Top 10 Digital Trade Scams and How Escrow Protects You from Each

After mediating thousands of disputes, the same handful of scams keep showing up. Here are the ten most common — and how the escrow process is structured to defeat each one.

1. The "go first" scam#

Seller insists the buyer pay first. Money sent, asset never delivered. Escrow fixes this by holding the buyer's funds in a neutral wallet — the seller can see them locked, but cannot touch them until delivery is confirmed.

2. Fake escrow site#

Scammer sends a link to a clone escrow site they control. Always type the domain yourself (escrows.click), never click a link a counterparty sends.

3. Chargeback fraud (PayPal, Wise, card)#

Buyer pays via a reversible method, receives the digital item, then opens a chargeback claiming "item not received." Escrow only accepts irreversible payment methods (USDT, BTC, bank wire) — chargebacks are impossible.

4. Account recovery scam#

Seller hands over a social or gaming account, waits a week, then uses original email recovery to take it back. Escrow's inspection window catches this — funds aren't released until the buyer has fully secured the asset.

5. Photoshopped proof of payment#

Buyer sends a fake screenshot of a TX hash. Escrow agents verify the on-chain transaction directly — screenshots are never accepted as proof.

6. Domain transfer reversal#

Seller initiates a domain push, then cancels before it completes. Escrow only releases funds after the registrar confirms the transfer is irreversible (typically 5–7 days for ICANN-locked domains).

7. License key already sold#

Seller resells the same software license to multiple buyers. Escrow requires the seller to provide proof of license invalidation on the original account before release.

8. Wrong wallet address#

Scammer intercepts chat and swaps the payout address. Escrow addresses are server-side only and shown inside your authenticated deal page — never via DM.

9. "Boss/manager" upsell#

Mid-deal, seller's "boss" appears asking for an extra fee. Escrow deals have a locked price — any change requires both parties to re-confirm in writing.

10. Triangulation scam#

Scammer poses as escrow, takes both buyer's and seller's money. Always use the official escrows.click domain and authenticated deal page — never trust a Telegram account claiming to be "the escrow."

Escrows Click holds funds in a neutral wallet, verifies delivery, and only releases payment when both parties are satisfied. Start a deal in two minutes at escrows.click.