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Author Topic: How to spot some scams.  (Read 707 times)
LizardBitCoin (OP)
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June 18, 2013, 02:24:35 AM
 #1

BTC being very valuable it attracts a lot of scammers.  Thankfully due to the lack of regulation and really no insurance it has made the BTC community pretty intelligent.  I've tracked down a few scammers and here is how I do it.

First I check out the website.  For example cryoniks is a notable scam.  You can go to their website search for contact information and try to figure out where they are located.  If I can get an address I will try and look it up on google maps.  If there are any front men I do a google search for them.  Recently I found that one scammer had published a book under the author's name Dan Brown (a notable author for writing the da vinci code).  The book is on Amazon for sale and the reviews were deplorable. 

Another good source is to do a whois lookup.  You can do this by going to networksolutions (probably the most respectable domain domain registrar there is.  There you can find the whois option and do a search on the domain.  Here you might get some names, email addresses, physical addresses, and telephone numbers.  Take this information and google it.  I was able to track the owner of the cryoniks domain back to a kickstarter scam a couple of years ago.  They tried to sell these encrypted USB drives that needed a physical combination to unlock. 

Also, with the whois look up note when the domain was registered.  One of the scams that I tracked down was created 3 days prior and the site was developed with a lot of cookie cutter tools.  This made me very weary of them because BTC is still a new technology and while they have a website AFAIK they would need a real developer to create an order system that would handle BTC transactions.

Do research on what they are proposing.  For cryoniks the product they are claiming to be making is physically impossible to make with today's technology.  The cooling device they claim to be putting into their miner is honestly a more significant technological development then the 1TH BTC Miner they are selling. 

As a general rule if you're going to give BTC to an organization that you're unsure about their authenticity don't give them any more BTC then you're willing to lose.  There was one possible scam recently that was selling ammo online.  It all looked pretty legitimate, but apparently someone tried them out and got burned.   Sadly for him he gave them several hundred dollars on a large order.  Even though I was strongly considering giving them a shot myself I was only willing to risk about 20 bucks on a small order to test them out.  Even if they did come through with the small order I wasn't going to fully trust them fearing some sort of long con.

Anyway I hope this you've found this information to be useful.  Happy bitcoining Smiley
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bongwater
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June 18, 2013, 02:30:27 AM
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kinda interesting, thanks
markeysss
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June 18, 2013, 03:01:24 AM
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kinda interesting, thanks
agreed BTC
macintosh
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June 18, 2013, 03:43:05 AM
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Not very helpful..
macintosh
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June 18, 2013, 04:16:20 AM
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Cheesy funny thread
b!z
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June 18, 2013, 06:24:35 AM
 #6

Also, you should always use escrow if you don't know who you are doing business with.
BitOmni
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June 18, 2013, 08:14:45 AM
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Also, you should always use escrow if you don't know who you are doing business with.

John K's service is recommended. +1 to b!z for the idea.
mprep
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June 18, 2013, 08:53:29 AM
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Lots of good info though most is common sense. However some people simply don't have enough of it. Good job.

blaxxzor
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June 18, 2013, 09:04:31 AM
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Didnt see any info about member to member trades though which is where i would feel mosty likely to get burned
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June 18, 2013, 09:16:07 AM
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Also, you should always use escrow if you don't know who you are doing business with.

John K's service is recommended. +1 to b!z for the idea.

this. if someone says they are in a hurry or don't have time for escrow, nine times out of  ten its going to be a scam.

My negative trust rating is reflective of a personal vendetta by someone on default trust.
naphto
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June 18, 2013, 09:28:05 AM
 #11

Thanks for the newbies it might help Smiley
LizardBitCoin (OP)
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June 18, 2013, 10:06:13 PM
 #12

The reason I made this post is as Bitcoin becomes more and more mainstream we're going to have a lot less tech savvy users.  The traditional solutions for managing consumer risk is regulation and insurance.  I could see insurance happening eventually, but lets face it regulation isn't realistic.  In my opinion we have regulation, but it is just not the same as we're conditioned to think of it.  Bitcoin's regulation comes from it's intelligent user base.

If the opportunity is too good to be true then it probably is.  You've got to be willing to walk away if you're not comfortable with the trade.   
Alexander The Great
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June 18, 2013, 10:23:51 PM
 #13

BTC being very valuable it attracts a lot of scammers.  Thankfully due to the lack of regulation and really no insurance it has made the BTC community pretty intelligent.  I've tracked down a few scammers and here is how I do it.

First I check out the website.  For example cryoniks is a notable scam.  You can go to their website search for contact information and try to figure out where they are located.  If I can get an address I will try and look it up on google maps.  If there are any front men I do a google search for them.  Recently I found that one scammer had published a book under the author's name Dan Brown (a notable author for writing the da vinci code).  The book is on Amazon for sale and the reviews were deplorable. 

Another good source is to do a whois lookup.  You can do this by going to networksolutions (probably the most respectable domain domain registrar there is.  There you can find the whois option and do a search on the domain.  Here you might get some names, email addresses, physical addresses, and telephone numbers.  Take this information and google it.  I was able to track the owner of the cryoniks domain back to a kickstarter scam a couple of years ago.  They tried to sell these encrypted USB drives that needed a physical combination to unlock. 

Also, with the whois look up note when the domain was registered.  One of the scams that I tracked down was created 3 days prior and the site was developed with a lot of cookie cutter tools.  This made me very weary of them because BTC is still a new technology and while they have a website AFAIK they would need a real developer to create an order system that would handle BTC transactions.

Do research on what they are proposing.  For cryoniks the product they are claiming to be making is physically impossible to make with today's technology.  The cooling device they claim to be putting into their miner is honestly a more significant technological development then the 1TH BTC Miner they are selling. 

As a general rule if you're going to give BTC to an organization that you're unsure about their authenticity don't give them any more BTC then you're willing to lose.  There was one possible scam recently that was selling ammo online.  It all looked pretty legitimate, but apparently someone tried them out and got burned.   Sadly for him he gave them several hundred dollars on a large order.  Even though I was strongly considering giving them a shot myself I was only willing to risk about 20 bucks on a small order to test them out.  Even if they did come through with the small order I wasn't going to fully trust them fearing some sort of long con.

Anyway I hope this you've found this information to be useful.  Happy bitcoining Smiley

Thanks this is somewhat helpful to newbies
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June 18, 2013, 10:56:53 PM
 #14

This is true. The consumer should always have a personable interaction with the company they are transacting with. If not then why give them your business

VELDT GOLD - your full service bitcoin to bullion dealer!
Frode84
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June 18, 2013, 11:35:33 PM
 #15

very helpfull post!! getting more and more doubts about btc every day :S
acne
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June 18, 2013, 11:38:51 PM
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I always ask for their facebook, at the least.
Alexander The Great
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June 18, 2013, 11:47:46 PM
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This is good for the not so technical bitcoiners
acne
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June 18, 2013, 11:48:57 PM
 #18

Thanks for this
bitcoin carpenter
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June 19, 2013, 01:17:42 AM
 #19

where do you go to set up an escrow for bitcoin

If your not actively using the technology behind your crypto investment,

IT IS A SCAM!!!!
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