Protect yourself
Scams look alike. Learn the pattern and you won't fall for one.
We exchange currency and digital assets every day, and we see the same tricks over and over. This page is what we tell our own customers when they ask. You don't need to be an expert: almost every scam falls apart against three or four simple rules.
If you read nothing else on this page, read this.
Four rules that stop almost everything
Whoever pays is whoever receives
The money must come from the same person you are dealing with. If it arrives from an account in another name, send it back and stop the deal. Whatever the explanation.
A screenshot is not a payment
Editing a receipt takes seconds. A payment exists when you see it in your bank or on the blockchain, not when someone sends you the image.
Rushing is the tool
Almost no real deal collapses because you waited ten minutes. If they hurry you, it is because they need you not to think.
Nobody gives money away
If a deal pays far more than normal with «no risk», the product being sold is not the deal. It's you.
The scams we see most
The middleman who cheats two people
The most damaging one, because the two victims end up blaming each other while the scammer is already gone.
How they set it up
- They contact Ana, who is selling USDT, and agree to buy from her.
- They contact Luis, who wants to buy USDT, and sell him the same coins. They tell him: «deposit into this account» — and give him Ana's account.
- Luis deposits. Ana sees the money arrive, believes it is from her buyer, and releases the USDT… to the scammer.
- The scammer disappears. Luis complains to Ana; Ana says she already delivered.
- Both are victims, and neither ever spoke to the other until it was too late.
It works the same with any digital good: an account, a licence, a gift card, a domain. The middleman collects from the buyer and asks the seller to deliver directly.
Always talk to the other party before anything moves, and check that the person paying is the person receiving. If a third party appears anywhere in the chain, stop.
They overpay and ask for the difference
«I made a mistake, I sent you RD$50,000 too much. Send the difference back.»
The original payment is not real or is about to be reversed: an edited receipt, a stolen account, a cloned card or a bank reversal. You return good money, and days later the bank takes back what you thought you had.
Never refund an overpayment the same day. Money from a transfer is not yours when it shows in your balance, but when the bank settles it. Refund through the same channel it came in, and only once it is confirmed.
The relative or friend who isn't
«Mum, I changed my number, save this one.» Days later, an emergency and a request for money.
The other side of it is the real relative asking to «just use your account to receive a little money». That makes you a mule: the trail is in your name, and you are the one explaining it to the bank and the prosecutor, not them.
Hang up and call the number you have always used. Ask something only that person would know — and that isn't on their social media. If the voice sounds odd, don't dismiss it: cloning takes very little audio today.
The investment that always pays
Plans, «trading signals», bots. The number on the screen goes up and can never be withdrawn.
The long version starts as a friendship or a romance. Weeks or months of trust, then «a platform I use myself». It is called fattening: the treatment is excellent right up to the day you try to cash out.
A return cannot be guaranteed. When someone guarantees one, what they are selling is the bait. And if they let you withdraw a little at first, that proves nothing: it is what they spend to make you put in more.
Fake support and fake DopCoin
Profiles with our logo, similar names and a number that is not ours. They message you first.
They ask for passwords, verification codes, your wallet recovery phrase, or that you send to a «test» address to validate the account. None of that exists.
Our numbers are further down this page. Any other one is not ours, however convincing the logo and photos. Always verify through the official number before moving anything.
The twelve words
Your wallet recovery phrase. Twelve or twenty-four words.
It also arrives as a fake «validate your wallet» or «claim your airdrop» page. The form looks good and does exactly one thing: keep your words.
Whoever holds that phrase holds the money, and the transfer cannot be undone. No support team, no bank and no exchange ever needs it. If someone asks, the conversation ends there.
They steal your WhatsApp or Telegram
A six-digit code you never requested arrives. Moments later someone messages asking you to forward it.
Once inside, they message your whole contact list under your name and photo asking to borrow money. Your contacts fall for it because they trust you, not them. If it happens, warn people through another channel straight away.
That code is the key to your account. You share it with nobody: not a friend, not «support», not someone who says they typed the wrong number. Turn on two-step verification with a PIN and the code alone is no longer enough.
Identity theft
With a photo of your ID and two loose details they open accounts, take out loans and trade in your name.
It also happens in reverse: they use your photos and your name to defraud others. The first sign is usually a stranger demanding something you never did. Another way in is cloning your phone line: if your phone loses signal for no reason, call your carrier immediately.
Don't send photos of your ID or selfies holding it to anyone you haven't verified. If you genuinely must send it, watermark it stating what it is for and who it is for.
Links and personal data
A link that looks like your bank, your exchange or a courier. The page is identical; the only difference is the address.
The prize, the fine, the held parcel and the «blocked» account are the same four excuses as always. They all ask for the same thing: that you hurry, and that you type in your details.
Don't go in through links sent to you. Type the address yourself or open your app. Before typing a password, read the domain letter by letter.
Warning signs
One alone is reason enough to stop and verify.
How we actually work
So you can recognise an impostor claiming to be DopCoin, here is what we never do:
If someone claiming to be DopCoin asks you for anything on this list, they are not DopCoin. Message us on the official number and we will check.
If it already happened
The first hours matter. In order:
Stop
Send nothing more, not even to «unlock» or «release» what came before. That is the same scam asking for a second round.
Save everything
Screenshots of the conversation, phone numbers, account names, transfer references and transaction hashes. Without those there is no investigation.
Call your bank
Immediately. If the transfer is recent it can sometimes be held. Every hour counts.
Report it
That is what lets your case be matched with others. Most of these networks have dozens of scattered reports that nobody has connected.
Distrust anyone offering to recover it
The «funds recovery agent» who shows up right afterwards is usually the same group, charging a second time someone who has already proven they pay.
Where to report it in the Dominican Republic
Online report · National Police
denuncias.policia.gob.do
High-tech crime unit (DICAT)
809-682-2151
National Police
809-685-2020
Emergencies
911
Public Prosecutor · PEDATEC
pgr.gob.do
Law 53-07 on High-Technology Crimes and Offences is what covers these cases in the country. You can report even if the amount seems small and even if the scammer is abroad.
Unsure before you trade?
If something feels off, message us before the money moves. Asking costs nothing and we will check it with you.
Informational content from DopCoin SRL, RNC 1-31-718264. This does not constitute financial or legal advice. This guide describes known fraud patterns and does not replace a formal police report or a lawyer's advice. If you believe you are the victim of a crime, go to the authorities.