The four failure modes
- The pure exit scam: payment sent, account never delivered, seller vanishes.
- The recycled kit: account delivered, but the same identity was sold to five buyers — first re-KYC locks everyone.
- The reclaimed account: real account, but the original owner still holds the recovery email and takes it back after 72 hours.
- The bait-and-switch tier: Tier 2 sold as Tier 3, discovered only when you try to withdraw.
Six pre-purchase checks
- Ask for a redacted preview of the ID, selfie, and address proof before payment.
- Search the seller's Telegram handle history — accounts under six months old are high risk.
- Ask for the account's region, verification date, and last login IP. Vague answers = walk.
- Request a live screen-share login on a video call before paying more than $300.
- Insist on escrow via a mutually trusted middleman for anything above $200.
- Read the written warranty. "Warranty" without a time window is meaningless.
The safe handover ritual
Encrypted, expiring channel only — PrivNote, one-time paste, or PGP. The seller resets the email and 2FA to your infrastructure while you watch. You immediately rotate the password, generate fresh 2FA, set your withdrawal whitelist, and delete the seller's session tokens. Within 24 hours you test-deposit, test-trade, and test-withdraw a small amount to trigger the warranty window if anything fails.
Get verified stock today
Premium KYC ships real, hand-verified accounts with full document sets, encrypted handover, and a 24-hour replacement warranty.
Frequently asked questions
Refusal to escrow. A legitimate seller with a real track record will always accept escrow on first-time orders above $200.
Yes, but only with sellers who publish a written warranty policy and have a public reputation to protect. Verbal promises don't hold.