Hi everyone,

I took a hiatus from Bitcointalk and cryptocurrency over the past few years and am saddened to come back to see so many impersonators successfully scamming multiple users on here. I've posted multiple warnings over the past few years about impersonators - I have never used or owned a Telegram account and will never email you first.

It's really frustrating to read the recent posts here to know that if I had set this thread to INACTIVE/CLOSED, certain scams could have been prevented. I deeply apologize for not being more proactive - life got in the way and I've been inactive in this community since 2018.

That being said, you need to be extremely cautious when dealing with strangers on the internet. I have never mentioned that I use Telegram, so not sure why people are so trusting of someone with the same name there, without receiving verification from my account on bitcointalk. I've posted multiple warnings over the past few years, including in the OP regarding scammers and impersator activity.

PGP messages have no use if you don't know how to verify them. Conduct due diligence when engaging in transactions online, make sure you get confirmation AT THE SOURCE.

Quote from: alfonshudding on July 07, 2020, 11:22:24 AM

Hello, so I've been trading from a person on telegram named @visesento (he is the scammer). We both agreed on the deal, 1000$ movocash for 350$ btc. As we both were unsure about trustness, he offered to hire Monbux. We both wrote an email to him, asking if he can help us to trade safely. Provided details, offer and our telegram ID's. He (@MonbuxBitcointalk) created telegram group within like 10 minutes. Then, where my lack of knowledge occured - he sent me a PGP signed message, which I checked on keybase.io/verify :

Monbux Bitcointalk, [04.07.20 20:00]
-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
Version: Keybase OpenPGP v1.0.5
Comment: https://keybase.io/crypto
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=+hQf
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----

Putting this message in it shows, that the message is signed by monbus ( Huh

?) . So this is where I fucked up, not sure how this works.
After this, I've sent BTC to his address ( transaction ID :https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/be618f8c287069dc2cec573070498e90455e3a66d78bcdac5a983a3ad2057882 )
Then, ofc, even after confirmations I didn't get my movocash from the seller. Started asking questions, no response. No response from guy, acting as escrow and no response from the seller.
Today he magicly replied, but only when other guy contacted him ( here is SS, how I managed to reach 'monbux' : https://prnt.sc/tdc7z9 , https://prnt.sc/tdc8mm , https://prnt.sc/tdc926 ) .
And later all our conversation (https://prnt.sc/tdcaw3 , https://prnt.sc/tdcbbr , https://prnt.sc/tdcbmq , https://prnt.sc/tdcbwr , https://prnt.sc/tdcc68 , https://prnt.sc/tdccfp , https://prnt.sc/tdccl7 , https://prnt.sc/tdccvc , https://prnt.sc/tdcd21 , https://prnt.sc/tdcda4 , https://prnt.sc/tdcdl4 , https://prnt.sc/tdcdu0 , https://prnt.sc/tdce0j , https://prnt.sc/tdcehk ), coins weren't sent yet to other address, but I am already sure, that I've been scammed.

so guys, watch out and don't make same mistake as I've did.

P.S. Monbux, can you explain how this PGP works?

Thanks @nutildah for explaining - yes, it seems like this is a PGP message I signed 6+ years ago with my old address (1Q2CupiU5DfWupRGBQ66QYRqvxoNxGZCcn). It shows as verified because the scammer put the text "Monbux Bitcointalk, [04.07.20 20:00]" OUTSIDE the PGP signed message, so it was ignored by the verifier. Try putting anything outside of it and it'll verify, since the verifier only reads in between the
-----BEGIN PGP MESSAGE-----
and
-----END PGP MESSAGE-----

I'd like to thank the bitcointalk community for all the support, great memories, and memes over the past 7+ years. I'll continue to lurk around every once in a while, and hope that by closing this thread + this message, we'll prevent scams moving forward. Will leave thread open for 24 hours more for any comments prior to closing.

Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions/comments. PM me (HERE, not on telegram... :p)