Spotting Crypto Scams

Please ensure you understand the following before funding your Bitbuy account:

• Bitbuy is NOT affiliated with any third-party investment platforms or investment brokers/advisors, such as forex brokers, binary options traders, bot trading platforms, cloud mining etc.
• Bitbuy will NEVER call, text, or email you offering investment advice, and is not affiliated with any companies or individuals that will.
• Bitbuy will NEVER ask you to download software to remotely access your computer (Anydesk, Teamviewer, etc.), and is not affiliated with any companies or individuals that will.
• Your employer/potential employer should never ask you to purchase cryptocurrency on their behalf from your personal bank account and doing so will result in your account being permanently banned.
• Cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible and cannot be canceled, reversed, or recovered by Bitbuy once they have been sent out of your account.

Intro to Crypto Scams

Cryptocurrency is an incredible and powerful new innovation that is poised to change the world. However, we are still in the early days of crypto, and unfortunately scammers are preying on individuals who don’t fully understand the technology. We’ve updated our guide to help you steer clear of the most common scams.

Fake Investment Platforms/Exchanges

This is the most common scam out there, and unfortunately one that is quite complicated. Scammers will create fake exchanges, or fake platforms that promise high returns to new investors. Typically they will get your attention on Facebook or another social network via an ad or a message, and build a relationship with you that involves phone calls, tutorials and more.Typically they will ask for an upfront investment, then ask for additional investments in order to “unlock” your returns.  These companies will typically push you to continue to make deposits to continue earning on your investment, but they will eventually disappear and leave you without a way of contacting them or recouping your funds.  Since cryptocurrency withdrawals are not reversible, Bitbuy will not be able to help you recover these funds. These scam companies will often say they are officially partnered with Bitbuy, which is untrue. Bitbuy does not have any official partnerships with any 3rd party investment platforms. If a company says they have a partnership with us, please bring it to our support staff's attention.The best way to protect yourself is to do your own research via the Internet. Google their brand to see if they have a large online presence or reviews. Make sure there are no scam reports. Take some text from their site and Google it, to see if the site you are on is a clone of another site. Indicators

• The company or investment platform is not registered with any regulatory body i.e. Bitbuy is regulated by FINTRAC. Other regulatory bodies include the OSC, IIROC, SEC, BCSC, FCA, CySEC, ASIC etc.
• The company will entice you with offers guaranteed returns that sound much too good to be true.
• A representative from the company contacts you constantly and is very pushy.
• The representative wants you to download the software so that they can use their computer remotely.
• The company's website has spelling or grammatical errors in it.
• Links on the company website that don’t go anywhere.
• The company is based outside of Canada.

Romance Scams

In romance scams, here a bad actor pretends to be someone they are not in order to entice an irreversible cryptocurrency payment. The contact is initially made on a dating site or social mediaTypically the scammer will reach out to someone online and develop a romantic relationship or express desire to start a romantic relationship in person. After some time has passed and the relationship has advanced, they will ask for a payment of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency in order to pay for a flight, pay a medical bill or some other fabricated story. Indicators

• The person does not want to talk on the phone, only interested in email or text talking.
• They ask for payment via cryptocurrency and not cash in order to make some sort of purchase.
• They have some type of hardship that they need help with (getting a flight, paying a bill etc)

Phishing Scams

Phishing scams include bad actors pretending to be support staff or associated with the company you are dealing with. It’s possible someone could reach out to you pretending to be from Bitbuy and ask you questions about your account. A Bitbuy employee will never ask for your password or 2FA information. If they do, it’s possible that this individual is impersonating an employee in order to attempt to steal your account.If someone asks for your Bitbuy password, immediately report it to Bitbuy support for investigation. Also, if someone you are working with wants access to your computer, this is a major red flag. Only seek and trust support from support@bitbuy.ca (Zendesk ticket system) or our phone number. Bitbuy will never give account specific support over social media.Bitbuy staff will not provide account specific support over social media, chat platform, or direct email. The only channels where they will discuss account details will be the Zendesk Ticket system (emails to and from support@bitbuy.ca). Do not trust emails or phone calls from other sources.Indicators

• Someone is asking for your password or 2FA information
• They are contacting you over social media or instant messenger
• You have not dealt with this person before when speaking to Bitbuy

How to Protect your Cryptocurrency from Crypto Scams

If you are looking to take your security to the next level, we always suggest taking your crypto offline, using a hardware wallet.  Moving your crypto to a hardware wallet is best practice, especially if you are looking to hold onto your cryptocurrency instead of actively trading it.Ledger is the preferred brand of Bitbuy since they support all assets that we sell, and is the standard for safety in the industry. Explore the Ledger website here. ‍