This thing called "due diligence"
When I lost a half Bitcoin in my very first scam (Mining United if you care to look it up), I posted about my experience on the Bitcoin Forum in a thread dedicated to that particular scam and got to experience being called an idiot multiple times by those who had more experience at the time.
I chose to treat what I endured as a learning experience, and yes, I learned from the mistakes I made and I was able to avoid many other scams that use a similar strategy as the one I fell for.
But to this day, I still resent being called stupid just because I was ignorant of certain things that those making that judgment happened to know. Ignorance is not the same thing as stupidity. I made a resolution that I would never victim shame anyone if they shared that they had lost money in a scam, even if it was their third or fourth time.
Although ignorance is not a character flaw, it can still bite you especially in the cryptocurrency industry, which in many ways still runs like the Wild West. Thankfully, there are people out there who know about things like investing and avoiding scams along with basic financial literacy who have taken the time to make their knowledge freely available to the rest of us.
DNotesEDU is one such group that I highly recommend. Although they have chosen to brand themselves along with the DNotes coin (an excellent project by the way), their goal through the educational website is to present unbiased and objective information with no gimmicks. They are not charging for any of the information, nor are they directly promoting any specific coins or projects or giving specific financial advice.
Everybody reading this has probably heard about the importance of due diligence when it comes to investing in cryptocurrency projects. But what exactly is that due diligence? This article by DNotesEDU goes into great depth about what specific things you should be looking for and what specific questions you need to be asking any project you are considering funding.
I read through it and realized how little I actually do know, even with the experience I do have under my belt (I've been actively involved in the cryptocurrency industry since March 2013). Doing your due diligence sounds like something you should just know about--kind of like filing papers or riding a bicycle or knowing when a farm animal might have rabies. Some people call it common sense, but the truth is, all those things are skills that need to be learned. You might know about rabid animals if you happen to have grown up on a farm, but you can't expect to just know this if you're visiting your first farm after having lived in the city your entire life. Knowing what questions to ask and what fundamentals to look for in a venture seeking investment funds is also a skill that has to be learned and practiced. You're not born with it.
If you don't know how to really do due diligence, you're not an idiot. You can empower yourself by taking the time to learn this skill. And then you'll be a more confident investor.
So, take the time to really go over the material in this article. It's not a quick read, but it's well worth your time and effort.
https://dnotesedu.com/2018/02/cryptocurrency-ico-screening-guide-for-investors/
Wiser, great words of wisdom. I too have been involved in crypto since BTC was $800. I've seen so many coins scam and go, it makes my head spin. I believe with the industry still fairly new, comparatively, there are many who just rely on hype to invest, and don't take the time to really get to know what they are really putting their money into. While crypto is a traders dream, this is different than investing for the long term. I hate to say it, but we're going to see more people crushed this year from phony projects.
Many years of research has led me to DNotes as well. This is a project developed by a trustworthy team, dedicated to developing a complete financial ecosystem that is unmatched by any others. With their launching of DNotes2.0 recently, I expect 2018 to be a huge year for them and the investors who see how undervalued their coin is at the moment. IMHO, these guys will be in the top 20 of coins by marketcap soon. Thanks for your honesty on this subject of scams. It never feels good to lose money that way. Hopefully people will take your advice, and lessen their risks to the minefield of hype in the industry.
Thanks for stopping by and for your thoughtful comment. It's totally true that it feels awful to lose money in a scam. I think that icky feeling is actually worse than the actual loss of funds. I think people rely on hype to invest because in many cases they don't realize it's hype because of lack of experience in investing. Recognizing the need to educate yourself is a very important first step. Many new investors don't even realize that there is so much they don't know. That's kind of how I was. Now at least I know that there's a lot I don't know :)