What are the distinguishing features of a scam ICO?

[coinrating.co]

Hey everyone,
Would love to get a show of hands for the most distinguishing features of a scam ICO .

Let's educate each other by picking your 3

-The CoinRating Team

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[sean-qualified]

Unrealistic Claims are the biggest flag for me - any claims to a guaranteed return on investment are ludicrous.

[coinuser101]

Fake teams are a huge red flag for me, if the individuals who are involved are not willing to put their own name forward there is something wrong!!

So many times I have come across ICOs with stock images or ones swiped from another website.

[Trollinator]

Whenever the website focuses more on how to buy token more than the project, I suspect a scam.

[valessiobrito]

Just recently met a team in which all the artwork was taken from various free resources, even were pictures from the series. Went to their Twitter there's more than 2000 participants. Checked them on twitteraudit and only 11% of them are real users many even profile is not filled. Even the documentation did not read.

[Pet240]

Most times, when you look deeply into the team of some ICO, you will notice that some use fake identities. By the time you contact the team members one after the other, you will discover that most of them are not aware of such projects. Sometime their white papers can be vague and might not be easily comprehended. You can also notice that the percentage token allocation is usually in favour of the developer and the team members.

[joletartare]

In SCAM ICOs, when you have someone who answer to questions (CEO, admin or BM), he very often delay everything.
To any precise question about when somethig is gonna happen, you are answered "next week", "after we solve little problems" ...etc

[bundo]

Slow token distribution is not on schedule and no response when asked on their official channel, I see this from a simple side. 

[rayk]

Team identity theft, no escrow and no kyc/aml. Online presentation, website, whitepaper etc. are easy, some scam projects even write few code.

[Gabrielleugs]

There is no doubt that there are thousands of ICOs even going on right now but unfortunately, most of them are scams or fake and out to steal your money. Most of ICO scams target first timers, but even experienced traders and miners fall into the scam trap. I'm holding the view that one of the essential elements to consider when assessing a potential ICO scam is the individuals behind it. Never invest in an initial coin offering that has an anonymous team, regardless of justification. If you spot an ICO with an anonymous team, it’s most definitely a scam.

[terlesbogli]

A scam ico has a fake website have a bad english especially in their whitepaper , roadmap, etc. The team are slow they focusing to buy their tokens not to their projects i suspect that they are scam.

[Jennarro]

I argue that of all the red flags that identify a potential fraud ICO, guaranteed profits are the most obvious. There are no certainties in the blockchain ecosystem, and no proven, reliable, or guaranteed methods of generating profits.

[Paigeorg]

Personally, if your ICO links through to an empty repository or doesn’t provide a link at all, then it’s more than likely fraudulent.

[IcoGuide.com]

Take a look at an article regarding scam ICOs on our website https://icoguide.com/en/blog/how-to-identify-scam-icos

[hastag_80]

Hey everyone,
Would love to get a show of hands for the most distinguishing features of a scam ICO .

Let's educate each other by picking your 3

-The CoinRating Team

Actually its hard to define or distinguishing features of a scam ICO,but through some little experience maybe we can share each other tips.Mostly scam ICO have no clear roadmap and sometimes there white paper  is always disame ,there is no changes of advertisement  picture in twitter,or in facebook ads,and mostly theres an anonymous  CEO of the project and the team,and lastly the community manager or the development team is not interested of the investor participation complain.

[Daniel Brian]

I think a white paper is the most important element of any initial coin offering. In a white paper, an ICO will present an outline of what it plans to achieve, a breakdown of how the technical aspects of the platform function, and delineate its token distribution model. If an ICO doesn’t provide a white paper, then it’s undoubtedly a scam.

[Chris Hauer]

From my point of view, one of the distinguishing characteristics of a scam ICO is that it does not have a roadmap or has unrealistic roadmaps. Initial coin offerings will generally provide potential investors with a detailed list of what they have achieved thus far in the development of their project, as well as what they plan to achieve, in the form of a roadmap. If a project doesn’t provide a roadmap at all, then it’s highly likely that they don’t have any plans for the future apart from “exit” and “profit”. Moreover, a roadmap should be realistic. If the ICO that you’re assessing hasn’t yet developed a working platform prototype or any code at all, then it’s highly likely that it is an exit scam.

[Daniel Brian 1508]

From my point of view, , I think a scam ICO will not have a clear roadway. Genuine projects have realistic goals and an outline of how they intend to raise and utilize the funds. While counterfeit ICOs promise more than they can deliver. If you come across a blockchain project that promises only profits, seeks to eradicate poverty or global warming, aims to replace the internet, or advocates for a 10,000% profit ratio, think twice. It could be just another fake ICO ready to swindle unsuspecting investors.

[stellaekun]

For me,one of the commonest thing i see is so much attention being given to how to purchase the tokens or how you earn when you refer people to buy the tokens rather than on the quality or merit of the project itself plus absence or low availability of credible info about project.

[jone sonie]

Actually, a scam ICO might not have clear information on founders and advisors. Therefore, before you venture into any ICO project, do your research to find out who is behind the project. In many instances, scam ICOs use pictures of people who are not even related to their projects. You can be shocked to find out that people listed as founders and advisors don’t exist anywhere on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. This clearly shows that such projects are not authentic.