Cryptocurrencies are gradually taking over the financial systems of the World currently.
Since the creation of Bitcoin in 2010 and the evolution of Decentralized Finance (Defi), the world has seen the benefits of crypto and the disadvantages of Centralized Finance.
Since then, People are driving into the crypto ecosystem on a daily basis even if they have little knowledge or no knowledge at all, making crypto newbies prone to hackers or loss of funds due to wrong trade choices.
Crypto scams don’t give negative effects on the victims alone but also on crypto itself.
So many people believe that crypto is a scam movement because of the high issues of scamming online.
However, this article will reveal how you can get scammed and how to prevent crypto scams.
Why you are always scammed
Some of us are the reason behind the scams we see or face. The following can lead to crypto scams in the crypto industry.
- Ignorance: Ignorance is a lack of knowledge about something. If you are new to crypto, don’t rush to trade or invest. Acquaint yourself with the basic crypto knowledge and guidelines, before you can fully venture financially. We have seen scenarios when newbie crypto users give out their 12 key phrases to hackers ignorantly. Some also create a wallet without saving their key phrases. All these are effects of ignorance in the crypto ecosystem.
- Thinking that crypto is a get-rich-quick (Ponzi) scheme: Your mindset towards a business will solidly influence your actions positively or negatively. If you feel it’s so easy in the crypto space, you get yourself into sweet-mouth scams and lose all your assets. Crypto is not a Ponzi scheme, it has principles, and risks just like other businesses. If you want to get rich overnight, you will lose all your money all in the name of SCAMs. Twitter scams were done to bankrupt a lot of newbie traders. In the scam process, the scammer will create a fake account of a renowned crypto influencer and post about a double investment project. For example, “Giveaway Giveaway!!!!!!! Send 0.5 ETH and above to the below address and receive double of whatever you send. Good luck”. Why will someone be so good to gift you double on what you send him or her? All your Ponzi scheme mindset must be killed before fully venturing into crypto.
How to avoid Crypto Scams
The crypto industry is prone to scams and hackers. It is advisable to follow the following methods to stay out of scams.
- Never give out your 12 recovery keys or private keys: It is important to note that anyone who asks you for your recovery keys is a scammer and should be treated like one. Your recovery keys give anyone who has it full control of your wallet. It’s like giving out your ATM pin, ATM card, and OTP too. Some scammers say they need it for maintenance of your wallet and you give in to that little trick. Guard your wallets and your wallet key phrases, because this is one of the main keys to avoiding Crypto Scams.
- If possible stay away from airdrops: We all know that genuine airdrops have made crypto users Rich, but we still have to remember the people who lost all they had because of airdrops. Scam airdrops are still clothed the same way as genuine ones, so sometimes it’s hard to detect a scam airdrop. The point says if possible stay away from airdrops for your good except official airdrops of renowned platforms.
- Avoid Blind Crypto Signings: Blind signing is the consenting of a crypto transaction without knowing (details of transaction) what the transaction is about. We know that Cryptocurrency transactions are decentralized as we don’t need a third party to approve the transaction. But for a transaction to go through there must be agreement and approval. So before you sign any transaction, you need to read what you are signing for carefully. In smart contracts, you can be tricked to sign a transaction without reading the transaction details. You can swiftly sign because you are used to signing but at last, you get scammed. It is therefore important that you verify any transaction before signing it.
- Learn before Earning: Crypto trading or business is not what they rush into. You have to learn about any part you wish to venture in. There is no part or branch of crypto that can be done without learning. Even holding is not easy because you cannot hold any coin that exists. You need to know when to buy, when to sell and when to buy the Dip. So it is advisable to learn before venturing into crypto. If you learn crypto, it will be hard to be scammed by anyone. Having to make your trading decisions and get profits from them is the best feeling in this space. And it can only happen by learning. So many newbies rush into the crypto space and later loss their funds. “Learn before you earn” is a must.
- Verify wallet connection required platforms: There are a lot of scam platforms for staking, swapping, and buying. And these platforms will request you connect your wallet before you operate in them. Immediately you connect your wallet by signing the operation, and you have given the scammers access to your funds. And with their complex malware, you can lose all your funds. It is advisable you verify any platform that requests for wallet connection before connecting your wallet. It has been learned that some airdrops request you connect your wallet by inputting your 12 key phrases on a column before you can be rewarded. It is a scam, never make such a mistake.
Conclusion
A lot motivated the writing of this article, as we have either been scammed before or witnessed a scamming case.
The main danger of crypto scams is the negative painting of crypto and we are to remove the stains by acquainting our readers with the dos and don’ts in the crypto space.
If you have been scammed before, you will understand the pains and setbacks of crypto scams.
Please follow these procedures and share with friends and families!!!!!!!