Why asking for help publicly can sometimes make you a target.

[retreat]

No matter where you go, you’re bound to encounter scammers trying to trick you with their various schemes, it’s inevitable. So the bottom line is, don’t be too quick to trust the help offered by others. It’s okay to ask a question or two, but always make sure you don’t share sensitive information, click on any links they provide, or respond to suspicious messages, because scammers often use overly friendly messages to make their victims feel like they’re offering genuine help. If you’re still unsure, you can reply to that thread, search online, or ask for help from AI if needed.

[Nwada001]

Seeking for help on the internet will always draw attention, it doesn’t necessary mean the context actually or the amount display either people still get scam without providing details just because the internet is an open space.

Everyone is a target on this internet space. You ask for help publicly or not; you just have to be vigilant as long as you access the internet, and anyone who feels like the only place they could get help for their problem is on the internet should do it and still protect their identity while doing so as much as they could. People should not use the fear of getting attacked and also die in silence on things that public help could have helped them solve.

[Royal Cap]

In the internet you are not safe anywhere be it this forum for any social media. But here I want to say that if someone does not share their problem properly, then how can anyone help? At least they should tell about the problem or which platform they are facing any problem. Suppose someone is facing any problem while selling on any exchange or P2P. So if someone shares that problem and on which platform they are facing any problem, then someone can easily provide a solution. But if someone just say that he got some problem on p2p then, it will be little confusing to provide the solve for that problem.  Also whoever helps, it should definitely be done in a public space.

[knowngunman]

It can't be stop if a newbie, a genuine one really asks for an help because they do. But OP giving a good reminder not only to them but for everyone in general.

I guess the first rule if someone who's in need of help needs to remember that there should be no clicking of random links.

Because most of the links that are being sent to the needy are likely phishing websites if it relates to their wallet problems.

But you know, I still find it difficult to believe that people can not find help within their immediate environment unless they come online for solution. Unless it's a very restricted area with crypto regulation, one can easily find people of like mind within their surroundings that might help them resolve most of their problems particularly if it has to do with wallet. Unfortunately, the world we live in now is strange and total strangers could be helpful than one's relative or friends but some things are worth special treatment and second consideration especially when it involves money. Newbies are advised to have a physical mentor in the first place to help them sort out issues like this. People can be terrible online but this doesn't rule out the fact that there's still genuine people online that offer help without having bad intentions.

[SuperBitMan]

Seeking for help on the internet will always draw attention, it doesn’t necessary mean the context actually or the amount display either people still get scam without providing details just because the internet is an open space.

Everyone is a target on this internet space. You ask for help publicly or not; you just have to be vigilant as long as you access the internet, and anyone who feels like the only place they could get help for their problem is on the internet should do it and still protect their identity while doing so as much as they could. People should not use the fear of getting attacked and also die in silence on things that public help could have helped them solve.

You are right, everyone in the internet is a target and people just have to be very careful in everything they do, if you are not careful on the internet you are going to get scammed, a lot of people have been scammed in the internet and that’s a reason for people to be careful on the internet space.
Just like you said people should not then use because of fear and stop asking questions that will be of great help to them, one can ask questions but should do it without putting his or her self at risk.

[Abu-Naim]

No matter where you go, you’re bound to encounter scammers trying to trick you with their various schemes, it’s inevitable. So the bottom line is, don’t be too quick to trust the help offered by others. It’s okay to ask a question or two, but always make sure you don’t share sensitive information, click on any links they provide, or respond to suspicious messages, because scammers often use overly friendly messages to make their victims feel like they’re offering genuine help. If you’re still unsure, you can reply to that thread, search online, or ask for help from AI if needed.

I don’t see anything bad in asking questions publicly, because you will get help by the right people and you will also learn from several responses from the community members as long as you are willing to learn.

Accepting help through pm after public complain is something one should not do because the public are already guiding you, responding to PMs will lead to scam because the forum has already warn against responding to PMs when it’s from an unknown user that come to help, they are not real, the real forum members that have reputations and will be willing to help you will come publicly to render their service to you for free, and if it warrants further explanation, it will be done in the right way.

[Way of a writer]

When you are new to bitcoin it is normal to ask questions, especially here on Bitcointalk. But what many newbies don't know is that the way they ask questions can expose them to scammers.



Personally, i would advise newbies to first search the forum if they can find a thread with similar issue, if they see any, they should go through the thread to see their issue may have been solved on that thread or not. they should also read pin beginners guide, take their time to understand the basics. And after doing all these things still could fine the solution to their problem, they can proceed with opening threads.

Bitcoin is something that you will have and nobody will believe you even if you say it, why? Because it's damn costly, for example someone like me who is living in a developing country with my average look says I have Bitcoin, nobody will believe, because I don't have a car and expensive things.

You need to have cars and house and look like someone who really have something before you can become a target here, because people make mouth too much, people says things that they don't really have, this is very common here, people know how to live fake lifestyle and even criminals are careful when picking their target.

[Franklyn-wood]

What you need to know as a newbie is that scammers don't wait randomly, they actively look for beginners who are confused in one way other so that they can take advantage of them. So, when you make posts like this on Bitcointalk while asking for help. i have $5000 stuck in a wallet can someone help me recover it. You just did two things. first, you just announced that you have funds stuck somewhere, secondly, you are showing people that you might be confused or inexperienced which makes you a perfect target for scammers.

90% of the time, those who make a post of this kind are scammers pretending to be newbies and looking for greedy people to exploit. Some will share the seed phrase to a wallet and when you try to import it to your wallet you will be drained of your funds thereby leading to the hunter becoming thw hunted. We should be alert and vigilant because not all newbies are newbies, some are experts hiding under a newbie account. There are genuine newbie that will ask question but not to reveal sensitive information online.

I feel for those who falls victim of such, at the same time a lot of people over trust others that they can share any information with who ever they come across with the believe that everyone has the same heart they have, which is very wrong and could lead to a regrettable experience with a long lasting painful,
Like you said some of this people who claims to be novice or a newbie, use this avenue to extort people. This is why some people will only give you support or advice they can give on a neutral ground which will not involve them in Sharing there information with you.

[Cookdata]

No matter where you go, you’re bound to encounter scammers trying to trick you with their various schemes, it’s inevitable. So the bottom line is, don’t be too quick to trust the help offered by others. It’s okay to ask a question or two, but always make sure you don’t share sensitive information, click on any links they provide, or respond to suspicious messages, because scammers often use overly friendly messages to make their victims feel like they’re offering genuine help. If you’re still unsure, you can reply to that thread, search online, or ask for help from AI if needed.

This is a known tip on most crypto friendly platform. Go to reddit and see people seek for help and below there is a bot attached to subreddits warning users not to accept any help from dms. Any help that can't be public isn't a good one. If anyone has attempted to give you a wrong one, the community will quickly down vote the reply and cautioned the users not to listen to the advice. Even this forum it's that way but scammers has reduced from here compared to other platforms.

I don't want to see crypto discussion on platforms like Facebook, that social media looks dead to me. You can never see one crypto post that looks genuine, if you see the one that is genuine then it's an article or a post looking for referrals that want to direct one to some other platform. The place is bad that even if I see questions, I don't attempt to answer, it was boring and too much scam made me to delete the app from my phone and I never looked back.

[Davidvictorson]

Scammers' targets are random, regardless of whether you're a beginner or an advanced user; we're all targets of criminals at every opportunity, with every question you ask.

I agree with you.

I received a scammer text message today and at first, I did think I was targeted but after I shared the message with some other people I was told that they have also received those types of messages in the past and regularly. \

And it makes me think of the fisherman analogy where, they just cast their net without targeting any particular fish but end up catching. So it is, if I had responded, then they would have caught me and activated the next steps.

Once again for everyone, always verify.

[uchegod-21]

Almost everyone here has had one form of experience or another with at least one scammer who either scammed them or attempted to scam them. Some didn't ask questions openly, while some tried as much as possible to stay anonymous, but somehow, scammers still came around.

Asking questions on this forum is good, and not asking questions is still fine, but both have their disadvantages. The problem is not about asking questions, but how well you can detect who has pure intentions and who does not.

The general way you can protect yourself is by avoiding people who rush to your DM after you ask a question that puts you in the spotlight. Your instinct should warn you about those who choose to offer help secretly rather than openly. Ignore those people no matter how interesting their responses may seem. You asked your question in public, so you should get your answers from that same public space.