Beware of On-Chain C2C Trading Scams: A Cautionary Tale
On-chain C2C Trading Scams
Recently, GoPlus received reports from users who purchased fake USDT in the OKX wallet’s C2C marketplace.
The user intended to buy USDT by exchanging BIBI on the BSC (0x55d398326f99059ff775485246999027b3197955), but received counterfeit and fraudulent assets instead (0x425f27373e43331153b3c9edb26ba37298597955).
Upon our investigation, we discovered a significant number of fraudulent orders containing fake assets within the OKX wallet’s Marketplace-Crypto transactions.
Among these, there are several attractively priced orders. For instance, you might only need less than $600 worth of BIBI to acquire as much as 1500 USDT. At first glance, this seems like a lucrative deal, especially for holders of BIBI, which has already seen a significant drop. To those affected by the plummeting value, the opportunity to sell off their heavily devalued assets for almost three times the price is undoubtedly tempting.
But upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that the assets offered by the seller are not USDT (0x55d398326f99059ff775485246999027b3197955) but rather a similarly named fraudulent asset (0x425f27373e43331153b3c9edb26ba37298597955).
Without careful consideration, users might fall victim to the illusion of recovering their losses.
As of the time of this statement, there are still numerous instances of similarly named fraudulent assets listed in OKX’s Crypto C2C marketplace. It’s uncertain how many more users might be deceived.
The Cost of Freedom: Pros and Cons of Decentralization
These kinds of deplorable scams manage to deceive users, primarily due to the lack of adaptation of C2C users accustomed to centralized trading transitioning into decentralized exchanges.
Traditional C2C transactions primarily take place within centralized platforms like exchanges. The most significant limitation of this matchmaking trading method lies in its support for a limited range of categories, necessitating KYC verification for use. However, apart from these inconveniences, exchanges handle asset custody, validate assets, oversee settlements, providing users with a basic safety guarantee without much need for critical thinking.
On the other hand, decentralized C2C transactions offer an extremely high degree of freedom. Anyone can publish trades without verification, allowing for various non-mainstream transactions and eliminating the need to endure slippage caused by defi protocol liquidity, resulting in a smoother experience. However, these conveniences come at a cost — the extensive freedom that allows anyone to place orders, including those involving fraudulent assets.
OKX Wallet, introduced by the centralized exchange OKX as a web3 wallet, successfully attracted a substantial number of centralized users and brought greater convenience to decentralized users. Yet, it also led these users to foster a misconception: the belief that they are still within the protective sphere of OKX while engaging in decentralized trading.
This leads to many users relaxing their vigilance during transactions, failing to carefully observe the items being traded. In reality, a little observation would reveal that OKX has issued a warning when adding USDT: “This is not a listed asset and may be fraudulent.
Insights
For users, the most significant means of self-protection lies in heightened vigilance, especially concerning on-chain interactions. It’s essential to fully confirm one’s transaction partners and the items being traded. Absolute freedom implies absolute risk, and any level of caution is never excessive.
However, for wallets and platforms, mere alerts are insufficient in providing protection. Appropriate centralized measures are also necessary. It is recommended that trading platforms maintain a continuously updated blacklist of fraudulent assets in real-time, and GoPlus is willing to offer full assistance in this regard.
