Warning to Newcomers: Beware of Scams

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

Scams are very common in the crypto space, especially targeting newcomers.

After I posted about the 2014 Chinese Gold Physical Bitcoin experiment, I received two scam attempts:

An X account @paiulseth claimed to be from Dewhales Capital and asked for an interview. When I requested contact via an official Dewhales email, a fake “official” email was used.

Another person emailed me from s09000100@gmail.com
, claimed to have seen my Bitcointalk post, and asked for more details. When I requested a verifiable Bitcointalk account or public profile, they refused and pushed for private chat on Telegram/WhatsApp.

Reminder:
Unsolicited private messages, refusal to verify identity, or attempts to move conversations off the forum are very likely scams.
When in doubt, keep discussions public on the forum.

[Yaunfitda]

Or when it doubt, don't entertain any from unknown source. You have to very everything first and it's good that you have did this in your end. Otherwise, if you don't and you just blatantly believed on what he says, you can easily fall for that scam attempt. I think every crypto enthusiast should know by now that we're really a target from cyber criminals. That every information then can get, they are going to attack us in whatever way, email, direct message, even text. So just be on high alert and again, do not trust anyone.

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

we're really a target from cyber criminals.

That’s exactly right. Once scammers realize that we were early Bitcoin participants and may control a meaningful amount of crypto assets, they are willing to spend a lot of time engaging in one-on-one conversations.

I rarely encountered this level of scam activity in the Chinese community before, largely because WeChat’s real-name authentication system is relatively strict.

[KiaKia]

You are not supposed to entertain them, if a newbie gives these chances to strangers they will do the wrong things eventually because the attacker might be able to figure out that the person he is dealing with is a newbie or beginner.

Do not give them any reason as to why you must stop talking to them, any strangers that message you are up to no good and it's not your duty to find it out, just don't accept PMs from strangers, this is more than enough.

Change your social media apps security to stricter mode, do not allow strangers to send you PM, online accept messages from people you know, friends and families only.

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Scams are very common in the crypto space, especially targeting newcomers.

As a newbie, before you take any step or decision, try to ask others or ask online to have an idea of what you're going for, because many that have been affected wouldn't have been a victim if they had been earlier informed about some of the things they do, we can see the relevance of information and being opportune to be a member of this bitcoin community and such must not be taken for granted in learning.

[Charles-Tim]

This forum really helped me when I was a newbie, I wanted to contribute some useful information to the community and I know this forum accept discussions related to scam and hacks, that is where I started from. But in the process of researching for what I can bring to be useful on this forum, I was able to know about scam and hacks and how to avoid them. Also as we continue to be active on this forum, we learn every time about new scam and we avoid them. Although, not just on this forum but from other places like news, X and other crypto online places, it is good to stay updated with recent news about scammers and hackers.

[Ziskinberg]

When you sense something is wrong, just trust your instinct. Never entertain those strangers, but ignore them. They will have no chance to scam you if you never allow them too. And its a good thing you do your research, so you will know the latest ways for crypto scams.

Sometimes, being suspicious can be very helpful. Its okay not to trust easily, because those who you trust may even scam you, how much more for those you never dare trusting at all?

There is a rapid growth of scams, as well as there is a fast increase of people who enter investing without prior knowledge and experience.

[qwertyup23]

Like what I always mention on threads such as this one- always remember this: BETTER TO AVOID THAN TO CURE:.

In the world of cryptocurrency which exists solely on the internet, scammers are finding various ways to take advantage of beginners. They usually create multiple fake accounts, websites, and edited IDs to make it appear that they are genuine. Additionally, some scammers even inject malware to their downloadable links to wallets they provide on their own website, catching off-guard curious investors and beginners in the process.

Again always remember that if something is too good to be true, then it is definitely too good to be true. Like what you also mentioned OP, if someone randomly messages you asking for an investment for a certain project; or when someone asks you to download a random link, then avoid them AT ALL COST.

[Die_empty]

That’s exactly right. Once scammers realize that we were early Bitcoin participants and may control a meaningful amount of crypto assets, they are willing to spend a lot of time engaging in one-on-one conversations.

I rarely encountered this level of scam activity in the Chinese community before, largely because WeChat’s real-name authentication system is relatively strict.

The kind of information you expose about yourself or your business makes you a target for scammers or hackers. Your post about physical Bitcoins made you a target. This is why it is important to mind the information we give out in public because it could be clues to these criminals. These scammers are not just willing to spend time, they can even invest money just to prove that they are not fake.

Do not give them any reason as to why you must stop talking to them, any strangers that message you are up to no good and it's not your duty to find it out, just don't accept PMs from strangers, this is more than enough.

Business owners have to be flexible. Genuine business deals could come from strangers.  Not accepting messages from unknown people could make someone lose business deals. Being observant, sensitive, and paying attention to details are skills to develop to survive in the crypto space.

[Dechris_08]

Good reminder.
Here’s One extra rule I follow:
If someone tells me that he  represents a company, I verify that from their official website.
I take my time and verify it myself  never through links or emails they provide.

[tech30338]

we're really a target from cyber criminals.

That’s exactly right. Once scammers realize that we were early Bitcoin participants and may control a meaningful amount of crypto assets, they are willing to spend a lot of time engaging in one-on-one conversations.

I rarely encountered this level of scam activity in the Chinese community before, largely because WeChat’s real-name authentication system is relatively strict.

As long as you are in crypto space you are a target even if you don't have funds, they are more of a person with less knowledge will be more easy to target than early adopters because they are already expose on this scams in the early stages.
if you they figure out that you are starting to enter into the space they seem to be very nice and help you, and with that you started to be too complacent and sometimes along the way you are starting to be played when you realized its already too late.

[Y3shot]

The way people easily fall for scams and don't really take messages from strangers is concerning. Social media platforms like Telegram and X have very high scam rates, and I don't think they are places where one should engage in discussions with strangers because many who try to engage in discussions are not genuine.

 The reason I like forums is that genuine discussions are always open, and even if a scammer tries to disguise themselves as genuine, they won't succeed.

[Marykeller]

Newbies have been the prey for all these scams for a long time. I would love it if they would learn to look and think much further before they agree to anything they are told on social media to be true. They should stay clear of private chats of anyone forming to be the correct account owner of the chat group they are in because those real account owners or the admins of such group(customer care) don't send pm first. Any pm sent, should be mute on ''forever".

[bhadz]

To be honest, X is also the same as telegram. They're now both home for scammers because they can change their profiles and messaging to stranger is very easy. Whether a stranger proves their identity from here or not, I think that it's best to just ignore any message from that platform. They'll not stop until you block them or they've taken something from you. Testing their luck is what they do and if someone bites on it, they'll take their money. It's also important to remain lowkey if you're discussing about money here, in X and other socials.

[nakamura12]

It's not just in cryptocurrency that has scams so it's already natural that there will be people who will also try to scam in crypto space. One thing that people can do is to determine which one is scam and isn't scam. Keeping security good is also a way to avoid getting scammed. To be honest, even in online games that isn't as valuable to crypto has also the same people who will try to scam people. This forum has let me know which one to avoid and what to do to avoid getting scammed. What I mostly do is when someone claimed to be in a company is I ask other people if they know such company and if it's legit.

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

That’s exactly right. Once scammers realize that we were early Bitcoin participants and may control a meaningful amount of crypto assets, they are willing to spend a lot of time engaging in one-on-one conversations.

I rarely encountered this level of scam activity in the Chinese community before, largely because WeChat’s real-name authentication system is relatively strict.

The kind of information you expose about yourself or your business makes you a target for scammers or hackers. Your post about physical Bitcoins made you a target. This is why it is important to mind the information we give out in public because it could be clues to these criminals. These scammers are not just willing to spend time, they can even invest money just to prove that they are not fake.

Do not give them any reason as to why you must stop talking to them, any strangers that message you are up to no good and it's not your duty to find it out, just don't accept PMs from strangers, this is more than enough.

Business owners have to be flexible. Genuine business deals could come from strangers.  Not accepting messages from unknown people could make someone lose business deals. Being observant, sensitive, and paying attention to details are skills to develop to survive in the crypto space.

I agree. While blocking all communication with strangers can reduce the risk of scams, it would also limit the community's vitality. It's crucial, however, to focus on raising awareness about fraud prevention. I suggest communities create dedicated forums to expose scams and share information on the constantly evolving fraud tactics.

[michellee]

Scams is in everywhere. We must always be careful and not believes if someone gives an interesting offers. Scammers uses many ways that we can't expects because when they comes to us, they will trying to affects our conscious and follow what they wants.

But if you are aware and not believes, you will asks for more details but scammers can't give it. They just use our lack, panic, or waiting for our careless and trick us. We can't let that happens so we must checking for more and verify it.

If you think that their offers are suspicious, you can asks for more time to thinks. You use that time to search for more info to makes sure their offers are real or not.

[Livingleged]

When I got to know about this forum I never imagined it to be like a place it is to me  today. honestly i thought it was just  a place that I will just come and see people talking about how the price of bitcoin will be affected by news headlines but when I dive into the forum I realized this was beyond  what I was thinking and I had to calm down and learn.
I’ve visited several board and I'm learning and enjoying them. my favorite board currently are the economy, bitcoin discussion and my own local board as well

Im also learning about the technical aspect of bitcoin from the technical board questions and solutions there are really interesting and informative. If you are in this forum and you allow your self to be scam or hacked then you didn’t do well because here you get all the information you need to start a life in the crypto industry and keep your funds save.

[goldphysicalbitcoin]

If you think that their offers are suspicious, you can asks for more time to thinks. You use that time to search for more info to makes sure their offers are real or not.

If there's any doubt, individuals should not only seek more detailed information to make an informed decision, but also consider consulting forums for advice from more experienced members. We all despise scammers. I believe the beginner's section could benefit from a pinned post dedicated to fraud prevention and exposing scam tactics.

[Nathrixxx]

Right before the commencement of our investment as a newbie, we should take time to learn about the security tips and measures which should be maintained by us, so that we don't fall to the den of scammers and they feast on us as their prey, they uses different routes to steal from people, we have to learn more regarding that and also maintain having ultimate privacy, so that our rights will not be deprived from us.