0xcert ICO Guide #2 — Recognize and avoid scams
Apart from the widest global community of crypto-fans, ICOs and crypto-projects are always attracting ill-intentioned individuals or groups as well, who are constantly finding and creating new ways of leveraging other people’s lack of attention and awareness.
While we cannot control your actions, we can help you understand the ways scammers use to get hold of your data and/or funds. From our website, we resume a list of scam methods that you could run into as a contributor in 0xcert Presale and/or Crowdsale.
IMPORTANT: We provide the underlying system security, but only you are responsible for doing your own due diligence before taking any actions! No technical security measure can replace personal vigilance and awareness.
General security guidelines
- The ETH contribution address will appear exclusively on 0xcert website, on July 2, 17:00 CEST.
- The ETH contribution address will NOT be communicated directly via e-mail, Telegram channels, nor social media.
- Always check the website URL: it contains a green lock, starts with https:// and contains a “0” (zero) not an “O”.
- In Telegram, our admins will NEVER contact you first. If you get a direct message from someone impersonating 0xcert admin, report him and delete the contact!
- NO extra bonuses apart from those listed on our website are offered. If you get an email or direct message offering higher or extra bonuses, report the sender as spam and delete the contact!
Scam activity examples
To get an idea about the ways scammers use, here are some examples of what we have encountered so far. Hopefully, it will help you recognize suspicious activities and protect your data and funds.
1. Fake emails
Red flags:
- We never contact people directly and ask them to contribute.
- We do not use QR code for contribution address. The contribution address will be published on https://0xcert.org website.
2. Fake Telegram admins
Always check Telegram User Info: click on the contact’s name and check the Username (begins with @). 0xcert’s only official Telegram admins are:
@jurez 👉 Jure Zih ⚡️ 0xcert
@TomazZeleznikar 👉 Tomaž Železnikar ⚡️ 0xcert
@xpepermint 👉 Kristijan Sedlak ⚡️ 0xcert
@urbanosvald 👉 Urban Osvald ⚡️ 0xcert
@jurejakomin 👉 Jure Jakomin ⚡️ 0xcert
@petrakosi 👉 Petra Kosi ⚡️ 0xcert
@primy21 👉 Primož Erjavec ⚡️ 0xcert Ambassador
@AT0xcert 👉 Aljaž Tišler ⚡️ 0xcert
@herman_k 👉 Herman Kravchenko ⚡️ 0xcert
Red flags:
- Wrong admin’s username — please check the list of official admins above.
- Wrong spelling: oxcert (with “o”) instead of 0xcert (with zero “0”).
- Our Telegram admins NEVER contact you first.
3. Fake Telegram groups
Red flag:
- We do not add people to the group ourselves.
- 0xcert’s only official Telegram channels are: 0xcert Group, 0xcert Announcement Channel, and 0xcert Bounty Channel.
4. Fake contribution addresses and forms
Red flags:
- The contribution address will not be disclosed until July 2, 17:00 CEST! The only source for it is https://0xcert.org website.
- 0xcert runs and manages no forms through which you could partake in either Private or Public Sales. Forms such as this are fake.
- Wrong spelling — Oxcert (with “o”) instead of 0xcert (with zero “0”)
- 0xcert accepts only contributions in ETH, not BTC.
DO NOT SEND any contributions to any address and to no form outside https://0xcert.org website, otherwise you risk losing your funds permanently! Always double check every step.
We’re doing our best to keep you safe from such scam attempts, but we can only do so with your support. Please report any suspicious messages to our official Telegram admins.
Stay non-fungible!
This article originally appeared on the 0xcert website and has been replicated here with express permission from 0xcert.
To learn more about 0xcert protocol and its usability potential please visit 0xcert.org, or explore the links below.
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