How To Spot Cryptocurrency Scams? Know Cryptocurrency If You Are Investing!

Prajwal Barate
Coinmonks
4 min readAug 26, 2022

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Image Source: Bitcoinist

Cryptocurrency has entered the mainstream economy and has provided potential capital gain returns for investors who made an early move. People invest in cryptocurrency without adequate knowledge and hope of building easy fortunes.

People who invest themselves or through unknown brokers sometimes get scammed by losing their money. Crypto scams are becoming common as cryptocurrency is reaching out to broader household segments.

Cryptocurrency scammers have stolen over $1 billion from 46,000 people since the start of 2021, a new Federal Trade Commission report says. Most of the people getting scammed according to statistics lie between the age group of 25 to 40 years.

These scammers ruin the image and impression of the crypto market and make the general public skeptical of investing in cryptocurrency.

People doubt its credibility, and somewhere knowledge and attempt to simplify cryptocurrency are not encouraged and promoted by central authorities, making it difficult for people to understand and fall into the traps of scammers.

I share some of the observations and tips on how to spot crypto scams and save yourself from getting scammed.

#1: Person or App demands Payment Only in Bitcoins or Altcoins:

Image Source: NBC 5 Dallas Fort-Worth

If any expert or investor claiming to take responsibility for providing returns on crypto investment demands money in terms of Bitcoin, then it is a sure-shot biggest scam.

If any person demands to pay in Bitcoins or selective crypto coins promising returns and profits in a specific period, always avoid replying and contacting such persons.

#2: Person provides No Track Record and Accountability:

If you are investing in cryptocurrency and looking for promising profits through a broker, and he lacks or refuses to share his previous history and track record, then understand that he is a potential scammer.

Anyone who invests in cryptocurrency or manages pooled funds of any financial security should provide transparency of returns, whether it be profit or loss.

#3: Unknown or Fake Social Media Profile Dm’s you claiming Crypto Expert:

Image Source: Moralis Academy

Scammers using names of big celebrities or influencers to announce significant rewards and prompting them to click on an unknown link is a phishing scam. Avoid commenting and replying on such posts as this provides reference access to your social accounts.

On social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Linkedin, many times, unknown dm’s or posts pop up claiming themselves crypto experts click baiting you to invest money through their reference.

If this is the scenario, it is a big red flag as an expert does not endorse personally to anyone at an individual level. Stay away from unknown messages, and avoid engaging with such profiles claiming crypto experts.

#4: Crypto App Shows Consistent and Unrealistic Profits:

Any app that provides consistent unrealized profit on its interface, regardless of market condition, is a potential scam and threat.

In reality, the crypto market fluctuates dynamically based on news affectations, and on some days, the portfolio has unrealized losses and profits on other days.

#5: Random Social Media Post that Shows Personal Profit on Investment:

“Often the liar is one who shouts loudest in the room to prove his innocence!”

Social media pages showing too higher and unrealistic get-rich, easy money schemes in cryptocurrency are majorly fake accounts.

Never follow or reply to any social media page which shows unrealistic and easy success and personal profits through investing in cryptocurrency. There are no shortcuts to achieving success in life.

Kindly stay away from such lucrative traps!

What to do if you find yourself a victim of such scams?

Unfortunately, if you fall into such a scam or fraud, firstly reset all your crypto app and bank passwords.

  1. If any transaction to the scammer has happened recently, try contacting customer care and get details of the receiving entity.
  2. If any transaction has happened in terms of Bitcoin or specific Altcoin, remember to note down the transaction address or hash code, go to that official crypto coin site and enter the copied address or hash code details. This action helps you to get the details of the address or identity of the person who receives money by their account address.
  3. Call and report such incidents to your local Cyber Security Branch.
  4. Immediately Notify your social media circle about such incidents, thus preventing scammers from getting further references.

The Bottom Line:

With evolving technology and many options for gaining wealth by investing, the threat of scammers always exists who rob people.

Cryptocurrency is a decentralized technology operating on a blockchain network, making it most secure and transparent when it comes down to tracking transaction details on a decentralized network through official coin websites.

However, for beginners, it is necessary to understand and educate about cryptocurrency to prevent scams. Hence, stay updated with the latest news and gain knowledge before investing or trading by yourself.

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Prajwal Barate
Coinmonks

Mountain Biker, Cryptocurrency Analyst, and Aspiring Content writer developing my skills.