6 common P2P USDT scams and how to avoid them

Scam 1: Fake payment screenshots

The most common one. After ordering, the buyer sends a "payment successful" screenshot and pushes you to release. The screenshot is forged and no money has arrived. Binance notes fakes often show spelling mistakes, misaligned text or mixed fonts, but the safer habit is to ignore screenshots entirely.

There is one defence: log in to your own bank or wallet app and release only when you see the money. If you cannot log in to check, do not release, however hard you are pushed.

Scam 2: Fake payment texts

Like fake screenshots, but as a text message dressed up as your bank or wallet: "Your account has received a transfer." Sender names can be spoofed and the wording copied from real alerts.

Again, do not trust the message. Open the bank or wallet app and check the balance.

Scam 3: Chargebacks after payment

The buyer really pays and you release, but days later the bank or payment provider claws the money back, typically when the payment came from a third-party account or through a reversible method. Your USDT is gone, the money is gone, and your account may be frozen.

Defence: check that the payer's name matches the buyer's verified name and refuse third-party payments. Binance also warns that cheque payments are most likely a scam. If a third-party payment arrives, do not release; file an appeal and return the money to the sender.

Scam 4: Man in the middle

A scammer poses as a seller off-platform, agrees a deal with an unsuspecting buyer, and gives them your account details. That buyer pays into your account, while the scammer places an order with you on the platform and claims to have paid. You see the money and release, the coins go to the scammer, and the real payer later reports the payment to their bank.

Defence: respond only to trade requests inside Binance P2P, share payment details only within the platform order, and check that the payer's name matches the buyer who ordered.

Scam 5: The triangle scam

Two scammers place orders with the same seller at once, say 5,000 USDT and 6,000 USDT, pay only one, and use the same payment proof to push for both releases. The seller thinks both were paid, releases twice and receives money once.

Defence: with several orders open, check each payment separately, matching amount and payer. Do not relax checks because you are busy.

Scam 6: Fake platform support

In the order chat, by email or on social media, someone claims to be Binance support or an "escrow agent": "The system has confirmed payment, please release first," or asks you to move coins to a "safe account".

Binance states that it will never email you asking you to complete a P2P transaction, and real support never asks you to release first. Check suspicious emails on Binance's official verification page, and never leave your email or phone number in the chat.

A checklist for buyers and sellers

Run through this before every trade; it stops most scams.

• Trade with counterparties who have many completed orders and a high completion rate
• Use only the payment details shown on the order page
• Treat money as received only when your own bank or wallet app shows it
• The payer's name must match the counterparty's verified name
• Keep all communication in the order chat
• If something feels wrong, stop and appeal from the order page

If you think you have been scammed

The sooner you act, the more complete your evidence and the better your chances. Do not delay out of embarrassment.

1. Stop: do not release more coins or send more money.
2. Click Appeal on the order page, explain what happened and upload payment proof, bank statements and chat screenshots.
3. If money arrived from an unknown sender, return it as the platform instructs rather than on your own.
4. Contact your bank or wallet provider and ask whether the payment can be stopped or recovered.
5. For larger amounts, impersonation or threats, report to local police and keep every record.

Frequently asked questions