Beware the wolf in sheep’s clothing. A would-be scammer is running loose on the Internet, claiming to be an employee of CoinGeek. The thing with scammers is that they’re typically dumber than a ton of bricks and the cryptocurrency community is, for the most part, no longer falling for the old tricks. Still, it deserves a little press time and people need to know to avoid someone going by the name of Lateefa Safa or Lateefa Salib on social media.
The real identity behind the mask isn’t known; however, he or she (most likely a “he” dressed up as a “she”) has been found already on numerous social media channels trying to offer people the ability to purchase Bitcoin SV (BSV). Going by lateefa_safa on Instagram, and identified elsewhere as Lateefa Salib, the person has been seen as part of several channels and specifically claims ties to BSV and CoinGeek across all of them.
After doing some snooping, the individual was contacted in an effort to try to learn more about who he or she really is. In an undercover Instagram chat, Lateefa didn’t hesitate to include a screenshot stolen from CoinGeek about how to buy BSV and share it in the chat, offering to help the individual make a purchase. When Lateefa learned that the person was (supposedly) in Iran, he/she offered to help facilitate a transaction using another crypto on localbitcoins.com, which Lateefa would then convert into BSV. Localbitcoins.com, however, no longer offers its services in the country.
In another feeble attempt at trying to scam someone out of their money, Lateefa was busted asserting to be a CoinGeek employee—not once, but twice. He/she claimed, in poor English that would be a dead giveaway as not having any involvement in the site, “I work as data /information analysts [sic].”
Scammers will always exist—they’ve existed since before money was even conceived. Some people just believe they don’t need to work for a living and can steal from others to get by. Netizens should always be wary of any online offers to sell crypto, especially those in English that contain serious grammatical or spelling errors—these are immediate clues to run far away and never look back. There are reputable sites out there where users can purchase crypto without having to turn to some anonymous individual on social media. CoinGeek.com offers a link to those looking to buy BSV where legal, and anyone hinting at a willingness to deal in illegal transactions can’t be trusted.
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