Alert all your friends and acquaintances who deal with cryptocurrency and have a Binance account or accounts on other exchanges about the Binance SMS Scam. They trick you into creating a Trust Wallet and steal all your cryptocurrency.
Be very careful because unfortunately I’ve had quite a few people calling me these days for cryptocurrency consulting after losing significant money to this scam.
I hope I’m reaching you in time…
Let’s see how the Binance SMS Scam works
Step 1:
You receive the following SMS from the same number that sends you Binance messages!
You logged in from a new device in Paris (France). If this was not you call us on: +30 21 1198 7977
This is the brilliant part of the scam, because most people assume it’s actually Binance. And that’s where they start building trust with the victim. It’s very well crafted.
The scammers set the phone number and Binance’s name when sending the message, making it appear as if it comes from Binance, and that’s how most people fall for it. Read more here on Reddit and in this Binance appendix about SMS spoofing. Unfortunately, we should be suspicious of all SMS messages and assume they are not from the official senders.
Step 2:
You call the “supposed” Binance Support number (but this number has nothing to do with Binance! You’re calling the scammers!) The correct step here would be to find Binance’s phone number from their official website and not from the SMS you received!
Step 3:
They ask you how much cryptocurrency you hold to see if it’s worth their time to seriously engage with you. Never share personal information with anyone without double-checking WHO you’re calling!
Step 4:
They instruct you to download Trust Wallet. Which is a legitimate wallet. However, the scam here is that they send you the 12 seed words via SMS, they don’t let you create a new wallet that only YOU have seen. The scammers have created a wallet that they also have access to move the cryptocurrency. This is a critical mistake. If someone else knows the 12 seed words, it’s as if they’ve been compromised!
Step 5:
They instruct you to transfer your cryptocurrency from Binance to the Trust Wallet they provided. And then they simply send (since they also have access) your cryptocurrency to their own wallet.
Game Over
I hope those who took my cryptocurrency seminar didn’t fall for this, as this is one of the fundamental things I insist on mentioning in my private seminars.