Staying safe from crypto-related scams on social media

Luno does not have a WhatsApp line for customer support and will never communicate with you via WhatsApp. If someone claiming to be from Luno contact you about unsolicited offers about crypto investments, report and block them immediately.

• Potential scammers will attempt to exploit unsuspecting people via WhatsApp by enticing them with lucrative cryptocurrency investments

• They typically send shortened external links such as https://bit.ly to lure you into providing personal and banking details

• Some scammers build a relationship with you on WhatsApp before encouraging you to apply for personal loans with the promise of high returns

• They may present themselves as “cryptocurrency traders” and offer to guide you through the process of setting up a Luno account, gaining access to sensitive information, locking you out of your account, and sending your crypto assets to their accounts

• Refrain from interacting with unknown people on WhatsApp, clicking on links sent to you, or allowing “Luno Representatives” to create or manage accounts on your behalf

• Scammers managing your account might get locked out of your account and request for you to send them a selfie with ID and note in order to re-open the account. Never send anyone your identity documents via WhatsApp, as this will help them to commit fraud while pretending to be you.

• Potential scammers usually attempt to send you a direct message on Instagram and will enter into a conversation with you around trading or “making money”.

• As mentioned earlier, it’s best to avoid any interaction with people you don’t know on social media platforms.

• Luno will never attempt to make contact with you via Instagram.

Scammers on Facebook tend to operate in a number of ways. The details may vary, but here’s what to look out for and avoid:

• Potential scammers will attempt to answer/ reply to comments on Luno’s Facebook profile – generally, they’ll try to get you to initiate a new conversation on another platform such as Telegram or WhatsApp.

• They tend to promise high returns or rewards if you send them money to invest on your behalf – we strongly advise against sending anyone money to invest for you as generally, these “traders” are, in fact, scammers.

• As a general rule, it’s best to avoid interacting with people you don’t know on social media platforms, including Facebook. You have no real way of verifying someone’s identity through these platforms.

Telegram is a powerful and popular platform in the crypto community. It’s a great way for crypto enthusiasts and companies in the industry to discuss news, share trends and event details with other community members. However, because of this, it’s also become a nifty tool for scammers to impersonate individuals or organisations in order to gain access to funds or accounts.

Make sure you’re interacting with the real Luno on Telegram

• Luno South Africa

• Luno Nigeria

• Luno Malaysia

• Luno Indonesia

It’s important to note that even if you’re a member of the legitimate Luno South Africa Telegram channel, there could be people in that channel looking to scam unwitting members. No member of the Luno team will ever directly contact you through Luno South Africa’s Telegram platform. We’re also aware of a new trend where scammers make contact with Luno customers through other platforms (like Facebook) and encourage them to continue the chat on Telegram.

If you receive a message from someone claiming to work at or with Luno, we strongly recommend that you cease communication with them and let us know about the incident by submitting a screenshot and sending it to phishing@luno.com.

• Potential scammers are using reputable business networking platforms such as LinkedIn to swindle desperate job seekers who are using it to find employment.

• They disguise themselves as Luno traders, Bitcoin traders, trading associates, stockbrokers, crypto traders, portfolio managers, account managers, cryptocurrency recruiters or they impersonate real Luno employees. They will typically reach out to job seekers via InMail with money-making opportunities.

• Some scammers will entice you with a crypto investment opportunity and deliver returns on the money you’ve invested, making it believable. They will then begin to convince you to ask family and friends to join in. Unfortunately, the people you sign up will lose money in this unsustainable scam. This is typically how ponzi and pyramid schemes work.

• Other scammers might offer you a fake job, which will either require you to create a Luno account or send them set-up funds or even both.

How to spot scammers attempting to defraud you on LinkedIn

• Profile pictures: fake accounts use free stock images of models or steal images of business people on the internet. The best way to check if the image is real is to visit images.google.com, click on the camera icon (search by image), select upload image, choose the file (image) and search. The search results will reveal who the person in the image is or if it is a fake image from a stock image website.

• Names and titles: fake accounts impersonate celebrities, business people, influencers or real Luno employees and often use obscure job titles as mentioned above. It’s in your best interest to search the name on Google to verify the person’s credentials.

• Incomplete profiles: fake accounts often don’t have summaries and lack information about the individual’s previous experience at reputable companies, credible educational qualifications or recommendations from former colleagues, managers or connections.

• Few connections: fake accounts usually have under 150 connections on LinkedIn and often do not have mutual connections. This indicates that the profile was created for the purpose of scamming people on the platform.

• No engagement: fake accounts often don’t engage on LinkedIn with connections by commenting, sharing or liking content. If there is some form of engagement, it would usually contain bad spelling and grammar. The scammer’s sole objective is to find vulnerable individuals who are #OpenToWork in order to play on their emotional state.

• Connection requests: fake accounts will typically send a connection request with a pitch about a job offer in cryptocurrency or a trading opportunity that would solve all your financial troubles. Once you accept the request and engage with the scammer posing as a recruiter, they will begin to request your personal information, bank statements, proof of identity and other sensitive information in order to send the job application to the “client” for consideration.

• Potential romance scammers use dating apps (like Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and others) to target vulnerable and lonely people in an attempt to scam them into sending money to purchase Bitcoin.

• Over a long period of "getting to know" one another, the scammer might reveal that they're a wealthy "cryptocurrency trader" and will convince the victim to send their crypto assets in order for them to make money on your behalf.

• Be sure to avoid taking up offers from seemingly genuine people who offer to walk you through your first crypto purchase.

• Luno's Help Centre empowers its customers by providing detailed step-by-step guides on buying cryptocurrency.