Triangle Scams: How They Work and How to Check

A triangle scam is simple, effective, and devastating for the person caught in the middle.

The Setup

Three parties:

• Victim A — wants to buy crypto via P2P
• Scammer — connects A and B without either knowing
• Victim B — selling crypto on a P2P platform

The scammer tells Victim A to send fiat payment to Victim B bank account. Victim B sees the payment arrive and releases crypto to the scammer address (thinking it is the buyer). The scammer disappears with the crypto.

When Victim A reports fraud to their bank, the chargeback hits Victim B. Now Victim B has lost both the crypto AND the fiat.

Why This Matters for Exchange Operators

If you run a P2P desk and your customer (Victim B) receives a bank transfer from an unknown party, that transfer may be proceeds of fraud. Your customer did nothing wrong — but the funds are tainted.

Without AML screening, you have no way to know that the counterparty address (the scammer) has been involved in fraud on other platforms.

How to Protect Your Users

Screen the counterparty wallet before releasing crypto. If the address has community fraud reports, block the trade.

Check for pattern signals — scammer addresses often show rapid in/out patterns, multiple small transactions, and short wallet age.

Educate your users — if the bank transfer comes from a different name than the trade partner, that is a red flag.

The best defense is pre-trade screening. One check takes 3 seconds. A fraud case takes months.

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Screen any wallet before trading: @sanctuaryapp_bot — 1 free check per day.