How to spot a fake Air Drop

AirDrops are Common and popular in the crypto world. They are popular amongst the crypto enthusiasts because they enable them to get some cool crypto with the minimal amount of work and efforts.

Air Drops are also popular amongst those who want to promote their coins to the masses and create mass adoption.
However there is a third category of people who are using Air Drops as a means to scam people.
Generally one believes that all it takes is a few minutes of your time to participate in an Air Drop and there is nothing much to lose in the process.

However this statement is far from the truth. Every time you are participating in an Air Drop you are shelling out important personal information that is far more valuable then a few cents or dollars that the Air Drop maybe offering.
Having said that I am not discouraging you from participating in an Air Drop. Instead my intention is to safeguard your interests and ensure safety of your identity and personal details.

The first red flag: The AirDrop offers a large sum of money. If you see an Air Drop that offers a large amount of money for participating then it is likely that it may never pay you.
Second red flag: Does the Air Drop need you to make and initial payment or buy something.
If you have to buy or pay in order to get something then it smells of a Ponzi scheme.

make yourself air Drop ready.

Air Drops usually need a couple of user credentials for participation.
These are

• A personal email
• A wallet address to receive new Air Drop tokens
• A social media accounts like Twitter etc, Facebook, Instagram etc
• A mobile phone
• A scanned copy off your ID
• A Selfie
  Do not use an email that you use for banking or business purpose. If possible create a separate email for joining Airdrops.

As an email linked to your bank and business accounts can be used in phishing attacks. So it is better to be safe then sorry.

Do not use the mobile phone number linked to your bank account. This is to safeguard you from any identity spoofing and bank related cheating.

Before you sign up

It is wise to look around and see if the Air Drop is legit.
Air Drops for coins/tokens that are already listed are quite popular and one needs to check if the air drop is real or fake.
A good starting point for a listed token or coin is to start from the coin/token official website. The best way to arrive at the original coin/token website is to check if the coin/token is listed on coinmarketcap.com
This would give the link to the parent website.
See AirDrop is mentioned here.
If it is not mentioned hear then you need to investigate further.
The websites usually list the social media accounts like telegram twitter Facebook etc through which they can be reached.

Contact the coin / token team via their social media account and ask them about the Air Drop being legit. Usually a legit Air Drop is listed or appears as a pinned post on their social media page/profile.

Usually telegram or Twitter gives you the fastest response if the team is active and responsive and you need any clarification about the airdrop or project.