☠ ☠ ☠ ALT COIN SCAM TRENDS ☠ ☠ ☠

[SlidingHorn]

Sadly, I think a thread like this has become necessary (as it was in the Lending forum), seeing as there have been at least two scam "launches" with virus/trojan wallets in the past week or so.  As great as it would be for BitcoinTalk.org to have some sort of screening process for new altcoin launches or a "Pay To Announce" system, it's not necessarily a realistic expectation for them to implement such features.  With as many coins as are launched every week (day?), it would almost require a full-time employee to police these things.

In the absence of these, I think the best thing to do is to keep an active thread going which highlights scam trends and - hopefully - protects newer members who may not know any better.

How To Spot a Scam Coin

RULE #1 - *NEVER* Send coins to an IPO that is not protected by a *well-known & well-trusted* escrow provider!!

-  Self-Moderated Announcement Threads
Any thread that doesn't allow criticism, hard questions or complaints should be an immediate red flag.

-  Developer or OP is a brand new account with no posts (or almost no posts)
This isn't a "one-size-fits-all" indicator, as many devs will create a new account in order to keep their coin's "brand" consistent.  Please do utilize caution when you see this, however, and keep an eye out for any other signs of a scam.  If it walks, talks, smells, etc. like a scam....

-  Developer / OP does not promptly respond to questions or concerns about the coin
Most real devs with legit coins have worked long and hard on their coin to get it ready for the masses.  This level of commitment is not likely to end as soon as a launch is announced or pre-announced.  They will continue to support the coin and answer questions, because the more people they have happily mining & using their coin, the more successful they will be.

- No Source Code Available
Almost every legit coin on the market today is essentially Open Source, meaning you can download, review, alter, and redistribute the actual source code from which the coin is built.  Any attempt to keep the source code out of the public eye without good reason (e.g. the developer has a patent pending on a feature of the coin and cannot announce it - in which case they should be able to provide proof that this is the case) should be an instant red flag and you should use extreme caution in downloading it.

- Coin Has No Original Features (or is a Direct Copy of Another Coin)
Pretty self-explanatory.  If the coin is a knock-off, even if it isn't necessarily a scam, why bother?  The only point to these coins is to line the pockets of the script kiddie who copied the source of another coin and ran a couple quick "awk"/"sed" commands to change the name.

-  Coin's "Features" Seem Too Good to Be True / Remain Unexplained
"But you just said..."  I know I did, and I meant it.  For example, however, the recent StackCoin scam had promised a lot of new, exciting things.  The problem (other than the fact that they didn't exist to begin with) was that no one really bothered asking about these features, how they were accomplished / implemented, etc.  User Tk808 *did* make note of this in his review (linked below in this post - use it!), however, in everyone's haste and excitement, they forgot to dig in and ask some hard questions.  All in all, it cost the community over Ƀ69 - slightly under $40,000.00 at the time of writing.

-  Coin is a Blatant Trademark or Copyright Infringement
If you see a new coin launching that uses a known brand name, celebrity, or other trademarked entity, make sure that there is proof that the entity is aware of and endorses the coin.  You'll spot these by constant "we're definitely talking with So-and-So..." assertions, frequent moving of goal posts (e.g. "Their lawyers are signing the documents tomorrow" followed by "well, it's looking like maybe next week"), etc.  Or - as is the case with one coin that I won't mention - they claim to have the backing of someone who has publicly stated that they want nothing to do with the theme the coin uses.

-  The Dev / OP States a "Starting Value" of the Coin
This essentially shows that the individual doesn't really understand crypto or economics.  You can't just arbitrarily assign a value to a coin - especially if it's not even launched yet.  The market decides the value of a coin.  If it's trading for 10 satoshi, it's current value is about 10 satoshi.  The Dev can SAY it's worth $1 USD per coin, but in reality, it means absolutely nothing unless they have 1 USD per coin in storage somewhere to back it.

I REPEAT:  ALWAYS EXERCISE EXTREME CAUTION WITH ANY COIN THAT ASKS YOU TO GIVE THEM CURRENCY UP-FRONT
IPO Scams are becoming more and more frequent.  Be smart, and don't send your money without doing your research.  If the coin doesn't provide anything new or groundbreaking to the community, it's most likely yet another clone coin that took about 5 minutes to run a couple quick awk commands and 20 minutes in GIMP.  Don't waste your money on a coin unless it brings something new and innovative to the table and provide an explanation as to how they've done it.

- Tk808 has put together a very good list of questions to ask yourself when considering a new coin.  You can see it below, or just click here

Please let me know if you have anything to add, and I'll update the OP:

[Nullu]

Scam coins also rarely bother with pre-announcements. It's usually done quietly and out of nowhere, and the coins always look a bit iffy.

Be suspicious if the coin is very unoriginal, uses a a registered brand or trademark, or contains very little information in the first post. Also beware crap logos. Anyone can throw together a logo in paint.

[tk808]

Anyone can use my scam-check, you can add or remove questions depending on what you are trying to scam check. This is a decent guide-line to go by.



EXAMPLE Below for Stack-Coin IPO:
Source: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=457575.msg5204471#msg5204471

Scam CHECK and REVIEW

Conclusion: Low Risk

Where is the whitepaper?                                                                                        
Where is the client?                                                                              
Where is the Technical papers?
Is there a website available?
What are you using BTC for?
Who are you (Anyone can make up a name)?
Where is your dev team?
Is the IPO account a few months old?
Where is your forums?
Is there support, pools, exchanges and etc?
Why are you doing an IPO before you answered these questions?



Does this coin answer these questions?



Passed : Passed due to being an alt-clone. Relying on other codes and manipulating them to suit the needs for this project.
Passed : Alt-coin clone client
Risky : No technical paper to highlight advancements in this coin, While stackcoin does not claim to be a technical advancement it claims to be highly supported and marketed
Passed : Website widely available, looks pretty good too.
Passed : While not specifically mentioning what BTC will be used for, they responded to my message immediately on this question.

And i quote "Maintain and promote a coin is expensive, we are doing this from our pockets for now, but we won't be able to handle it ourselves only when the community will grow up.This is what our IPOs are for, the raised funds will be used wisely to take StackCoin to the next step."

Risky : While i want to believe that they are honest and transparent, they do not reveal anything about themselves. If someone wanted to do some digging, they could uncover who they are through registration of their website. That's why it's risky and not failed.

Failed : Claims to have a team, but no other information is available regarding this.
Failed : Registered February 9th. But, i'm sure they are widely known on these forums on their main accounts.

Passed : While there are no forums, there is an IRC chat. I had to chance to ask and talk to the devs. Better then a forum
Passed : Stackcoin is widely supported with pre-pools and an exchange site ahead of the launch

Risky : Stackcoin seems a bit mysterious when it comes to asking for an IPO. They highlight the reasons why, but the risk is will they deliver?




Conclusion: Stackcoin is most likely legitimate, but the reason for an IPO seems a little foggy and unlcear. The only thing i can point out is to enrich the investors and devs. They are creating a value for the coin, ahead of the launch. So it's a win-win scenario.




My Opinion : I'm not going to invest in stackcoin, because i believe IPO's are for real 2nd generation coins. I talked to the devs on IRC and messaged them and there was no lack of hesitation or time between messages. Very firm and solid response time. If this is coin is to be a success then they are on the right track. But i'd like to note, REDDCOIN did the same sort of IPO and yet it hasn't taken off as expected. Anyways time will tell, the coin has my support for now.



Invest at your own risk, while the IPO may legit the promise of making a return on the IPO is not clear. Like anycoin, there is always a risk but this coin is asking for an IPO, so i'd imagine they will be taking support and their work to the next level.



This review is subject to a change on further, new, evidence gained.


Regards,
T.K.

[SlidingHorn]

Anyone can use my scam-check, you can add or remove questions depending on what you are trying to scam check. This is a decent guide-line to go by.

Do you mind if I quote this in the OP & credit you?

[tk808]

Anyone can use my scam-check, you can add or remove questions depending on what you are trying to scam check. This is a decent guide-line to go by.

Do you mind if I quote this in the OP & credit you?

Not a problem! This is open for anyone to use.

[zackclark70]

Anyone can use my scam-check, you can add or remove questions depending on what you are trying to scam check. This is a decent guide-line to go by.

Do you mind if I quote this in the OP & credit you?

Not a problem! This is open for anyone to use.

good work

[SlidingHorn]

Bumping this for two reasons:

1.  Edit to the OP

2.  I haven't even caught up with new posts on this subforum since yesterday, and I've already come across two IPO scams. 

Be Careful, Everyone!

[Nullu]

Why not use this thread to post updates on the latest scamcoins? Keep it visible and anyone with common sense can see it and read it before "investing" in these stupid scams.

[SlidingHorn]

Why not use this thread to post updates on the latest scamcoins? Keep it visible and anyone with common sense can see it and read it before "investing" in these stupid scams.

I had that idea originally, however, I felt it was a little tyrannical / centralized / one-thread-to-accuse-them-all....

I figured it would be more prudent to highlight things that should raise flags in a new user's mind.

[Nullu]

Why not use this thread to post updates on the latest scamcoins? Keep it visible and anyone with common sense can see it and read it before "investing" in these stupid scams.

I had that idea originally, however, I felt it was a little tyrannical / centralized / one-thread-to-accuse-them-all....

I figured it would be more prudent to highlight things that should raise flags in a new user's mind.

I think it should be against the rules to even post a coin address in the original post of an IPO until at least a month after the thread has been posted.

Bingo. That'll stop a lot of the scammers as they won't bother waiting around, and the legitimate IPOs will have no problem at all with this.

[nejat76]

- Never ever join an ipo if it's a simple clone.
- If project promise advanced features and or new innovations then question the capability of the dev/team. Before spending your money follow posts of those people who you know competent enough.
- Do not fall for future promises. (Will add this and that feature stuff...)
- Do not fall for irrational features. Cryptsy trader in a wallet? What the flock? (example : stackcoin)
- Do not mercy a competent dev or one that finds a really innovative idea unless it's backed by solid proof that he will adhere to his project and keep going on... (example : levelcoin)

[SlidingHorn]

Added content to OP - Thanks Tk808 & nejat76!

[Burninj]

Execoin is perfect in the list, the op deleted my post where I proved he was instamining his own coin...

[zackclark70]

instead of a scam coin thread why not a thread that has info on every coin ( not just the bad coins ) that way people can look at the list and see the bigger picture

[SlidingHorn]

instead of a scam coin thread why not a thread that has info on every coin ( not just the bad coins ) that way people can look at the list and see the bigger picture

Something similar was suggested earlier.  I'd rather it not be a thread judging individual coins - just doesn't feel right to me....

In terms of a coin list, there are a few

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=134179.0 - Don't know how up-to-date this is

I do have a blog I'm working on that will likely have all sorts of altcoin reviews (because, you know....my opinion's....important and stuff...), but I haven't had time to keep up with it just yet.

[SlidingHorn]

OP Updated, and the post has become relevant, yet again.

Another scam IPO has taken people's bitcoins despite myself and several other members loudly warning them.

PLEASE READ THESE TIPS - THEY WILL SAVE YOU TIME, MONEY & EMBARRASSMENT

[SlidingHorn]

Last bump for a while - Only bumping because it's been moved to a new subforum.

Thanks for reading - replies and suggestions still welcome!

[CryptoKilla]

Great info thanks!

[iampingu]

Would have been more amusing if you'd made this self moderated :p