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Bitcoinveneto

🚨 WARNING: New P2P Bitcoin Scam Involving Revolut and Online Marketplaces 🚨

There’s a growing scam that combines RoboSats, Revolut, and platforms like Facebook Marketplace or eBay.

It’s a classic man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack — and both Bitcoin users and online sellers can become victims.

🧠 Here’s how it works:

A scammer opens a BTC sell offer on RoboSats, requesting payment via Revolut.

At the same time, they contact someone selling an item (e.g., a MacBook) on Facebook Marketplace.

The scammer gives the seller’s Revolut account details to the Bitcoin buyer on RoboSats.

The buyer sends money (thinking it’s for Bitcoin), but it actually goes to the unsuspecting seller of the MacBook.

The seller, seeing the payment, ships the item — to the scammer.

The scammer gets a free MacBook, the buyer gets BTC, and the seller loses their item.

📌 Everyone loses — except the scammer.

🔐 How to protect yourself:

For Bitcoin buyers/sellers:

⚠️ NEVER send money to an account that doesn’t match your trade partner’s name.

Ask for a screenshot of the Revolut profile before sending payment.

Be skeptical of anyone who says “use my friend’s account” or “this is my assistant’s Revolut.”

If anything feels off — cancel the trade.

For marketplace sellers (Facebook/eBay, etc.):

Be cautious if someone pays via Revolut but the account name doesn't match your buyer’s.

Don’t ship products unless you’re sure the payment is legit and not part of a crypto scam.

If someone says “my friend will pay you” — it’s likely a scam.

Stay sharp. Scammers are evolving — so must our awareness.

Don't trust. Verify. ⚡

#Bitcoin #P2P #RoboSats #ScamAlert #CryptoSecurity #Revolut

shortwavesurfer2009 4mo ago 💬 2

I think this may be badly worded because I had trouble understanding the scam myself. It seemed to me as though the Bitcoin seller got a MacBook, the Bitcoin buyer got Bitcoin, and the MacBook seller got Fiat, which I see as no different from a third-party proxy shopper service.

I also see several comments below saying that they had trouble understanding it as well.

The only thing I could see as a possibility here is that the Bitcoin seller on Robosats, aka the scammer, makes a dispute saying that they never got the fiat because the buyer sent it to the MacBook seller and not them, which is the point of the scam.

If arbitration is used on Robosats and the Bitcoin seller has to lock up their Bitcoin in the trade process, and the arbitration sees that the seller told the buyer to use a different account, then it seems obvious what's going on and the dispute would resolve in favor of btc buyer. scammer loses their Bitcoin Bitcoin buyer gets the Bitcoin, scammer gets a macbook, macbook seller gets fiat for macbook.

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Discussion

Bitcoinveneto 4mo ago 💬 3

Triangulation fraud involves a scammer acting as an intermediary between the victim and the seller:

The scammer offers products or services on social media or other platforms.

When the victim contacts the scammer, they request advance payment (before the product is received).

At the same time, the scammer posts a buy offer on RoboSats for an amount equivalent to the expected payment. For example, if they claim to be selling a camera (which the victim will never receive) and price it at €1000, they will create or use a sats buy offer for that same value.

The scammer provides the victim with the RoboSats seller’s payment details (for example, their IBAN), so that the person buying the camera sends the €1000 and the RoboSats seller receives it without knowing what is happening behind the scenes.

After confirming receipt of the money, the seller releases the sats to the scammer.

Finally, the scammer disappears having obtained free sats without delivering the promised product or service, and the seller might later be implicated in a fraud claim because their bank details could be associated with the deception experienced by the victim.

Some strategies that may be useful to you:

Save the chat history and records of transactions conducted on the platform, as well as any evidence that could be useful later if disputes are investigated or complaints are filed.

Ask buyers to include in the payment a subject or message that makes it harder for the scammer to deceive you. For example, “By making this payment, I acknowledge that I will not have the right to a refund later” could be effective, since no one buying a second-hand item would feel comfortable sending money under those conditions. You can use any message you want as long as it does not violate the policies of the payment handler (many do not accept transactions related to BTC).

Ensure that this statement is clear, explicit, and linked to the exact amount of the transaction.

From learn.robosats.org

shortwavesurfer2009 4mo ago

The example given here is different than the example given in the OP. In the OP, the scammer is the Bitcoin seller, not the physical item seller. Either that or maybe I'm just too damn dim to get it.

shortwavesurfer2009 4mo ago

At any rate, there should be escrow all around. There should be escrow between the Bitcoin buyer and seller, and the marketplace that is facilitating the physical item for fiat trade should take the fiat, hold it in escrow, and only release it once the buyer of the physical item receives their item.

Bitcoinveneto 4mo ago

You're right that, at first glance, it seems like everyone gets what they want — but that’s exactly why this scam is dangerous.

The key issue is informed consent and misrepresentation.

The Bitcoin buyer thinks they’re paying the Bitcoin seller (scammer) — not some random MacBook seller.

The MacBook seller thinks the person paying them is their buyer — not someone buying Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, the scammer orchestrates the whole thing without spending a cent — and receives a valuable item.

This is a classic man-in-the-middle scam. The scammer exploits trust on both sides to steal physical goods without ever paying for them.

Even if no one initiates a dispute, the MacBook seller loses because:

They ship to a scammer.

They can’t contact the real payer.

They have no way to undo the transaction or recover the item.

It's not a “proxy buying service” because neither party agrees to be part of this triangle. That’s what makes it fraud.

👉 I’m not trying to lecture anyone — just raising awareness about a scam tactic that’s been affecting people recently.

The more people recognize it, the harder it becomes for scammers to succeed