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How to spot a scam: seven warning signs

Guaranteed returns, time pressure, requests for your recovery phrase. Learn the patterns that repeat in almost every scam.

Crypto scams are rarely creative. They recycle the same tricks. If you know the pattern, you can recognize the trap before you fall into it.

The warning signs

  • "Guaranteed returns." In investing there are no guarantees. Period.
  • Time pressure. "Today only", "5 spots left". Haste switches off thinking.
  • A request for your recovery phrase. Always and without exception an attempted theft.
  • "Double your funds." Send 1, get 2 back. A classic that never works.
  • Fake support. Real support does not reach out first in a private message.
  • A friend with an "opportunity". Accounts get taken over; confirm through a different channel.
  • A link instead of the official site. Check the address character by character.

A simple safety rule

Before you click or send, stop for a minute and ask three questions: who is asking for this, what exactly am I about to approve, and can I verify it myself?

A scammer needs you to hurry. Take that away, and most attacks simply fail.

If something looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is not true. That one habit of caution protects you better than any tool.

This material is educational content and does not constitute investment advice.

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