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Scams & Security in crypto

Whate we do

Since the beginning of 2021, more than 46,000 people have reported losing over $1billion in crypto to scams. A huge amount of this was due to social media fraud. During this period, nearly four out of every ten dollars lost to fraud originating on social media was lost in crypto, far more than any other payment method. Next to fraud, even more scams are being made in ‘investment opportunities’ and phishing.

In this article we will discuss investment scams, how to recognize these and how to protect yourself against them. These scams can range from (fake) pre-sale of new coins, to fake duplicates of existing coins. 

Fake ‘pre-sale opportunities’

Basically the scammer promises you a quick and large return on your investment in a new, soon to be released coin. This can be either a fake coin or a fake pre-sale of a legit coin. 

Red flags are:

  • You have to invest NOW! Pre-sale is only open for x amount of minutes.
  • You have been added to an ‘investment group’ on whatsapp, telegram or discord at random by an unknown person.
  • You seem to be getting this opportunity out of nowhere for no apparent reason.

How do you protect yourself:

  • If things seem too good to be true, they are.
  • Do your due diligence. Always check the social media of a potential investment and see if you’re in the correct group or on the correct website.

FAKE COINS

These can be hard to spot. Everybody can add their coins to decentralized exchanges like pancakeswap, and scam coins usually take a while to be discovered.


Red flags:

  • You’re not checking the contract address of the coin.
  • You entered the decentralized exchange via a direct link on a social network.

How do you protect yourself:

  • Use a centralized exchange like Binance, Crypto.com or Coinbase.
  • If you do use a decentralized exchange, always check the contract address on the website of coinmarketcap.

Next time we will talk about how to store and protect the cryptocurrency already in your possession. Do you have any questions on protecting your assets? Do not hesitate to contact us! Stay safe and until next time!