What should you know about airdrops and how to avoid scam

[randomhumster]

Cryptocurrency Airdrops are popular within our community, but what we know about them? Why is it sometimes dangerous to participate in them? What is an airdrop? How to profit from airdrops? You will find answers for all your questions in this thread. If you don’t, you can ask your question in comments.

Who issues airdrops?

Airdrops can be issued by the following parties:

• ICO project. 90% of all airdrops are issued by new ICOs. The team uses airdrops to promote the project.
• Existing cryptocurrency. Sometimes an altcoin that is on the market for years can issue an airdrop. It is done to build a stronger community, or serves a certain aim. For example, the team may need people to vote for exchange listing and reward users with their coins/tokens.
• Hard fork team. We’ve seen a lot of hard forks lately. New coins are distributed to original token holders according to predefined proportion.

Why projects issue airdrops?

Airdrop is a promotion. It can serve the following goals:

• Spread the news about the project. It is an easy way to reach thousands of people through social networks.
• Build community in social accounts. It is the fastest way to get followers on twitter, members on telegram group and etc. A project needs a community as all potential investors look at it. It also helps to spread news.
• Create user base. Any token/coin/platform needs users. Airdrop helps to get many users at the very beginning.
• Get people to pass KYC. Some airdrops require to pass through KYC. It is done for several reasons. Some projects need to ensure people from restricted areas do not participate. Some simply want to push you to invest in their project.

Is an airdrop a free money?

No. Airdrops are reward for doing tasks: join telegram group, follow twitter, repost, invite other people, post something, subscribe for email and etc. You do the task and get your reward (possibly get your reward). Sometimes the reward is equal for the task, sometimes you get more for a simple tasks, sometimes you are asked to pass KYC for 1$.

Who benefits from airdrops?

The main benefiter of any airdrop is the issuer. For scam ICO airdrop is the best way to promote itself. Always remember this. The next benefiters are airdrop aggregators. There are a lot of telegram groups, twitter accounts and etc. that post airdrop notifications. 4 out of 5 airdrops have a referral system. When you reference another person you get some token as a reward. A popular aggregator can have hundreds or thousands referrals. If they receive 0.1 – 3 USD for each referral you can make a profitable business out of it. The last benefiters are airdrop participants. They can earn some tokens that can potentially cost something.

Who can participate in an airdrop?

Usually airdrops follow the same rules as ICO. If you can participate in an ICO, you can also participate in airdrop. If you live in a country banned from participating in an ICO like USA or China you may be banned from airdrop as well.

What do you need to participate in an airdrop?

Minimal requirements to participate in an airdrop is to have an email account and cryptocurrency wallet (ETH address is the most used). For most airdrops you will also need social accounts: telegram, twitter, facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, Instagram and etc.

How to check an airdrop before participating?

The same way as you would use for an ICO. Check vision, whitepaper, rating and so on. As you are not investing in an ICO, you don’t need to spend much time. Try to check ICO profile on platforms like ICObench. If project has a garbage rating, you don’t need its tokens. They will not cost anything and will never hit a good exchange. Check estimated value yourself. Airdrop aggregators usually give it. Check token price on ICO and multiply it on the amount of tokens you will get. Remember, that this estimation will not be correct for a bad project. If token will never hit a major exchange it will not cost anything. Also keep in mind that exchanges can have deposit minimum value. For example you can receive 50 tokens from an airdrop, and deposit minimum is 100 tokens.

How to find airdrops?

The best way is to follow airdrop aggregators. You don’t need to waste your own time.

How to get your tokens?

It depends on an airdrop. If it is an ERC20 token, it will be sent to your ETH address. If it is a token from other platform like NEO, Waves it will be sent to a corresponding wallet. If it is a coin, it will be sent via its own blockchain. If an airdrop was initiated on exchange/platform, tokens/coins will be on your exchange/platform account.

How to sell airdrop tokens/coins?

If it is a normal project it will hit an exchange where you can sell your tokens. Some tokens can be sold on DEXes like Forkdelta, IDEX and etc. Most airdrop tokens can’t be sold at all as they were issued by a scam project and don’t have any value at all.

Can you be scammed by an airdrop?

Yes, some airdrops are pure scam. They are issued to steal your personal data, your social accounts or your cryptocurrency. You should treat any airdrop as possible scam and protect yourself.

What rules should you follow to protect yourself?

There are many rules to follow. I will give the major ones with some explanations.

• Never use your real email. Do you like spam? You will get a lot of spam mails on this account. Also your real email is used on exchanges and social accounts. Don’t give it to anyone if you don’t want to lose your accounts.
• Don’t use your main crypto address. You may need to use it of DEXes and you can be easily robbed.
• Never use your other passwords. If you need to subscribe with a password, never use a password you are using on your phone, PC, social account, exchange and etc. Scammers will use it to rob you.
• Airdrops don’t ask for money or private keys. If you are asked to give transfer your money to get more money, it is probably a scam.
  Protect your personal data. Don’t give too much of your personal data for a few dollars. It can be used against you.
  

Disclaimer: Everything writtent in this thread is my personal opinion and expirience. It is not a financial advice of any kind.

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[randomhumster]

Quick follo up. There airdrops that require to install a chrome app (or other app). These apps ususally contain hidden miners or spying applications. Always think twice before installing such apps.

[chocolaty]

This is too long. To make it shorter and simpler, airdrops won't really give you profit. They are too little to suffice transaction fees to begin with. This is just an ICOs way for promotion. They will be feeling most of the benefits because more and more people will participate thinking they'll be able to earn big. Well that's a big NO-NO because airdrops are just decorations to attract people. It serves nothing more than that.

[randomhumster]

This is too long. To make it shorter and simpler, airdrops won't really give you profit. They are too little to suffice transaction fees to begin with. This is just an ICOs way for promotion. They will be feeling most of the benefits because more and more people will participate thinking they'll be able to earn big. Well that's a big NO-NO because airdrops are just decorations to attract people. It serves nothing more than that.

It depends what you mean under "profit". If you want 1000$, then no. There was an airdrop for REBL token, some sold it for $1,5k. If you want to earn like $50 per month from airdrops, then it is possible to profit.

[DAVETUN]

Join airdrop with viable ICO project,check through past record what project they want to set up or deliver to the real world or the crypto space. Avoid airdrop that request  you send your private key.

[randomhumster]

Join airdrop with viable ICO project,check through past record what project they want to set up or deliver to the real world or the crypto space. Avoid airdrop that request  you send your private key.

True. The problem is that scam projects offer big airdrops, but their tokens don't reach exchange. Even if they do, they go several times below ICO price and cost nothing. Good projects don't do airdrops (they don't need them) or give just few tokens, but you can actually sell them on a normal exchange.

[xOdiumNostrumx]

Good projects don't do airdrops (they don't need them) or give just few tokens, but you can actually sell them on a normal exchange.

This is correct in most cases but there are exceptions of course. A ton of good projects have airdropped their tokens in the last past months, from Nucleus Vision, Polymath, Ontology etc. But yea, when you hear that the project is doing an airdrop it means (anomalies exists, as mentioned before) that there is a serious lack of interest in their project/tokens.

[wdnj]

As long as there is no need to download nor send any amount i think you can have the airdrop.
not all airdrop are scams, not all are legit.
but how can we know? we should just to the little things in just a couple of minutes and wait for it.

[randomhumster]

As long as there is no need to download nor send any amount i think you can have the airdrop.
not all airdrop are scams, not all are legit.
but how can we know? we should just to the little things in just a couple of minutes and wait for it.

You should be more cautious and follow security advices I posted. Never use your email and password that you are using on exchanges or social networks. Scam projects don't really protect collected data or can use it fro crime themselves.

[randomhumster]

This is correct in most cases but there are exceptions of course. A ton of good projects have airdropped their tokens in the last past months, from Nucleus Vision, Polymath, Ontology etc. But yea, when you hear that the project is doing an airdrop it means (anomalies exists, as mentioned before) that there is a serious lack of interest in their project/tokens.

Well, Nucleus Vision airdropped smth around $5 only. And it is still good as they had no plan to do it originally. Also airdrops are harmful for good projects. When a token hits exchange airdropped tokens are usually dump. It can cause a chain reaction and the price will be dumped.

[mexite]

It takes due diligence to get on real projects nowadays as there are tons of fake projects out there. Some unknown persons just go ahead to create a Google form to steal people's info without having any project in mind, and many jump in for the sake of getting free tokens. With that said, I think it's becoming more demanding filling some airdrops as there are lot of tasks to be done. Such airdrops are tending towards the direction of bounties and with less reward.

[vinaycha]

This thread should be pinned. Good read for beginners in crypto world. But where you said airdrop is given to people who in return do some task, is wrong or rather used to be wrong, I got cyder in airdrop and all they asked to do was fill in a form. No twitter retweeting / facebook likes etc. Nowadays things are changing and people mixing airdrop meaning with bounty.

[CHENIEN]

As what my friends said, that airdrops can be detected either it is a scam or not,  by easily looking forward the campaigns which the airdrops being offered, and also to the campaign manager which is the very trusted one.

[skelethon]

Great points, but when you've been participating in airdrops for some time now, you can start to tell apart the good ones and the scam ones from experience.

Beginners do have to start somewhere though.

[thinkpad99]

Cryptocurrency Airdrops are popular within our community, but what we know about them? Why is it sometimes dangerous to participate in them? What is an airdrop? How to profit from airdrops? You will find answers for all your questions in this thread. If you don’t, you can ask your question in comments.

Who issues airdrops?

Airdrops can be issued by the following parties:

• ICO project. 90% of all airdrops are issued by new ICOs. The team uses airdrops to promote the project.
• Existing cryptocurrency. Sometimes an altcoin that is on the market for years can issue an airdrop. It is done to build a stronger community, or serves a certain aim. For example, the team may need people to vote for exchange listing and reward users with their coins/tokens.
• Hard fork team. We’ve seen a lot of hard forks lately. New coins are distributed to original token holders according to predefined proportion.

Why projects issue airdrops?

Airdrop is a promotion. It can serve the following goals:

• Spread the news about the project. It is an easy way to reach thousands of people through social networks.
• Build community in social accounts. It is the fastest way to get followers on twitter, members on telegram group and etc. A project needs a community as all potential investors look at it. It also helps to spread news.
• Create user base. Any token/coin/platform needs users. Airdrop helps to get many users at the very beginning.
• Get people to pass KYC. Some airdrops require to pass through KYC. It is done for several reasons. Some projects need to ensure people from restricted areas do not participate. Some simply want to push you to invest in their project.

Is an airdrop a free money?

No. Airdrops are reward for doing tasks: join telegram group, follow twitter, repost, invite other people, post something, subscribe for email and etc. You do the task and get your reward (possibly get your reward). Sometimes the reward is equal for the task, sometimes you get more for a simple tasks, sometimes you are asked to pass KYC for 1$.

Who benefits from airdrops?

The main benefiter of any airdrop is the issuer. For scam ICO airdrop is the best way to promote itself. Always remember this. The next benefiters are airdrop aggregators. There are a lot of telegram groups, twitter accounts and etc. that post airdrop notifications. 4 out of 5 airdrops have a referral system. When you reference another person you get some token as a reward. A popular aggregator can have hundreds or thousands referrals. If they receive 0.1 – 3 USD for each referral you can make a profitable business out of it. The last benefiters are airdrop participants. They can earn some tokens that can potentially cost something.

Who can participate in an airdrop?

Usually airdrops follow the same rules as ICO. If you can participate in an ICO, you can also participate in airdrop. If you live in a country banned from participating in an ICO like USA or China you may be banned from airdrop as well.

What do you need to participate in an airdrop?

Minimal requirements to participate in an airdrop is to have an email account and cryptocurrency wallet (ETH address is the most used). For most airdrops you will also need social accounts: telegram, twitter, facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, Instagram and etc.

How to check an airdrop before participating?

The same way as you would use for an ICO. Check vision, whitepaper, rating and so on. As you are not investing in an ICO, you don’t need to spend much time. Try to check ICO profile on platforms like ICObench. If project has a garbage rating, you don’t need its tokens. They will not cost anything and will never hit a good exchange. Check estimated value yourself. Airdrop aggregators usually give it. Check token price on ICO and multiply it on the amount of tokens you will get. Remember, that this estimation will not be correct for a bad project. If token will never hit a major exchange it will not cost anything. Also keep in mind that exchanges can have deposit minimum value. For example you can receive 50 tokens from an airdrop, and deposit minimum is 100 tokens.

How to find airdrops?

The best way is to follow airdrop aggregators. You don’t need to waste your own time.

How to get your tokens?

It depends on an airdrop. If it is an ERC20 token, it will be sent to your ETH address. If it is a token from other platform like NEO, Waves it will be sent to a corresponding wallet. If it is a coin, it will be sent via its own blockchain. If an airdrop was initiated on exchange/platform, tokens/coins will be on your exchange/platform account.

How to sell airdrop tokens/coins?

If it is a normal project it will hit an exchange where you can sell your tokens. Some tokens can be sold on DEXes like Forkdelta, IDEX and etc. Most airdrop tokens can’t be sold at all as they were issued by a scam project and don’t have any value at all.

Can you be scammed by an airdrop?

Yes, some airdrops are pure scam. They are issued to steal your personal data, your social accounts or your cryptocurrency. You should treat any airdrop as possible scam and protect yourself.

What rules should you follow to protect yourself?

There are many rules to follow. I will give the major ones with some explanations.

• Never use your real email. Do you like spam? You will get a lot of spam mails on this account. Also your real email is used on exchanges and social accounts. Don’t give it to anyone if you don’t want to lose your accounts.
• Don’t use your main crypto address. You may need to use it of DEXes and you can be easily robbed.
• Never use your other passwords. If you need to subscribe with a password, never use a password you are using on your phone, PC, social account, exchange and etc. Scammers will use it to rob you.
• Airdrops don’t ask for money or private keys. If you are asked to give transfer your money to get more money, it is probably a scam.
  Protect your personal data. Don’t give too much of your personal data for a few dollars. It can be used against you.
  

Disclaimer: Everything writtent in this thread is my personal opinion and expirience. It is not a financial advice of any kind.

In a shorter version. Airdrops are not profitable, in most situations all drops prove to be a scam and bring no profit. Now nobody want give you money for free so you have very small chance to get anything

[BeruchN]

If they don't require too much hassle and KYC, I might end up going through an airdrop but usually, it's not worth it.

[nsasuiteb]

how does one can be scammed by airdrops? It is not that easy. You should never use your main email addresses and passwords also use fake personal information if you can because most can steal your information.

[randomhumster]

This thread should be pinned. Good read for beginners in crypto world. But where you said airdrop is given to people who in return do some task, is wrong or rather used to be wrong, I got cyder in airdrop and all they asked to do was fill in a form. No twitter retweeting / facebook likes etc. Nowadays things are changing and people mixing airdrop meaning with bounty.

It is an interesting question what is the difference between airdrop and bounty. Normally we cal it airdrop if it requires a single time action like join some social networks, post something, ask a question on telegram and etc. In most cases reward is fixed.(i.e. you will get X token for joining telegram). In bounty campaign you do tasks on weekly basis and report to bounty maanager. Most bounties use stakes system instead of fixed reward. But as always you can find airdrops with stakes or airdrops with lots of tasks. And there are bounties with fixed rewards as well. So it is all close...

[richardjam]

Great guides bro . Thanks for sharing these information . This will be helpful for newbies . How long have you been doing Airdrop/Bounty ?

[randomhumster]

In a shorter version. Airdrops are not profitable, in most situations all drops prove to be a scam and bring no profit. Now nobody want give you money for free so you have very small chance to get anything

I saw an airdrops that cost 1500$ (and I'm serious), so not all airdrops are scam. Unfortunately the rate vali/scam is something about 1/100 nowdays.

Airdrop is not free money. You are payed for fulfilling tasks. ICOs need to have good social accounts with lots of followers. So they go the easiest way to get followers - pay them. As always good projects don't need it, but scam or near scam ICOs can't do without it.