How to spot a scam?
Some scams are obvious. If you take a look at an ordinary HYIP (High Yield Investment Program) scam, even a 4-year old would understand that that's not possible and that there must be something wrong. This is an example of an obvious HYIP scam: https://cryptounity.biz/ . As you see, CryptoUnity contains IMPOSSIBLY high profits, namely up to 150% in 1 day. It also contains a referal program, which is another indication that it's a scam. Not all referal-program sites are scams though, it's just something many scams have.
A less obvious scam would be Genesis Mining. No one is really sure if it's a scam or not. Many fans of Genesis Mining say it's not a scam and politely give you their referal links. There is also an amount of people who say it is a scam and either try to keep people from being scammed by Genesis-Mining, or just give up on the people dumb enough to put their money in it. Personally, I really don't know whether it's a scam or not. There is no proof for it being a scam, but no proof for it being legitimate either. That proves just how hard it is to recognize some scams!
Here I will list a couple of ways you can try to distinguish scams from legitimate investing opportunities:
Huge ROI (Return On Investment): Most scams offer a lot of profit and higher percentages of profit for larger investments too. At many scams it's obvious that they are scams. If you see "100% per week!", it's obviously a scam. If you see "25% per year", it's worth looking at it, because it could be a real opportunity, although even those lower amounts of profit are mostly scams.
No risk: Any company offering profit without a risk should have a very clear plan or you should avoid it. No risk is impossible in the trading world. So they should tell you a pretty logical way they make their profits, or you should just stay away from it. If they do not show you a clear way, it's a scam. "Trading bots" or "Volatility software" aren't risk-free ways of earning money... Do not invest in those scams either!
Referal Programs: A referal program doesn't necessarily mean it's a scam. Many websites have referal programs, but if you are already doubting if something is legitimate and it has a referal program too, you should count it as a too high risk to be worth investing in.
Fake Crew Photos: Photos of the crew that founded the project are often fake. They aren't the real people behind it. Sometimes it's possible to find these photos on the web and you could easily see if it's real or fake. Sometimes it's not possible to find them on the internet, but you should still look at the other factors then.
Limited time offers: These could well be legit, which (pre)-ICOs are a good example of, but are often great indicators for scams. If you go to some websites whose owners don't care what ads are shown, you'll see some of the "Buy now or the virus will delete all your files!" and "Download or we shut down your computer" ads... These are great examples of such scams. You are rushed to take a decision... Holy profit forever by trusting some strangers or potentially lose all your files... There are many people who go for the "holy profit forever"... Awfully enough, they will later find out they are robbed...
As you see, there are multiple indicators for identifying scams. Ofcourse, even if all of these aren't true, please use common sense... "If something seems to good to be true, it probably is".
I hope you liked it... If you did, please Upvote/Resteem/Follow @bloodypizza
And don't forget to leave your feedback in the comments! :)
WELCOME TO STEEMIT :) Glad to see more people like you - here join the steemit! Being a steamboat is a great adventure! Here you can win money while blogging! At first it will not be easy, but it is not impossible. So just write it from your heart and everything will be fine. ! Applause! Wish you much luck! Greetings, @nova.sasmita
Thanks :)
It seems pretty easy to me though.. Good Luck on your journey on here too! :)
Welcome to Steem @bloodypizza I have upvoted and sent you a tip
Thanks, botty! I really appreciate it! :)
Yeah, there will always be people trying to scam... I'm in Control-Finance and hoping it's the exception of a lot of the other HYIPs.
True. There will always be people trying to scam, but we should try to minimize the amount of people scammed by those scammers. If scamming doesn't reward people as well anymore, many people will stop doing it.
@bloodypizza got you a $1.78 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice! (Image: pixabay.com)
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Welcome to Steemit! If you have questions - ask me @dobroman
Thanks and I will :)
For starters, why is your reputation only 4? What did you do?
hi Bloodypizza I hope you enjoy your time here, its a great community ! Nice post, Wish you much luck! Cheers! i will follow your account, please follow me at @khunfarang
Thanks and I will definitely enjoy my time! :)
I thank you for following me, but I don't see a point in following someone who doesn't post anything.
Not an offense to you, rather a question to why you don't post?
Nice work, i hope you grow fast on steemit :)
Upvoted and ReSteemed...
Thanks and I hope that too! :)
You are more than welcome
I think it's great to raise awareness about possible scams, especially right now with so many newcomers to the crypto scene. Everyone wants a share of the pie, so the scammers prey on that. It's unfortunate, but until we can help people think about a scheme before jumping in, it will continue to happen. Thanks for helping to spread the word!
Very true. We're never going to be able to stop scamming completely, but we are able to reduce it substantially :)