- This topic has 8 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 4 months ago by
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PNowadays I am seeing an frauds being committed on unsuspecting sellers in the crypto world and they are now the target of new age scammers specialising in digital arrest, TRAI fraud, DHL and other frauds. These New Age Scammer (NAS) are targeting young, inexperienced sellers on crypto currency platforms and paying on P2P mode and invariably the seller is on the radar of Cyber crime police stations across India who are asking the sellers to return the money to the complainant, or they mark a lien on their bank account or even freeze all the bank accounts in the Bank having a common PAN. The NAS gets to launder his ill-gotten money for crypto, as keeping the money in other so-called mule accounts gets frozen and buying crypto currency literally dries up the money trail.
So all guys out there who are wanting to do crypto trading, be extremely careful . If an FIR gets registered, then getting yourself discharged in a criminal case across the country in a district court which is far away from home can be a money and emotion draining exercise. High Courts (if one approaches HC for quashing an FIR) will not entertain such petitions and ask you to cooperate in the Police Investigation and take it a logical conclusion, which can take anywhere between 3-5 years depending on how good the Investigating Officer is. So, one ends up paying for local advocate, travel and dealing with Police or courts which don’t know how Crypto trading takes places or how payments are given and taken.
I have written this based on my experience with young persons who have been scammed by NAS recently in 3 cases and in all of the cases they have sold crypto on P2P basis.
Just to be understand and summarize (**AI generated**) :
1. **Use Reputable Platforms**: Choose well-established platforms like Binance, Coinbase, and Bitpay for security.
2. **Verify Trading Partners**: Check profiles, reviews, and transaction history before trading.
3. **Enable 2FA**: Add an extra layer of security to your accounts.
4. **Avoid Phishing Scams**: Be cautious of suspicious emails and websites.
5. **Secure Environment**: Ensure your device is malware-free and updated.
6. **Use Secure Payments**: Prefer irreversible methods like bank transfers.
7. **Check Addresses**: Double-check transaction addresses before sending funds.
8. **Protect Seed Phrases**: Keep your seed phrase secure and private.
9. **Stay Informed**: Educate yourself about common scams.
10. **Report Suspicious Activity**: Report any suspicious activity to the platform.
11. **Use Escrow Services**: Utilize escrow services for added security.
12. **Be Cautious**: Avoid offers that seem too good to be true. -
IThe AI needs some updates,
Anyway
Fact of the matter is that, no matter how good the reviews of the buyer is or who you are selling, if they are unknown to you then there’s hardly anything that can be done, around 90% volume of p2p is done to serve money laundering and that’s the problem that has to be stopped.
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PThanks for the feedback. The para before AI part, I wrote from my experience as a lawyer and handling 3 cases alone this month (all pro-bono). Feel free to modify the AI text and paste in reply.
Problem is there is enough action in the stock market to make legit income than get into trouble on the crypto market by doing P2P transcations and getting whiplashed by parents and family and then the police who will not understand how these crypto txns occur and how to trace the scammers and give relief to the complainant. .. and the case/ FIR if filed will drag on and frustrate.
So my objective was only to caution.
Do fill in on how to avoid pitfalls !!
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IEven if one does everything on this list, there is still a non-zero chance that your bank might freeze your account for crypto transactions. There is much ignorance about blockchain and crypto, not only among law enforcement but also among bankers.
There have been multiple instances where:
1. Most big-time legitimate crypto sellers are identified based on their history, but there have been cases where sellers built up their reputation only to scam people suddenly (this is more or less fixed in Binance but still).
2. When selling USDT or any other crypto, be wary of checking payment details to ensure the crypto account and bank account match.
3. Do not get too hurried in releasing crypto; double-check the payment.
Sometimes scammers just send the message and hurry the user to release the crypto, whilst the user has not received any payment.
4. Always use an authenticator or similar 2FAs to slow down the process, so that you do not end up making a hurried transaction. There is always enough time.Even when the transaction was completed without any incident, the bank put a lien and then froze the account.
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ISome old RBI notification from 2018 was cited for the freeze, stating that “all cryptocurrency trading is illegal” when enquired about.
Even today, with 1% TDS on every trade, there is enough ambiguity that legacy banks tend to put random liens, especially with UPI-based transactions-
POh ok – now i remember. RBI had banned Banks from facilitating transactions for Bit coins/crypto in April 2018 but it was lifted subsequently vide SC judgement in Internet and Mobile Association of India Vs Reserve Bank of India in Writ Petition (Civil) No.373 of 2018 dated 04-Mar-2020. So if any bank places any lien then this judgment will come to your rescue
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