How to spot crypto scams

The most common scams

Fake support. You post about a problem online, and “support” replies or DMs you with a link or asks for your seed phraseSeed phrase A list of 12 or 24 words that can recreate all the private keys in a wallet. Never share it.. Real support teams never DM first and never need your phrase.

PhishingPhishing Tricking someone into giving up passwords, keys or approvals by pretending to be a trusted party. sites. Look-alike websites, often reached through search ads or copied social media posts, that ask you to “connect wallet” and sign something. Behind them is usually a wallet drainerWallet drainer Malicious code, often behind a fake website, that tricks users into signing transactions that empty their wallet..

Fake airdropsAirdrop Free tokens sent to wallets, sometimes as a real reward and often as bait in scams.. Unknown tokens appear in your wallet with a website name in the token’s title. Visiting that site to “claim” them is the trap.

Investment and romance scams. A friendly stranger, a guaranteed return, a trading platform you’ve never heard of. Deposits go in, and withdrawals never come out.

Impersonation. Fake accounts posing as well-known founders, exchanges or celebrities, often promising to “double” any crypto you send.

Red flags

• Urgency: “act now or lose your funds.”
• Guaranteed or unusually high returns.
• Any request for your seed phrase or private key.
• A transaction asking for unlimited token approvalToken approval Permission you give a smart contract to move a specific token from your wallet. on a site you arrived at from a link.

If something already went wrong

1. Move any remaining funds to a new wallet with a new seed phrase, from a clean device.
2. Revoke token approvals.
3. Report the scam to the platform where you found it and to your local authorities.
4. Beware “recovery services.” They’re almost always a second scam.