Richard Teng flags surge in WhatsApp phishing targeting crypto users

Binance CEO Richard Teng warned users about a rise in phishing scams spreading through social platform WhatsApp, and is urging crypto users to heighten their vigilance in the uptick in social engineering and impersonation schemes.

Teng said on Friday through his official X account that he had noticed a surge in fraudulent messages on the popular messaging app. “Seeing more phishing scams on WhatsApp lately. Please stay cautious. Binance will never message you in groups about investments or funds. If in doubt, verify first,” he wrote.

Seeing more phishing scams on WhatsApp lately.

Please stay cautious – Binance will never message you in groups about investments or funds.

If in doubt, verify first.

— Richard Teng (@_RichardTeng) November 7, 2025

The Singaporean business executive shared an official Binance article with information on how the exchange contacts users and how to verify legitimate communication channels. 

How Binance officially contacts users

According to the article, Binance users can safely expect communication through only a few verified channels. These include the 24/7 Binance customer support portal, the official X account, and verified Telegram accounts.

Binance has an internal verification tool, Binance Verify, where users can check if a website, email address, or Telegram ID is authentic. “Make sure that you have verified the identity of the contact,” the company said, warning users not to trust messages claiming affiliation without cross-checking through the verification service.

Emails from Binance can also be confirmed through Binance Verify to ensure the sender address is legitimate.

“Binance will never contact you on WhatsApp to offer investment opportunities, request payments, or ask for your personal information. Anyone claiming to represent Binance and reaching out to you this way is attempting to scam or defraud you,” the exchange surmised.

According to a recent incident talked about in the Keep Yourself Safe From Community Group Scams web page, some bad actors recently created a fake Binance group on WhatsApp under the name “Michael Hewson.” 

The impersonator posing as a company employee reportedly invited users to join a group chat promising “Binance anniversary prizes.” They then shared legitimate Binance Academy content within the group to make the operation appear credible. 

Phishing scams are among the most common forms of online fraud in WhatsApp, involving faked emails, websites, or messages that closely resemble those from real organizations. The perpetrators may then try to trick recipients into disclosing sensitive information using the fake communication methods like passwords, two-factor authentication codes, or wallet addresses.

Once trust is established, victims are directed to malicious sites and encrypted channels like Discord and Telegram, or encouraged to transfer funds to accounts controlled by the fraudsters. 

In August, WhatsApp’s parent company Meta detailed the removal of over 6.8 million accounts tied to international scam operations in the first half of 2025. The social media company confirmed the takedowns in a statement, noting the accounts were deleted “before scam centers were able to operationalize them.” 

Meta said many of the removed accounts were linked to operations based in Southeast Asia, an area flocked by large-scale scam centers that use coerced labor to force workers to run online scams on unsuspecting individuals in several countries.

Social media platforms and AI generated messages

Meta reported that these criminal groups use several tactics like fake investment opportunities, romance scams, and cryptocurrency cons. Some scammers begin by contacting victims on text or dating platforms, gradually moving conversations to WhatsApp, Telegram, or TikTok, in order to avoid detection.

A June research from OpenAI revealed that malicious actors have been using artificial intelligence tools, including ChatGPT, to generate short, persuasive recruitment-style messages in their scam operations.

In one case uncovered earlier this year, Cambodian users were found promoting a “rent-a-scooter” pyramid scheme using text messages written by AI. 

These messages, translated into languages including English, Spanish, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, German, and Haitian Creole, offered recipients unheard of salaries for very simple online tasks such as liking social media posts.

The messages had links that sent victims to WhatsApp and then to Telegram, where they were told to do things that would subsequently put their data at risk of theft. The company added that the operation appeared highly centralized and likely originated in Cambodia.

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