How to Stay Safe on Paxful

Modified on Thu, Oct 17 at 1:24 AM

Your safety is a big priority for us at Paxful, so we’ve put together this list of tips and tricks to help keep your account safe.

Protect yourself in the trade

1. Stay in the trade chat.

Although there are times when you might need to exit the chat to finish, try not to click on suspicious links that you aren’t familiar with, especially phishing links.
Be cautious of users asking you to cancel a trade or switch over to a different offer link. Keep an eye out for users not following the offer guidelines.
Don’t chat outside of Paxful’s trade chat. If your trade ends up in a dispute, our team can’t help resolve the issue since it happened outside of Paxful.
Check if the address on your browser matches https://paxful.com before entering any account details.

2. Don’t share your personal information.

Don’t share any contact or personal information on the trade chat—users may try to scam you on off-site trades, impersonate you, or show that you have traded with them off-escrow.

3. Learn how to identify the real Paxful moderators.

It’s important to know that our moderators have specific chat bubbles and signatures to let you know that it’s really us. Here’s what a message from a real Paxful moderator will look like:

1. Two-factor authentication

We highly recommend setting up 2FA as soon as you create your Paxful account. You can set this up in your account settings. Although we recommend using Authy or Google Authenticator for more security, you can also use your email for 2FA.

2. Security questions

We highly recommend setting up your security questions when you create your Paxful account, but you can set them up at any time in your account settings. Be sure to pick questions and answers you won’t forget!

3. Active sessions

We recommend frequently checking all the devices you’re currently logged into. You can check this in the Security tab of your Paxful account. If you don’t recognize a device, click on the “X” to log out of that device. If this happens, we recommend changing your password immediately.

Even when you’re not logged in and actively trading, it’s important to keep your Paxful account and systems safe.

1. Email and passwords

Creating passwords. When creating a password, make sure to use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters.
Don’t use the same passwords. It’s essential to have different passwords for your email and your Paxful account. This is because hackers usually target your emails. In a worst-case scenario, if a hacker gets access to your email, they’ll be able to access the funds in your Paxful Wallet.
Never share your password. Be cautious of users asking for sensitive information like your password in the trade chat. The Paxful team will NEVER ask for your password or other sensitive account information. If you’re in a dispute and our moderators ask you to provide a screenshot or a video as proof, make sure your passwords are not visible.
Protect your email address. Make sure you protect the email address connected to your Paxful account and don’t share it in a trade chat. Your email is a gateway to your account, so be sure to keep it to yourself.
Be cautious of SMS messages and emails from unfamiliar senders. Don’t interact with suspicious emails, give away sensitive data, or click on any links that seem suspicious. For additional information, see: I have received a suspicious email. Is it from Paxful?

2. Computer health checklist

Keep your systems up to date. This includes your computer, smartphone, browser, and other software.
Don’t download anything unnecessary. Additionally, if you don’t know the developer or aren’t sure if you trust it, don’t download the software or program.
Use officially licensed software. Make sure you’re using software that is trusted and licensed. Remember to keep these programs up to date as well. This includes antivirus, anti-malware, personal firewall programs, etc.

3. Use secure networks

Make sure you’re using trusted and secure Wi-Fi and networks—preferably a wired connection or a network with a password.

If you need any assistance from our Support team, do not hesitate to contact us. Check out this article on How to Contact Support.