lack of knowledge / experience when participating is such services or similar shady tricks to steal your hard earned money.

They are experienced, know how loopholes / shady strategies can be exploited and how to scam someone.
You (Newbie) might be unaware how some sophisticated features / scam tricks are working in detail (in case of a scam, you'll only know after getting scammed  ).

most people (newbie) are just too gullible mostly when come to stuff like this, expecially those with no good knowledge about this crypto space they mostly endup being decieve, just imagine someone coming to you telling how you can make huge amount of money with just the use of certain small amount and at the end they would endup being scammed. Is better to learn from others as a newbie than to learn through the hands of experience.

Don't release funds without confirming receipt:Always confirm you have received funds before releasing them. Even these exchange has a notification that you shouldn't Releasing funds without confirmation or puts your money at risk of being lost permanently. Many have fallen victim to scams due to releasing funds prematurely

these tips are pretty nice and helpful too. Let me add to this whenever I'm engaging in a p2p deal whenever the buyer send me my cash I always transfer it to my other mobile account before I release my token   to ensure that it wasn't a fake transaction because alot of people are fond of doing fake alert. Please we should be cautious whenever we are doing any transaction mostly with those we are not familiar with.

[GiftedMAN]

All the points you listed here are very correct but let me add my view on the last one which is ensuring a stable data connection when making a transaction. This particular point is very important especially during p2p transaction, once you have been matched with someone who's to pay you if there's a network disconnection you may end up not receiving the fund or being disconnected with the person who was to pay you.

I have had the experience sometime last year when making a p2p transaction my data got finished and the network was disconnected I was lucky because I didn't confirm that I have received the money so I was matched with someone else who later payed me.

[EL MOHA]

One thing I will add is the checking of rating on the vendors. This is one thing that many newbies fall victim of, they focus only on the amount vendors put on and do not care much about the ratings. You look at the number of transactions that they vendor as actually done, the more transaction the vendor has done the long he is has been on the market, you them check the percentage of successful transactions and then make your decision base on the ratings.

The other red flag is someone trying to take the trade to social media platforms that’s off the exchange of you do so then you have no exchange to report back to.

traders claim your

• Don't release funds without confirming receipt:Always confirm you have received funds before releasing them. Even these exchange has a notification that you shouldn't Releasing funds without confirmation or puts your money at risk of being lost permanently. Many have fallen victim to scams due to releasing funds prematurely.

This is one big mistake that newbies make, I have experienced this before where the vendor sent a fake receipt and I had to go through my bank support and found out that the transaction id was fake, if I had panick the vendor would have had it’s way because he actually threatened to report me to support just to put fear In me. So never release a coin for transactions that you haven’t confirmed even if you’re on the transaction for days

[DubemIfedigbo001]

Scams on crypto currency exchanges are now very much. There getting more creative everyday. Even when you detect them and not get scammed, they delay your transactions and waste your precious time filling a report to the exchange before your funds are released, and their account restricted.

 To combat these stuffs, I've Developed a sort of fondness for some few merchant on some exchanges I use. I mark their names and always watch out for their ads. I transact with only them and so far, they've never engaged me in any discussion, nor have they required my details in any way.
My second approach is to save the personal contacts of some merchants which were displayed by them and who are honest and treated me good during our transaction. Recently, whenever I'm about transacting, I just call them on phone and inquire if they've ads on  If they do, I just watch out for their ads and transact with them straight up and hold my peace. Then block their numbers so I can only call them when I wish and they cannot reach me themselves.

Now the precaution I  always take is never to send funds directly to their accounts through their user ID , I make sure to use the normal P2P environment because no one is to be fully trusted.

[Hatchy]

One thing I will add is the checking of rating on the vendors. This is one thing that many newbies fall victim of, they focus only on the amount vendors put on and do not care much about the ratings. You look at the number of transactions that they vendor as actually done, the more transaction the vendor has done the long he is has been on the market, you them check the percentage of successful transactions and then make your decision base on the ratings.

That's also a red flag bro. Ratings can be manipulated, so we shouldn't solely trust them before starting a transaction. It's important to be cautious to avoid falling into the traps of scammers. In public places, trust can be tricky because things can be fake. Ratings are no exception,they can be bought and manipulated.

For instance, some apps advertised on forums pay people to write reviews on app stores. By doing this, they increase their software's downloads and usage. The same tactic applies to traders who want to boost their ratings. They pay people to trade more frequently with them and leave positive ratings and comments. This way, even scammers can accumulate many ratings, making it difficult to distinguish the genuine ones. Therefore, we all need to be careful and attentive when using exchanges.

[DaNNy001]

With the all the mentioned precautionary measure, the one take serious the most is not ever releasing your coins before the receipt of sent funds is confirmed, and I think it's also flagged everywhere in the exchange mostly especially CEX like binance. When trading your coins, you should carefully take not that before ever you release your coins one must first confirm if the sender has actually Sent the money if not you would be sorry for yourself because the trade at that moment when release will show completed where as you would most likely be at the losing end.

[AYOBA]

• Avoid unnecessary discussions with traders:
  Engaging in unnecessary conversations can lead to scams, as seen in the story shared earlier. Simply conduct your trades and avoid prolonged discussions.
• Don't share personal information or contact the trader: Sharing personal information can make you vulnerable to scams. Recently, I encountered a similar situation where a trader demanded my phone number, before he would send my funds which seemed suspicious. I decided to provide a fake number and immediately I received my money. Be cautious and avoid sharing unnecessary personal details.

Seriously, you shared useful information. It's very easy to fall into scammers hands, and some people's are the ones causing it for themselves because of an unnecessary discussion with the person that they want to trade. But they don't know that the scammers are very smart. As soon as they see the sign that the person has prolonged the discussion, they will continue pushing him so that they will get all his personal datas which they will easily hacked all his assets. But as you said when a trader demands your phone number, you usually give them a fake number, and the high-ranking members always give us the advice that when we come to trade, we shouldn't trade with any user that doesn't put his phone number, and the traders can also ask for their own so that they can communicate with each other when he delays your transaction.

• Consider using online microfinance banks:
  These banks offer faster transactions without the issues associated with traditional banks. Examples include Opay, Kuda Bank, Palmpay, and Moniepoint Microfinance Bank. Using these banks can help avoid situations where scam traders claim your bank has issues to delay transactions.

is critical to understand the sort of bank we use in time trade because some banks that are not networked are unstable, causing problems when trading with others. I had experienced a similar situation with one of the traders previously. After placing an order, he sent me a message saying that the transaction was successful and that I should check to confirm. When I did so, he confirmed that my account was empty. When I messaged him to ask why I hadn't received the money, he suggested that it might be a problem with my bank. He then asked if I have any online microfinance banks, which I should send it to him, and when I did so, I received my money immediately. It show we should be very careful with type of bank we using in time of trading.