I can ask paxful and the members a problem, can the image be a gift that can be used, please help me
https://screenshots.firefox.com/0lpy5Z2daTLCT5ss/null
Be careful when you deposited bitco into paxful,
then you will lose your suppend account permanently, deposit will be lost, the game is in the hands of bandits PAXFUL
Topic: [SECURITY] How to spot a scammer on Paxful (Read 3484 times)
I usually hit "Give me the best" and I trade with some people listed there.
I have made at least 50 trades in there and I have been scammed 4 times before
but the moderators had my back.
The first time happened to me with an Amazon gift card when I was just starting out. I opened a dispute right on the trade window, an admin stepped in, saw what had happened, and awarded me the bitcoin and banned the scammer's account. Justice was served lol!
I have been trading on Paxful ever since.
Nowadays their support is always responsive, may take a minute or two so just be patient.
I have made at least 50 trades in there and I have been scammed 4 times before
but the moderators had my back.
The first time happened to me with an Amazon gift card when I was just starting out. I opened a dispute right on the trade window, an admin stepped in, saw what had happened, and awarded me the bitcoin and banned the scammer's account. Justice was served lol!
I have been trading on Paxful ever since.
Nowadays their support is always responsive, may take a minute or two so just be patient.
Great post.
Im Paxful vendor, and your post is very helpful.
Thank you man.
Im Paxful vendor, and your post is very helpful.
Thank you man.
www.paxful.com/user/SirThomas just scammed me $250.
I will pay someome $200 to dox him
Paxful user SirThomas is a scammer
SirThomas scam
SirThomas scammed me
SirThomas scams
SirThomas is a huge scammer
I will pay someome $200 to dox him
Paxful user SirThomas is a scammer
SirThomas scam
SirThomas scammed me
SirThomas scams
SirThomas is a huge scammer
If you look in many deepweb forums and many marketplaces, they inform (or sell in Guide format) tricks to scam some sort of system and Paxful is one of the newest... two years ago was the time to VirWoX, then, many PP scams, coinmama, etc. The fraudsters are starve to death to pick some random dork and scam 0.1, 0.5 BTC, that's because many people want to scam and they are bunch of newbies and they shit in their pants when something goes well, like a CC that pass through some system. So, in resume, Paxful is in the list. Watch out. Scammers are bombing. But I'm sure Paxful is a good syste (like all mentioned above).
Thanks for pointing out, Exactly is the same as described, I appreciate Paxful Support that they instantly respond and ban the user trying to scam. I have experienced all these cases so many times in my trades which are less than 100 in numbers, this shows that how frequently you are attacked by scammers on Paxful.
Thank you so much for this in-depth explanation. I think everyone particularly newbie who reads this post should be able to spot a scammer on paxful. Though I have registered on the site but I have never had any trading or exchange with anyone because of the strict terms attached to exchange there.
Good write up.
plenty of chargeback scams and other things to watch for.
many people will open multiple trades, Honest reason is to try to get the quickest responder, because they are impatient and inconsiderate, others to try to scam. who ever cashes out the gift card first is in luck, and the second person is at a loss if they get the gift card, release, but have not yet spent the gift card.
Also Many people will send the gift card and not mark paid. make sure you mark paid if you have given payment details.
Many people look for the best price (typically cash in person or cash in the mail) when they are trying to send paypal or a gift/credit card.
There is a HoneyPot to catch some of them. It catches about 15/day
plenty of chargeback scams and other things to watch for.
many people will open multiple trades, Honest reason is to try to get the quickest responder, because they are impatient and inconsiderate, others to try to scam. who ever cashes out the gift card first is in luck, and the second person is at a loss if they get the gift card, release, but have not yet spent the gift card.
Also Many people will send the gift card and not mark paid. make sure you mark paid if you have given payment details.
Many people look for the best price (typically cash in person or cash in the mail) when they are trying to send paypal or a gift/credit card.
There is a HoneyPot to catch some of them. It catches about 15/day
Just bookmark this URL and will going to be useful tin the future and i guess the need for spreading into the another member too. 
good luck for you.
good luck for you.thanks
Just bookmark this URL and will going to be useful tin the future and i guess the need for spreading into the another member too. good luck for you.
good luck for you. 
Hello Traders,
This is a topic that i think would be very useful to many of us, because it reveals how to protect yourself on Paxful.
I've been dealing coins on their platform for a few days, and to be honest, it's very hard to get scammed, unless you want to be.
MODERATORS POSTS ON PAXFUL ARE ALWAYS IN LIGHT BLUE HIGHLIGHTS! THIS IS STATED AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH TRADE! KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!
Typical Scams
Case 1 - The Password Change Attempt
1. You click on a SELL offer (for an online payment provider such as PayPal);
2. An escrow is opened, and you provide the PayPal email to the scammer;
3. Then they ask you to send them a verification code, that they would "send to your phone" (if they're unable to do so - to your email);
4. They send you a password change email or phone message;
5. If you provide the code, and have no 2FA, they cancel the deal, access your account and steal your coins.
Case 2 - The Moderator Advising you to Release Coins
1. A scammer buys (places in escrow your coins);
2. Then they ask you for personal data, such as your email or phone number;
subcase a)
i. There they send you an email from [email protected] (ANYONE CAN DO THAT - EXAMPLE LINK);
ii. In the email in very bad English they try to convince you that they've blocked the user, and to release the bitcoins, which they would add to your balance manually within 15 minutes;
iii. You seeing that it's sent from the proper mail address do as advised and release the coins, not realizing that it was all a scam.
subcase b)
i. They send you message in the Escrow chat claiming to be a Moderator (MODERATORS POSTS ON PAXFUL ARE ALWAYS IN LIGHT BLUE HIGHLIGHTS!), or a security team member, claiming that you're a victim of a coin-locker, and you have to release the bitcoins which they would add to your wallet later by hand;
ii. You seeing the message has a title Moderator do as advised and release the coins, not realizing that it was all a scam.
Case 3 - Marking Payment as Made, before the buyer paid
1. A guy responds to a BUY offer that you posted;
2. He asks you for an email address and claims that he's made payment;
3. They mark it as Payment Complete and ask you to release the bitcoins;
4. You stumbled from the enormous profit, don't think to check it first, and release - forgetting about seeing your cash again.
Case 4 - Asking for a loan
1. A guy responds to your offer and buys (holds in escrow) a small portion of your coins;
2. Then he politely asks you if you could loan him 20$ (for instance) and they would pay you back 125% in a few hours;
3. The profile that made the request has a few green + ratings (easy to fake) and you do as advised - losing the coins to a scammer.
NB: Those cases might be intertwined. It's not said that a scammer would use just one, but they might incorporate parts of any of them into their scam attempts.
======================================================================================================
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF ON PAXFUL AND PREVENT SCAMS:
I. IN GENERAL:
1. Before you even fund your account - enable 2FA (SMS or Google Authenticator) for ALL available options through the security tab in your profile (link);
2. Never release bitcoins from escrow, if you have not received the payment! EVER!
3. Do not be fooled by 100% green reputation. Always do your due diligence and check the users that left the reps. If they are reputable with more than 100 deals and more than 10BTCs traded - then you have a legit trader.
4. If you receive a suspicious looking email from [email protected] - bad English, bad grammar, etc - try to reply to it! If you get a mail-delivery-subsystem message (link) then the message was not sent from the original mailbox, it just used an mx record to look like it was.
5. Never click on links received in the emails from point 4;
6. When posting a Trade, always require the user to at least has verified phone number/email address, 10+ BTC trades, and to be trusted (there is an option for that)!
II. SPECIFIC:
1. Case 1:
a) Never use the same email address for your payment method and Paxful. Also - never provide your Paxful email;
b) Never provide a phone number linked to your Paxful account or your payment method;
c) Try reasoning with the guy - just tell them that you did not request a security code (as it's supposed to be for your security) and it's better to cancel and not lose your time.
2. Case 2:
a) MODERATORS POSTS ON PAXFUL ARE ALWAYS IN LIGHT BLUE HIGHLIGHTS!
b) NEVER RELEASE BITCOINS, IF PAYMENT IS MARKED AS PAID BUT YOU DIDN'T RECEIVE IT!
c) save all data - make screenshots of the conversation + forward the scam email to [email protected] from your paxful email and also send it to the chat support with the attachmens (even if they're offline);
d) report the user through the report button.
3. Case 3:
a) Look at Case 2a)
b) Look at Case 2b)
c) DISPUTE THE PAYMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND REPORT THE SCAMMER!
d) Look at Case 2c)
d) Look at Case 2d)
4. Case 4 - Just use your head. Don't send money to people you don't know with the expectation that you would ever see it back.
Final thoughts:
It struck me that i read a forum full of people thinking that Paxful have a Team Member named Marcos, with bad English, who advised them to release coins. That's why I wrote this guide.
I actually corresponded with Arthur (the owner/founder) of Paxful and his English is perfect. Even if there is a Marco(s) in Paxful it is definitely not the guy that sends you those scam emails.
Just think people. This is how PayPal accounts and credit cards get stolen!
*Note - I am not in any way affiliated with Paxful, nor am I their employee!
This is a topic that i think would be very useful to many of us, because it reveals how to protect yourself on Paxful.
I've been dealing coins on their platform for a few days, and to be honest, it's very hard to get scammed, unless you want to be.
MODERATORS POSTS ON PAXFUL ARE ALWAYS IN LIGHT BLUE HIGHLIGHTS! THIS IS STATED AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH TRADE! KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN!
Typical Scams
Case 1 - The Password Change Attempt
1. You click on a SELL offer (for an online payment provider such as PayPal);
2. An escrow is opened, and you provide the PayPal email to the scammer;
3. Then they ask you to send them a verification code, that they would "send to your phone" (if they're unable to do so - to your email);
4. They send you a password change email or phone message;
5. If you provide the code, and have no 2FA, they cancel the deal, access your account and steal your coins.
Case 2 - The Moderator Advising you to Release Coins
1. A scammer buys (places in escrow your coins);
2. Then they ask you for personal data, such as your email or phone number;
subcase a)
i. There they send you an email from [email protected] (ANYONE CAN DO THAT - EXAMPLE LINK);
ii. In the email in very bad English they try to convince you that they've blocked the user, and to release the bitcoins, which they would add to your balance manually within 15 minutes;
iii. You seeing that it's sent from the proper mail address do as advised and release the coins, not realizing that it was all a scam.
subcase b)
i. They send you message in the Escrow chat claiming to be a Moderator (MODERATORS POSTS ON PAXFUL ARE ALWAYS IN LIGHT BLUE HIGHLIGHTS!), or a security team member, claiming that you're a victim of a coin-locker, and you have to release the bitcoins which they would add to your wallet later by hand;
ii. You seeing the message has a title Moderator do as advised and release the coins, not realizing that it was all a scam.
Case 3 - Marking Payment as Made, before the buyer paid
1. A guy responds to a BUY offer that you posted;
2. He asks you for an email address and claims that he's made payment;
3. They mark it as Payment Complete and ask you to release the bitcoins;
4. You stumbled from the enormous profit, don't think to check it first, and release - forgetting about seeing your cash again.
Case 4 - Asking for a loan
1. A guy responds to your offer and buys (holds in escrow) a small portion of your coins;
2. Then he politely asks you if you could loan him 20$ (for instance) and they would pay you back 125% in a few hours;
3. The profile that made the request has a few green + ratings (easy to fake) and you do as advised - losing the coins to a scammer.
NB: Those cases might be intertwined. It's not said that a scammer would use just one, but they might incorporate parts of any of them into their scam attempts.
======================================================================================================
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF ON PAXFUL AND PREVENT SCAMS:
I. IN GENERAL:
1. Before you even fund your account - enable 2FA (SMS or Google Authenticator) for ALL available options through the security tab in your profile (link);
2. Never release bitcoins from escrow, if you have not received the payment! EVER!
3. Do not be fooled by 100% green reputation. Always do your due diligence and check the users that left the reps. If they are reputable with more than 100 deals and more than 10BTCs traded - then you have a legit trader.
4. If you receive a suspicious looking email from [email protected] - bad English, bad grammar, etc - try to reply to it! If you get a mail-delivery-subsystem message (link) then the message was not sent from the original mailbox, it just used an mx record to look like it was.
5. Never click on links received in the emails from point 4;
6. When posting a Trade, always require the user to at least has verified phone number/email address, 10+ BTC trades, and to be trusted (there is an option for that)!
II. SPECIFIC:
1. Case 1:
a) Never use the same email address for your payment method and Paxful. Also - never provide your Paxful email;
b) Never provide a phone number linked to your Paxful account or your payment method;
c) Try reasoning with the guy - just tell them that you did not request a security code (as it's supposed to be for your security) and it's better to cancel and not lose your time.
2. Case 2:
a) MODERATORS POSTS ON PAXFUL ARE ALWAYS IN LIGHT BLUE HIGHLIGHTS!
b) NEVER RELEASE BITCOINS, IF PAYMENT IS MARKED AS PAID BUT YOU DIDN'T RECEIVE IT!
c) save all data - make screenshots of the conversation + forward the scam email to [email protected] from your paxful email and also send it to the chat support with the attachmens (even if they're offline);
d) report the user through the report button.
3. Case 3:
a) Look at Case 2a)
b) Look at Case 2b)
c) DISPUTE THE PAYMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND REPORT THE SCAMMER!
d) Look at Case 2c)
d) Look at Case 2d)
4. Case 4 - Just use your head. Don't send money to people you don't know with the expectation that you would ever see it back.
Final thoughts:
It struck me that i read a forum full of people thinking that Paxful have a Team Member named Marcos, with bad English, who advised them to release coins. That's why I wrote this guide.
I actually corresponded with Arthur (the owner/founder) of Paxful and his English is perfect. Even if there is a Marco(s) in Paxful it is definitely not the guy that sends you those scam emails.
Just think people. This is how PayPal accounts and credit cards get stolen!
*Note - I am not in any way affiliated with Paxful, nor am I their employee!
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