How to spot a crypto scam: 10 red flags

Almost every week there is a new case: someone invests through an online ad in a “crypto platform” that looks completely legitimate, watches their profits grow for days, and then learns they must pay more before they can withdraw. The money never comes back.

The people who fall for it are not stupid. Today’s scams are well organised and designed to bypass reason and hit emotions: hope, fear and urgency. The best protection is knowing what a scam looks like before it happens to you.

10 red flags

1. They contacted you first. Real exchanges, banks and financial advisers do not message you on WhatsApp, Telegram or Facebook with an “investment opportunity”. If they reached out to you, be careful.

2. Guaranteed returns. Crypto prices go up and down. Anyone promising safe, fixed, daily or monthly profits is lying. No exceptions.

3. Urgency. “This offer is only valid today.” “Only two spots left.” Urgency exists so you do not have time to ask anyone for advice.

4. A “private” opportunity and secrecy. “Don’t tell anyone, this is exclusive.” The scammer wants to isolate you from family, friends and your bank, because they would warn you.

5. “An AI bot that never loses”. Trading bots exist, but none of them guarantees profit and none removes risk.

6. They ask for your seed phrase. Your seed phrase is your money. No legitimate company, exchange, support team or police force will ever ask for it.

7. They ask you to install an app or share your screen. Once a scammer sees your screen, they see your passwords, email, online banking and wallet.

8. You have to pay before you can withdraw. “Tax”, “fee”, “account verification”, “network costs”. No real platform asks you to pay to withdraw your own money. This is the moment almost every investment scam reveals itself.

9. A friendly person you have never met in person. Someone from social media or a dating app, weeks of attention, then a casual mention of how well they are doing in crypto. If someone you have not met in person starts talking about investing, stop.

10. Someone offers to recover your lost money. After a scam, fake “lawyers” and “recovery agencies” appear and ask for a fee up front. It is the second round of the same scam.

The rule that always applies

A crypto transaction cannot be reversed. There is no bank that can stop the payment and no chargeback. So the only real protection is not to make the transaction until you are completely sure. Say: “I’ll decide tomorrow.” A real opportunity does not disappear in ten minutes.

If you recognise more than two items on this list, the situation is dangerous. End the conversation and ask someone you trust.

If you have already been scammed

Stop all contact immediately and do not pay anything else. Report it to the police, keep all evidence (messages, numbers, addresses, transactions) and contact the exchange you sent the money through. And do not be ashamed: this happens to doctors, engineers and business owners.

My book Crypto Scam Survival Guide covers all of this in depth.