Bitcoin Scams: How To Avoid Them

We know. You might feel uneasy using Bitcoin because you don’t want to lose all your money to some asshole scammer. Bitcoin Scams are one of the biggest reasons why a lot of people are uncomfortable with cryptocurrencies.

Refusing to use the best money in human history because you're scared means the scammers win. So instead, we want to help you learn about Bitcoin scams, so you can grow strong and confident buying, using and securing your bitcoins.

But before we address this main topic, a quick note: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies are not the same thing. Bitcoin is indeed a cryptocurrency, but when most people refer to "crypto" they are referring to the tens of thousands of other cryptocurrencies out there that aren't Bitcoin. Things like Ethereum, Solana or Dogecoin.

There is a substantial difference between what Bitcoin is, how it’s governed, its network and what it’s used for and all these other cryptocurrencies.

It’s because of these differences that all other cryptocurrencies are shitcoins. It’s also usually the case that scammers mostly target and use cryptocurrencies that aren’t Bitcoin. As such, one of the quickest, best ways to avoid scams is to never touch other cryptocurrencies. It’s not foolproof (there are Bitcoin scams too), but it eliminates a lot of scams.

How To Avoid Cryptocurrency Scams

Besides avoiding shitcoins, the number one, absolute, most important thing to remember. The one thing you MUST remember even if you don’t read anything else on this page is this:

Never tell anyone your private keys or seed phrase. Never. Not under ANY circumstances. Ever. Giving someone your private keys / seed phrase is exactly like handing that person ALL your crypto. They will steal it literally within seconds and you will NEVER get it back. Ever. You’ve been warned!

While you might think that there’s something special about Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency scams, in actual fact they’re just the same type of older scams. Why reinvent scams that already work when you can just put a “crypto spin” on them? As these scams are basically just the same as ones that have been around for a long time the same general rules to avoid them apply which are:

• Never enter your private keys or seed phrase into anything digital, even if it’s just for you. Don’t take a photo of it, don’t enter it into a computer / phone, don’t print it, don’t copy it with a printer / copier, don’t store it in digital form of any kind or store it in the cloud. Keep it only on a piece of paper (or steel plate) and nothing else

• Never invest in anything that you don’t understand

• Never engage with things that have high pressure, time limited offers. Take your time

• Never engage with scammers, phishing emails or anyone that contacts you out of the blue. It doesn’t matter if they’re from the government or bank or famous or the police or IRS just ignore the SMS, email or message and if you’re really worried, contact that agency via their public contact details found via a separate Google search

• Never engage with things that guarantee future earning or lots of money

• Never engage with famous people, they will never contact you trust us

• Many scams happen via online dating apps or websites, never give anyone you haven’t met in real life your money (crypto or otherwise)

• Never accept “free” money or crypto, this is used to steal your tokens or NFTs

• Never engage with agents offering amazing job listings that you need to apply for

• Never engage with scammers trying to extort you, report them immediately to the police

• Try to install as little software as you possibly can and only from major platform App stores. The more software you install, the more security holes you open and the higher risk there is of installing a malicious one that will steal all your funds

• Never send any funds to another external wallet for “verification” or “fixing” your account

• Use long, complex passwords and app based 2 Factor Authentication (2FA)

• Double check URLs, domain names, email addresses, social media handles etc. If your really unsure simply Google the company and use the ones they provide on their website

Finally, when we say “never engage” we mean it. Don’t ever respond to or answer calls or messages from scammers even if you want to tell them to stop. Interacting just tells them that you’re real and that they just need to try again in a different way.

Stay safe out there and make sure you not only avoid scams, but hold your own private keys too.

Author Bio

This post is written by Athena Alpha, we helps smart people like you learn how to safely and privately buy, use, invest and grow wealthy with Bitcoin 🥳