I am a newbie and wonder if there are any reliable ICO listing websites that list the more reliable and the best ICOs out there? I thought ICObench is a good place to start with, but some say that it's BS...
There is whole thread dedicated for it. You can check it for yourself.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2938434.0I am quoting my old post, In which I put the guidelines/precautions to be taken when dealing with ICOs and airdrops
4. Scam airdrops.
Although airdrop looks safe bet but in scam airdrops you will be requested to give some donation to receive the airdrops (like .01 Ethereum). Be careful in these airdrops and do not send your money to them.
5.) Scam coins and ICOs.
Although a full proof method cannot be guranteed to identify the scam coins and scam ICOs, but still following point can be taken into consideration before investing.
a.) Developers promise very high returns on investment, Giving too much referral bonus or whole setup look like a ponzi scheme.
b.) Coin/Token is ready without any whitepaper or poorly written whitepaper.
c.) Coin is not solving any problem or implementing any new idea.
d.) Website look poor, Hosted in free platform like "Wix" or there is no https for website.
e.) Dev reserved too much coins for them, or too much premined or any other scheme that is giving undue benefit to development.
f.) No source code available.
g.) Roadmap putting emphasis on listing coin in exchanges instead of doing some real development.
h.) Team members are not known at all
6.) Do not believe others without DYOR .
It is quite possible that person advising about coin/token is associated with pump and dump, or getting some personal gain like referral bonus so it is better to do your own research.
Last but not the least, Never invest the money that you can't afford to lose.