Identifying Crypto Scams & Their Red Flags

Evolving from Web2 to Web3, there are a lot of things that could slow the speed or cause doubt for it's adoption. How people have gotten so used to Web2 that they find it hard to navigate through the complexity of Web3 is no surprise as we all find some difficulty getting into a new way of doing things.

The world is gradually getting into the world of Web3 games, crypto and investments but there are those who are only after their own gains with little or no work done, they damage the image that Web3 is building. These people are called scammers. So among the many things causing the slow speed of Web3 adoption everywhere are, crypto scams.

I was on one of the cryptoholics space shows some days ago and I learnt a lot about many conspiracies and scams regarding Cryptocurrency. I also got the chance to read from others their experiences in getting scammed and how they identified some or fell for some.

What are Crypto Scams?

Crypto Scams are scenarios where scammers try to get information that gives them access to a digital wallet or other types of private information, such as security codes.

It is simply being convinced and ripped off of your assets by a scammer. A lot of persons have fallen into the category of being scammed in many cases even outside crypto but we are focusing on those who have had their assets details or assets itself taken away from them. Have you fall for any crypto scam?

I'll be sharing five crypto scams you should know exist and how they seem to come around so to avoid them. There are a lot more out there but I'll share the ones I've heard so much about and fallen for in the past.

• Ponzi Schemes

The oldest scheme that is being reimagined for our modern times. Long before crypto became this popular, there have been ponzi Schemes, I've seen a few movies that shed light on how it was being done and now, they have brought it into crypto and people are falling for it.

How do you know it's a ponzi scheme? They will promise you little or no risk with high returns or steady or no rate, how possible is that with crypto investments? and then they make you pay some fees to withdraw your money. They are all red flags to know you're being scammed.

• Pump and Dumps

This one happens with shit coins a lot and I've been a victim of it a few times. The scammers pumps a token, get you to invest which pumps it even more and then they sell off leaving you and your investments down in the drain. There are quite obvious signs to know a token is being pumped to be dumped.

How do you know it's a pump & dump? They will promote their token literally everywhere, on social media screaming "Join now before it's too late". As an investment adviser had said, it is at that time you should wait because it might actually turn out to be a pump and dump.

• Crypto Giveaways

I was once in a telegram group that a friend made me join saying they do a lot of giveaways there and not just any giveaways, crypto was promised. I'll get to grow a crypto portfolio if I get lucky with a lot of wins and so I joined. Well, the rest is history. I almost lost my crypto wallet details but didn't thanks to another friend who identified something about the group.

How to identify them is quite tricky! They clone celebrities in crypto accounts and make their profile seem very genuine, they are bent on making you send some crypto token for approval but this means you sharing details to your own account and they are off with your assets.

• Romance Scams

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I'm not sure how common this one is as I feel it should be the most obvious one to not fall for but then, there are a lot of people who still fall this scam. The scammers in this kind try to form a romantic relationship with you without any physical meet ups or real dates and then try to sell some crypto tokens or NFTs to you.

The obvious way to identify them is when they avoid video calls, tries to convince you into buying some token you may or may not know anything about or they try to sell NFTs that you're sure you don't have use for or knowledge about.

• Fake Crypto Sites

The most common one of them all and the one people fall for most easily as it doesn't take much for scammers to build up a website and make it all fancy and legit looking. They would promise the impossible with crypto investments and get you falling with their forged reviews to invest.

How to identify them is also easy, there is always the words "Crypto, forex or trade"* in their website names to make them an easy search find on other webs, there are typos in spellings and then, their sweet rewards promises.

Conclusively, as crypto scams are on the increase, there are also more ways to identify them, we just have to be more careful when we're dealing with our crypto assets whenever... Know the signs, spot the scam! I hope this helps anyone reading this.

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