Binance Issues a Crucial Scam Warning Involving All Users: Details

TL;DR

• Scammers are impersonating Binance support on social apps in an attempt to access users’ accounts.
• With over 275 million clients, the exchange remains a prime target, and this is not the only recent threat to its community.

The New Tricks

The world’s largest crypto exchange warned that bad actors have been impersonating Binance support to steal people’s personal information or trick them into scanning malicious QR codes.

“Scammers pretend to be “Binance support” and ask for a face video to “verify” your account. Their ultimate goal is to access your funds, bypassing Binance’s real verification systems using stolen data.

Criminals send QR codes via WhatsApp, Telegram, or Facebook, claiming they’re for “rewards” or “updates.” Scanning these codes logs them into your Binance account instantly,” the alert reads. 

The exchange stated that anyone can fall for the aforementioned scams; however, users on popular social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook, appear to be prime targets. It also cautioned that areas with high rates of device theft, like crowded cities, are particularly vulnerable – especially when phones are not locked down.

Binance assured that its teams are constantly on the lookout for such threats, but in the end, it’s up to the users to stay away from such dangers. It urged people to trust only official channels, stating that anything else is likely a scam. 

Other Recent Threats

Binance claims to have surpassed a user base of 275 million people, a scale that may help explain why its community is such a frequent target for wrongdoers. 

Earlier this year, some users reported falling victim to an SMS spoofing attack. Specifically, people received messages that appeared to come from the same Binance number, where they typically got verification codes.

The SMS insisted that their accounts had been accessed from North Korea, instructing them to set up a dubious wallet and transfer all their funds there. Needless to say, that account was malicious, and anyone moving assets there saw them embezzled. 

Last month, Binance’s CEO Richard Teng also sounded the alarm about phishing scams targeting the exchange’s client base. He noted that while the team is available around the clock, people’s vigilance remains “the first line of defense.”