BitPay offers cryptocurrency products and financial services so we are often targeted by bad actors and/or scammers attempting to steal people's money as with any financial product or service. The purpose of this article is to address some of these known scams.
Here are general ways to spot common scams:
- Unsolicited contact - If you receive an unexpected call, email, or text message from a company, it could be a scam.
- Pressure - If you're pressured to make a decision quickly, or if you're threatened with negative consequences, it could be a scam.
- Personal information - If you're asked for personal or financial information, it could be a scam.
- Payment - If you're asked to pay a fee or for something upfront, it could be a scam.
- Too good to be true - If you're offered a large amount of money, it could be a scam.
- Spelling and grammar - If the message contains spelling and grammatical errors, it could be a scam.
- Email address - If the email address domain doesn't match the company, it could be a scam.
- Link or attachment - If you're asked to click a link or download an attachment from someone you don't know, it could be a scam.
- Account information - If you're asked to change your account information, you should contact the company directly to verify.
BitPay Wallet Scams
Activating your wallet to get access to cryptocurrency
Scammers use this strategy to coerce users into sending cryptocurrency to the bad actor. The BitPay Wallet is a FREE self-custody cryptocurrency wallet and the wallet is secured by your seed phrase or 12-word recovery phrase. Never share your seed phrase.
Import this seed phrase and deposit cryptocurrency to access a larger amount
Seed phrases or 12-word recovery phrases are how users access self-custody wallets. Anyone who knows the seed phrase will have full access and control of any wallets connected to the key. There is no account for the BitPay Wallet. BitPay or BitPay Support will never ask for your seed phrase.
If a person is telling you to import a wallet and deposit cryptocurrency, you're in communication with a scammer who will move the funds as soon as a deposit happens.
Testnet Scam
Testnet funds have no value. Scammers will show you a large amount of testnet funds in an attempt to get you to deposit or send mainnet (real cryptocurrency) to the scammer's address. Scammers typically leverage the Copay wallet in this scam.
Fake Copay apps in Google Play Store
The Copay app is NOT available in the Google Play Store and only available on iOS and Windows. Official apps created by by BitPay show BitPay Inc as the developer. Any apps in the Google Play Store with the Copay name were not created by BitPay. If you download a bad actor app from the Google Play Store and import your seed phrase, you're funds will be stolen.
Email Scams from Bad Actors
Bad actors have been known to send fake emails posing as BitPay. BitPay Support and Employees only communicated using the @bitpay.com domain. I.E. (support@bitpay.com). Bad actors posing as BitPay will not have this domain attached if they are attempting to scam or phish you via email. Do not select to click on any links as this could be a phishing attempt. Here are some common phrases scammer try to use:
- BitPay payment received in your wallet
- BitPay funds were successfully deposited
- Payments cannot be processed from your senders
- Cryptocurrency giveaway or winnings
- Pay a fee to get access to funds
BitPay continues to combat cryptocurrency scams. If you think you may have been scammed or want to report a scam attempt, please reach out to BitPay Support BitBot (blue circle bottom right). If you have fallen victim to a scam, please report threats, fraud, or other crimes to your local authorities.
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