Today I was going through my phone and I realized something. Went through Discord and there in my DM's were a couple of weird DM's from strange-looking accounts claiming I'd won something and needed to click the link to claim, I am already quite familiar with these ones so I ignored them. Also got some spammy ones about buying their art, ignored them as well. Then I went to WhatsApp, and on some WhatsApp entertainer's status, I saw some ads promoting some scammy sites for making money in a short period of time. I have tried my luck with them in the past when I didn't know better and they're always a waste of time. Then I went on to Twitter and I saw some similar scammy links, then just recently I heard of some yet to be launched tokens that were gaining popularity on this side of the world thanks to an airdrop on Telegram, and then it turned out to be a scam. Just the other day, one of my younger ones got scammed of some money through a phone call.

The rate at which scams and Ponzi schemes are spreading and are everywhere is becoming alarming. They have become so much in this present age that it is now odd when you don't see them. Most especially on the web2 platforms. Some of them even get shilled by influencers and those with a large audience which is sad.

A lot of us have grown wise and know how to spot and avoid these scams when we see them, but then there are still a lot of people who aren't so knowledgeable at the time and then they end up falling for these scams and losing hard earned money. I have had a lot of experiences with some of these scams and I've lost money to a couple of these Ponzi schemes, which is why I don't fall for them anymore. While I believe that ultimately experience is always the best teacher for things like this, it is always best to learn some things without going through pain if you can.

The best advice I can give to anyone who doesn't know how to spot a scam is to avoid anything that advertises quick and easy money. Is it a telegram group where you're asked to buy a coin that'll pump upon launch? RUN. Is it a site where all that you have to do is pay a certain amount of money, and then in the next couple of hours or days you'll get back your ROI, and an extra bonus if you refer someone else to pay? RUN. Or is it the, "you've won free money! Click here to receive payment." There's no such thing as easy money, no one will just go around handing out their wealth for no reason. There's a saying I heard somewhere but can't remember where I heard it from, it goes

If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

Simple as that. Most of the scammers try to prey on our greed. We need to be wise and think logically. We also have some who try to prey on ignorance. This is why it's always good to have even if it is just some background knowledge about anything you're doing that is valuable to you. We also have the vile and disgusting ones who try to prey on your conscience. These are the worst ones in my opinion as they take away help from those who genuinely need it. For this there's not too much I can say as each case is unique, it is best to just think logically and be sure you're actually helping someone who needs it and not someone who's playing you.

These are evil times we live in and we must stay safe to avoid getting scammed.

~THANKS FOR READING~

_{Cover image by Sam Mino from Pixabay}

Posted Using InLeo Alpha