A more scientific mindset is necessary to avoid scams.

[TravelMug]

tldr;;

I think we don't need to be a rocket scientist though to fall for crypto scams. If the offer is too good to be true, then that is already a red flag. Been here in the last 6 years or so, scam once, and so I've learn from my past mistakes. But if you keep on getting victimized because you think that crypto is easy money, and get rich quick scheme, then you are very wrong.

So do not overthink here, as a normal individual, for sure you will have that brain of yours to see and small from afar what crypto scams looks like. And so even how good their offer what or what percentage that they are telling that you are going to get, just ran and never look back and not to think of even investing a single satoshi.

[tygeade]

Honestly, most of those very promising projects are actually scams. That "too good to be true" project. First of all, it will be difficult to identify if this is really legit or not because they put in a lot of effort and you can even say that it is more legit than other successful projects. I was also one of the victims of that before, so now I've learned something and should be more aware, always research the project you're going to enter even if you think it's legit. Same on the individual you mentioned above.

They know they need to do that because that is the only way for them to scam more people. Maybe they look legit but they are not yet on the level of a successful project. Even if we think like that, it's important to not be confident but let's still make an effort to double-check things. One or two mistakes must be enough already to teach us a lesson. For those who are lazy or can't seem to learn, they can just stick on the successful projects. They only need to practice on how to be patient and on how to control their emotions, just in case they like to monitor their investments, if ever they didn't learned these things yet.

[redsun114]

The logic of "scientific mindset" is basically what science does, which is a proof. I mean when people talk about Isaac Newton "he had an apple drop to his head so he figured out gravity" that's not how law of gravity became a reality, he wrote a whole paper about it, that's how it became a reality, if it was just him and an apple then nobody would ever hear about it, it is not like some rumor that went from mouth to mouth, there was an actual paper that proved it.

So, if someone tells you that they can make you money, ask to see proof, and see if the proof could be repeated, the mindset of "just trust me" is not enough at all and would not be a good idea to follow up, so you should try to avoid those people at all costs.

[Bananington]

It's arguably true about a scientific mindset being able to anticipate, detect and avoid scams quicker because of the age in which we exist. Technology is the hot take or career path for most graduates, and anyone who gets to be able to fully operate a computer, can read and write fluently, and stays atunned to the news channels these days will be smart enough to learn of news of hacks and scams and the best way to avoid them.

[Mahanton]

slaman29-You have made a claim, so where is your scientific evidence to back up this claim?

My claims are very very well documented. I'm surprised wanting to discuss the topic you don't know this (thus proving my claim that educated and academics are not foolproof).

Here are some research based evidence that any village guy can google:

-That is fair enough. Although there may be some confounding variable that explains why the educated are more likely to be scammed. On the other hand, academic institutions have taught me to distrust them very much because they are so unprofessional, so I would not be too surprised if the chlurmcks who have graduated from these institutions are too inept to avoid scams. Maybe this means that educated people should humble themselves and acknowledge that they are not immune to scams and they also need to apply a scientific mindset to determining what to invest in. Are the people with science degrees more or less likely to be scammed than those with liberal arts degrees? What about those with business and marketing degrees?

It's funny that you mention first about scientific mindset, then me showing evidence (scientific) that that very thinking and training actually doesn't make you less vulnerable (in fact quite the opposite) gets you saying you distrust peer-reviewed work.

You're right though I agree, we should be skeptical towards everything but I think sometimes educated and crypto people think too highly of themselves, and can't even consider the possibility that they could be scam victims. Further blinded by greed they fall into traps.

I think if you use crypto without that underlying desire to make money, that, rather than the scientific mindset, is what avoids scams as all scams target greed.

You would really be needing up that common sense and doesnt really need up on any technical approach or whatever that scientific that we are that talking about. You would be able to point out on what are the things that must done and what are the things that must avoid for you to be be able to avoid scams and just simply making use of that common sense that you could be able to point out on what are those shit thing that you
might encounter along the way.Somewhat due to lack of experience and knowledge then it would really be that normal that there are times or moments that we do miss out on making valid decisions due to the fact that we are really that going for our targets that had been set out. We are believing on something which it isnt really that realistic or something that easy to approach on.

Scams are everywhere and if you arent that careful enough or mindful about your actions then you are really that prone on experience in out on which means that losing money will surely be guaranteed.
Sooner or later on the time that you would be having that kind of experience then you would already have that kind of awareness on things around and this is where you could
easily spot out which is really that good thing to engage on and which is not.

[savetheFORUM]

I think we don't need to be a rocket scientist though to fall for crypto scams. If the offer is too good to be true, then that is already a red flag. Been here in the last 6 years or so, scam once, and so I've learn from my past mistakes. But if you keep on getting victimized because you think that crypto is easy money, and get rich quick scheme, then you are very wrong.

Exactly, it's all about general knowledge at first and experience later, in case someone unfortunately becomes a victim of one of the scams they come across. However, in my opinion, one doesn't even need to go through a scam to understand how a scam basically works if one generally knows what can be right and wrong when one gets an offer or sees an investment opportunity. Someone doesn't need to become a victim just to understand this fact.

However, most people become greedy and start thinking that they can actually get a lot of money from these offers due to a lack of experience and knowledge about the industry as you said, otherwise, the offers that they get are usually too good to be true but newbies don't understand that.

[Latviand]

Just use the word logical, it's more fitting because if we are talking about scientific, that means that you're going to be using the scientific method which is finding evidences and testing your hypothesis which in the case of scams, it's not going to be really a good thing. Just use your common sense to identify scams or just avoid being a victim of one, what I mean by using your common sense, if something or someone offers you something that's too good to be true, it probably ain't true.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

-snip-

-  I have already made a topic about how to avoid scams:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5419698.msg61252106#msg61252106
Because most people here in the forum community also know that scammers will not disappear in reality.
So the only thing we can really do is avoid it.

And the question is, what are the possible steps we should take to avoid them? here in a way that is different to prevent scammers from happening.
But those who are also victims of scammers are actually mostly those who are also driven by greed because they were prudent in those times before they became victims.

[Distinctin]

When you say scientific mind then you are already implying this is an intelligent mind...but does it mean a scientific minded person can not be scammed??? Am Pretty much sure such minds can be scammed too.
As far as am concerned it's actually common sense that will allow a user from being scammed and doesn't require some certain level of IQ to tell from what's a scam and what isn't!!

Besides what happens if the scammer has a scientific mindset...i guess it's chaos and still comes back to common sense to save you from being scammed.

If you are aware about how scams are done and know already the red flags you can see in a scammer, then it’s obvious that even a regular mind can track it. No need to be highly knowledgeable or high leveled IQ so you can easily identify those scams. Scammers are everywhere now so if we once fall into its trap, I don’t think we’ll let ourselves fall again for the same trap.

However, the only way to avoid scams is to learn from other people’s experiences. Be rational and wise. If you can’t do that, you will always be taken advantage by all types of scammers.

[wxa7115]

If you are aware about how scams are done and know already the red flags you can see in a scammer, then it’s obvious that even a regular mind can track it. No need to be highly knowledgeable or high leveled IQ so you can easily identify those scams. Scammers are everywhere now so if we once fall into its trap, I don’t think we’ll let ourselves fall again for the same trap.

However, the only way to avoid scams is to learn from other people’s experiences. Be rational and wise. If you can’t do that, you will always be taken advantage by all types of scammers.

Using our common sense is enough, so if for example we see the developers of a coin promising huge profits if we invest with them then we can know right away it is a scam due to several reasons, like the developers not controlling the demand, being unable to control the price, hundreds of coins similar to the one they created, Satoshi himself being unable to do this even when he created the best coin there is and this whole market as well, and so forth.

And the best thing is that kind of analysis can be done in a split of a second, saving us a massive amount of time which can be used to analyze the projects which are worthy of that attention.

[kingvirtus09]

If you are aware about how scams are done and know already the red flags you can see in a scammer, then it’s obvious that even a regular mind can track it. No need to be highly knowledgeable or high leveled IQ so you can easily identify those scams. Scammers are everywhere now so if we once fall into its trap, I don’t think we’ll let ourselves fall again for the same trap.

However, the only way to avoid scams is to learn from other people’s experiences. Be rational and wise. If you can’t do that, you will always be taken advantage by all types of scammers.

Using our common sense is enough, so if for example we see the developers of a coin promising huge profits if we invest with them then we can know right away it is a scam due to several reasons, like the developers not controlling the demand, being unable to control the price, hundreds of coins similar to the one they created, Satoshi himself being unable to do this even when he created the best coin there is and this whole market as well, and so forth.

And the best thing is that kind of analysis can be done in a split of a second, saving us a massive amount of time which can be used to analyze the projects which are worthy of that attention.

We know very well here that when we hear only promises in a new project, that is definitely a red flag for us. We do not send such misleading words to their prospects. So more intelligence and observance are needed.

Especially now, we are getting closer to the upcoming bull run, but bitcoin is halving first before bulls. That's why doing your own research is also a big deal for us, so that we don't fall into their traps. Let's just remember that we should always be prudent.

[dansus021]

Wow this is great I don't know that there would be a scientific mindset to avoid scams.

I usually put it simply If they offered me something that is impossible to achieve like turned profit 1000% in a week or something like that I just ignore it, because if people can generate that huge amount of money in a week why they need people to invest hahaha.

But if you still believe to that nonsense you can check it by sending them a little test money hahahha which i don't recommend at all

[barisbilgili]

We know very well here that when we hear only promises in a new project, that is definitely a red flag for us. We do not send such misleading words to their prospects. So more intelligence and observance are needed.

Especially now, we are getting closer to the upcoming bull run, but bitcoin is halving first before bulls. That's why doing your own research is also a big deal for us, so that we don't fall into their traps. Let's just remember that we should always be prudent.

Yes, if we listen to the profits received from a new project and promises of very large profits then of course this is very unreasonable and of course we have to avoid that project. It is important for us to be able to understand well what we are going to do, if we invest in Bitcoin then we must understand well the right time to buy it so that we can get a profit from the investment we are going to make because if we don't understand well what we are doing so we panic if the price decreases.

[Taskford]

If you are aware about how scams are done and know already the red flags you can see in a scammer, then it’s obvious that even a regular mind can track it. No need to be highly knowledgeable or high leveled IQ so you can easily identify those scams. Scammers are everywhere now so if we once fall into its trap, I don’t think we’ll let ourselves fall again for the same trap.

However, the only way to avoid scams is to learn from other people’s experiences. Be rational and wise. If you can’t do that, you will always be taken advantage by all types of scammers.

Using our common sense is enough, so if for example we see the developers of a coin promising huge profits if we invest with them then we can know right away it is a scam due to several reasons, like the developers not controlling the demand, being unable to control the price, hundreds of coins similar to the one they created, Satoshi himself being unable to do this even when he created the best coin there is and this whole market as well, and so forth.

And the best thing is that kind of analysis can be done in a split of a second, saving us a massive amount of time which can be used to analyze the projects which are worthy of that attention.

We know very well here that when we hear only promises in a new project, that is definitely a red flag for us. We do not send such misleading words to their prospects. So more intelligence and observance are needed.

Especially now, we are getting closer to the upcoming bull run, but bitcoin is halving first before bulls. That's why doing your own research is also a big deal for us, so that we don't fall into their traps. Let's just remember that we should always be prudent.

Most of the promise stated by those project didn't really happen so we should be aware regarding on the words they place and to see how realistic their plans written on their project. Since mostly they just write those words to make their project looks good that's why its not good to invest base on first impression only since scammers always make their introduction looks good so that they could try to catch the interest of people to invest on their project.

Also for us investors its really better that we should research all detailed information about them so that we could see if their claim is realistic and there's a chance that they could able to deliver their promised project to their investor. If we found that its just a pure bullshit and to many redflags shown then its time for us to exit then find other more better.

[Japinat]

 Don't make things too complicated. Anyone can easily track a scam provided that it has certain red flags that will help us point and identify that it's really a scam. Even without applying a scientific mindset, you will know that a scam is heading and that you should avoid it as early as possible before it will hit you and start taking advantage of you. But that will only happen if you are exposed to different scams happening around, that's why being cautious and careful is crucial so that we won't be falling on their traps again and continue their mission.

However, if you think that there is a need for a scientific mindset in order to identify and avoid scams, then that's also your choice. But never assume that everyone will stick to it as by being logical and rational, you will certainly end up identifying and avoiding a scam.

[kingvirtus09]

First off, is there a connection between science and Bitcoin? In my opinion, the answer is definitely affirmative, as Bitcoin relies on cryptography, which is widely utilized in other scientific domains including data protection and network security.

Second, given that Bitcoin is built on blockchain technology, we also know that it has the power to completely transform a variety of sectors, including finance and healthcare. Thirdly, Bitcoin is renowned for being a peer-to-peer, decentralized money that is impossible for any entity to control—not even a central bank or government.

[jvanname]

It seems like 'common sense' is good for recognizing obvious scams. For example, if someone claims that one can double the money overnight, then that is an obvious scam. But what about non-obvious scams? People need to become much more sophisticated so that they both recognize good projects and reject scams, and this simply isn't happening. People instead gobble up everything that the media says, and they reject everything that the media does not tell them to gobble up. And the reasons why people reject projects are usually complete and total bullshit because most people judge based on superficial crap instead of innovation because in order to judge a project based on innovation, one has to read research, and most people are either too uneducated or too lazy to read the research or even to figure out which research they should read or not.

kingvirtus09-I agree that there is a connection between science and Bitcoin. The use of cryptography in Bitcoin is somewhat scientific and somewhat unscientific. Satoshi Nakamoto did some very innovative scientific research in order to create Bitcoin, but the mining algorithm was not designed for Bitcoin. Satoshi selected SHA-256 mining because he considered SHA-256 to be good enough. I personally do not consider SHA-256 to be good enough because cryptocurrency mining does not just need to secure the network, but the computation should serve some other purpose without giving up on any of the security properties that hash functions satisfy. Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency community is filled with chlurmcks who do not care about science, so we currently do not have any mining algorithm that is much better than SHA-256 and which has scientific merit.

-Joseph Van Name Ph.D.

[Mauser]

The entire cryptocurrency community has an anti-scientific mindset. For example, the entire Bitcoin community automatically rejects the idea that cryptocurrencies should have mining algorithms that are designed to advance science without any reason whatsoever. But they are unaware that since Bitcoin has an anti-scientific mining algorithm, Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) have attracted an anti-scientific community that is highly susceptible to scams and bubbles. The entire cryptocurrency community would be much less hateworthy if it was not so attracted to scammery and was smart enough to like science.

-Joseph Van Name Ph.D.

First time I am hearing that the crypto currency community is anti-scientific. Personally, I like science a lot, especially physics and mathematics interest me and I was never against pushing the fiends ahead. Trying to avoid scams is one thing and being anti science is something completely different. Not sure if trading is really part of science, but once you deal in large enough sums of money you are automatically attracting scammers. Scams are what some people call a free lunch, you try to take advantage of others without providing and my real services. The best approach to scams is to be cautious and realistic about the future. If some promises me things that sound too good to be true than it's likely not true and should be avoided. In science we should be more open towards new theories and as long as they are not proven wrong there might be benefits.

[Yamifoud]

We don't need to have a scientific mindset to see if that project is a scam because it seems easy to spot this if you are not a greedy person.
 - they offer instant and big rewards
 - they promise things that are impossible

If we really have them in our minds, I don't think we fall into them. Unfortunately, most of us easily give trust and grab the offer from these scammers. Of course, they'll do everything to catch greedy people, and sad to say they usually win and take away the money of their victims.

[taufik123]

We don't need to have a scientific mindset to see if that project is a scam because it seems easy to spot this if you are not a greedy person.
 - they offer instant and big rewards
 - they promise things that are impossible
-snip-

Whether it's necessary or not really depends on how you can guess which projects are genuine and which projects are fake.
Whether it's too greedy or not is a matter of self-control.
Nowadays, scammers are getting smarter and won't make overly flashy offers or even promise huge prizes.

They will play with a person's psychology to feed on the bait they provide, so that it will be a good hook and start manipulating users into their plans.

See how there are many scams on several types of investment platforms, gambling, trading, and some private sales that look legitimate but are actually just stealing money from people.

So in order to avoid scams, it's not just about having a scientific mind, it's also about having a clear mind and being aware of the many dangers that lurk.
Become smarter than the scammers and keep up with how the scam methods are evolving to be more vigilant.