How to check if ICO is scam or not?

[farlack]

It is easy, because a lot of ICOs making the same errors and if you analyzed some of them you can find out another ICO and detect scam.
From my point of view it is quite easy

[Beccaman]

Normal analysis of ICO project will help to identify a fraudulent project or not, personally I look at the team, the idea of the project, people's feedback and perspective project

[Anc92]

Hey guys, I'm new to the whole ICO world, and BTCtalk as well. I've been reading about a lot of scammy ICOs that take people's money and run away. I'm looking to invest in a couple of ICOs but have no way of knowing if they are good or not. Can anyone tell me how I can go about doing this without losing any money? 

Firstly, I check out the whitepaper and ask relevant questions in their community. Unfortunately, some badass whitepapers have been put together by money grabbers.
Next, I always pay attention to the team that claims they will bring these ideas to fruition - are they capable? I always look out for teams like that of ECOMI, with a licencing giant such as Alfred Khan.
Again, I try as much as possible to assess how possible bringing their idea is.. I don't like unnecessarily complex projects.
Finally, how useful is the utility they possess and can it be appealing enough for the masses to adopt?

If all these are checked in my books, I go in and HODl long term.

[swivel1983@gmail.com]

Investment is a risk and no one can give you guarantees. But if you invest in IEO from top exchanges, these risks will be reduced and you will be able to earn. But I believe that this is not the way out and it is best for you to learn how to analyze projects in order to understand what you are investing in.

[jjjfff]

An ICO is simply a crowdfunding event which uses crypto instead of fiat money.

The same rules that apply to startup funding apply to ICO's.

Is the project good? Is the team good? Do you know the team? Why should you trust the project? Does the product have a market? Is there demand? Can the team really build the product/service?

When you invest in ICO you're simply becoming a partner in a startup. If the startup wouldn't work using fiat money funding, it won't work with crypto ICO either.

[Gabmot]

There are many things to check actually.. And i know so many people here have dropped many already. But I will like to add this; watch also the reviews of some crypto enthusiasts who you now are kind of updated with cryto dealings now and then..

[lyks15]

Before investing make sure that you have some research to the project that you are joining or younare investing. Make sure that you check all the details specially the profit or the exchange make sure you analized it well if it is possible or there is an possibilty that project will have a chance to be successful by asking by the member on this site.

[goaldigger]

Hey guys, I'm new to the whole ICO world, and BTCtalk as well. I've been reading about a lot of scammy ICOs that take people's money and run away. I'm looking to invest in a couple of ICOs but have no way of knowing if they are good or not. Can anyone tell me how I can go about doing this without losing any money? 

Newly evolved ICO or newly launched projects are now difficult to differentiate whether its a scam or not given the fact that they already know what people are looking for in a project. Investing in it also has an assurance that you will end up getting scammed at any times. Just dig and read and if you feel its safe then engage.

[Nickz46]

It is very easy to look for Ico and check it if its a scam or legit you will only do research and check the team that runs a ICO'S, and i have a good ICO to recommend and this ico is legit and you can check the Dencoin tokens that has started a pre-sale and the main sale will starts at june 1st so check this project.

[lavoncoin88]

Hey guys, I'm new to the whole ICO world, and BTCtalk as well. I've been reading about a lot of scammy ICOs that take people's money and run away. I'm looking to invest in a couple of ICOs but have no way of knowing if they are good or not. Can anyone tell me how I can go about doing this without losing any money? 

My advise is understand first what crypto all about and it work in the market. I hardly recomment to study also the specific project you want to invest. Those scammed people here maybe they lack of review. Mostly review have a good project is through there white paper, project objective, social media's and the people behind if they are legit. that the basic you also comparw others advise.

[anderson007]

Hello, friend, these are my thinks.

Find out the team.

1. The most important achievement factor for any ICO or cryptocurrency is probably the developers and the administrative team behind the project.

2. The cryptocurrency space is dominated by major names, with superstar developers like Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin capable of making or breaking new projects simply by having their names listed on a development team.

3. For this reason, false creations and biographies are more numerous than pretexts for their projects.

4. The best protection against this counterfeit strategy is to diligently study a project team member before investing.

5.check the whitepaper. Whitepaper says a lot about an ICO.

6. See the accounts of the group members so that you can gain some respect for them.

this is not a financial advice

[novy]

The simplest way is to search in Google by photos of the team members. Usually they take pictures from stocks of these people are from the industry you can contact them and ask.

[suryapro]

if you want to invest / want to buy an altcoin, it's better to buy altcoins that have been registered as an exchange only. so you just wait when it's time to sell the altcoin that you bought again, this is a risk that isn't too big in my opinion than participating in ICO which turns out to be a scam. But if you want to participate in the ICO, please check first, the basic concepts of the project, such as whitepaper, team,and the products offered.

[PedroCrypto]

As history showed there are great ICOs that not only give X amount returns but also continue to develop the project after the ICO is finished. However, the problem is that now a lot of companies do an ICO for the sake of getting an investment. Without a clear explanation and accountability to the promises of were the money will be spent or if they will be spent.

However with a deep inhouse research you can unearth some truly interesting and with huge potential projects.  Tho I am leaning now towards projects that do not have any premine, instamine or founder taxes.

However, the question was what are the best ICOs to invest in. I will share the projects that are still in the early stage that  I think are currently at the top of my list (Some are IEO):

BitTorrent
Marconi Protocol
Historia
StarkWare
Oasis Labs

[PedroCrypto]

As history showed there are great ICOs that not only give X amount returns but also continue to develop the project after the ICO is finished. However, the problem is that now a lot of companies do an ICO for the sake of getting an investment. Without a clear explanation and accountability to the promises of were the money will be spent or if they will be spent.

However with a deep inhouse research you can unearth some truly interesting and with huge potential projects.  Tho I am leaning now towards projects that do not have any premine, instamine or founder taxes.

However, the question was what are the best ICOs to invest in. I will share the projects that are still in the early stage that  I think are currently at the top of my list (Some are IEO):

BitTorrent
Marconi Protocol
Historia
StarkWare
Oasis Labs

For me I think there is no enough space for ICO now, I joined some events and met a lot of investors and project teams, none of them are intested in ICO, more like STO (Even less IEO now i think)

[be_TOK]

As history showed there are great ICOs that not only give X amount returns but also continue to develop the project after the ICO is finished. However, the problem is that now a lot of companies do an ICO for the sake of getting an investment. Without a clear explanation and accountability to the promises of were the money will be spent or if they will be spent.

However with a deep inhouse research you can unearth some truly interesting and with huge potential projects.  Tho I am leaning now towards projects that do not have any premine, instamine or founder taxes.

However, the question was what are the best ICOs to invest in. I will share the projects that are still in the early stage that  I think are currently at the top of my list (Some are IEO):

BitTorrent
Marconi Protocol
Historia
StarkWare
Oasis Labs

For me I think there is no enough space for ICO now, I joined some events and met a lot of investors and project teams, none of them are intested in ICO, more like STO (Even less IEO now i think)

Yes I agree, I just answer the topic actually. Always new ways out per the changes of regulations. Like the HTA mode they did the project last year and they aim to do IEO as well. Seems a popular trend for now.

[princeyeboah]

Well, there is not strait jacket rule to follow in order to detect whether a project is scam or not, however, there are some few checks and tips to include in the research to ascertain a good level of confidence about the authenticity of the project. Firstly, during the research, the investor must look out for the actual profile of the team behind the project. Here, the investor must follow the social media outlets of the team members and come out with accurate information about their data. The data must be coherent and valid as this will help determine the expertise level of the team. Secondly, the investor must look out for the product and its demand level on the market. This part helps the investor to know how serious the project is especially if the project has an already functioning product on the market.

[Litzki1990]

Finding the good ICO is very hard but for me i have my strategy how to know if that ICO is not a scam but sometimes i also victim of scam ICO because it looks like the real ICO by the way you must look at their website, whitepaper, roadmap, the team should have long experience to handle the project.

[DainSLane]

Honestly it is hard to find out what is the real ICO or scam many of some investors are resting of investing on ICO because lots of scam ICO are scattered here in crypto space, for me i always look at the team background if they have bad reputation and their documents should be complete.

[Al-e_x]

Many things must be checked to ensure that the ICO is an ICO scam or not, first look at the project details through a roadmap, after you read it whether the project is reasonable or not, then look at the team behind it, whether trusted or not