There are many fish in the sea, but unfortunately, there are also many sharks. The same applies to the crypto space. There are “normal” users and there are scammers who prey on them. It is crucial to know how to navigate this tricky place because if you are not careful, you will lose all your funds.
Scammers are constantly evolving their methods, so it is essential to stay vigilant and up to date. There are steps you can take to minimize the chances of losing your hard-earned funds and assets.
The first step is to secure your wallets, and the best method to date is to use a hardware wallet. This makes it incredibly difficult for scammers to access your resources unless they trick you into accepting a transaction. A hardware wallet is an external device, so even if you get hacked, they still cannot access your funds, because you have to physically press a button to confirm.
Imagine walking down the street and a stranger approaches you, claiming that you were destined to meet and offering something extra if you follow them into a shady area. Would you trust that person, even if they claim to be famous? The same applies in the crypto space. Scammers impersonate anyone to get what they want, which are your crypto assets. Make sure that you are communicating with a verified individual and double-check everything with other members and founders of your community before opening links or engaging with suspicious messages.
Always keep your recovery phrase and private key safe and never share it with anyone, not even your wife, or she will scam you. Sharing it with ANYONE poses a risk you probably should not take. It’s a high risk, no reward scenario in 99.99% of cases.
If you receive links from an unknown and suspicious source, it is highly recommended not to click on them. These links may lead to seemingly legitimate sites designed to drain your crypto wallet by tricking you into approving a contract or transferring your assets to the scammers.
Scammers often impersonate projects and may directly message you using a project name as their username. Be cautious of such individuals.
Another tactic scammers use is creating a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out). They may offer limited-time or limited-quantity opportunities or make offers that seem too good to be true. In the crypto space, such offers are almost always scams.
There is also a possibility that an official account gets hacked. In that case the attacker will change some of the information provided to promote scams, such as altering official links or promoting free or unexpected mints. It is highly recommended to stay up to date with the happenings on platforms like Discord, Twitter (or X as it’s called now) and other networks where you are active.
Remember: the larger the fish, the more tempting the bait.
In order to protect yourself in the world of cryptocurrency, it is crucial to be cautious of fake crypto projects. Many web3 projects are currently scams or rugpulls. Therefore, before investing in any project, it is advisable to ensure that the founders are actively involved, kind, transparent, have a well-documented roadmap, and are doxxed (their identities are verified). It is important to have a clear understanding of what the project is about and its future direction.
We would like to emphasize that the zkMarkets team does not endorse scam projects on our platform. We make efforts to filter out larger projects that we believe are scams. However, since we have an automatic listing process, all projects will be listed automatically on our marketplace. This means that it may be challenging for us to filter out smaller projects or collections due to the sheer number of them. Therefore, it is vital for users to conduct their own research (DYOR) before making any purchases.
By being Vigilant and conducting thorough research, you can protect yourself from potential scams and make informed decisions in the cryptocurrency space.
Additionally, if you are an avid gamer and engage in the illegal downloading of patched games, it is important to be aware that you may inadvertently create a backdoor for hackers to gain access to your cryptocurrency.
PS. We have created a Galxe quiz campaign so that you can test your expertise and make sure you’re fully equipped to navigate the crypto space securely. Check it out here: https://galxe.com/zkMarkets/campaign/GCsDcUjbdz
