Scam Alert

If you are new, welcome to the mysterious world of crypto.

Over the past 6 years, I have communicated with thousands of people in the community that have been scammed.

I will cover the most common scams to avoid and hopefully prevent future hacks from happening.

The Most Common Crypto Scams in 2025 – And How to Spot Them Before You Lose EverythingCryptocurrency promised freedom from banks, but it also opened the door to a Wild West of fraud. Billions are lost every year—not to market crashes, but to scams that prey on greed, FOMO, and inexperience. The FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report logged over $5.6 billion in crypto-related losses. Chainalysis estimates 1 in 4 new wallet addresses interact with a scam contract within their first month.

Here are the eight most common crypto scams active right now, ranked by prevalence according to on-chain data and law-enforcement reports. Each includes red flags and a real-world example.

1. Pig Butchering (Romance + Investment Scam)
   How it works: Scammers build long-term trust via dating apps, WhatsApp, or Discord. After weeks of “relationship building,” they introduce a “lucrative” crypto platform (often a fake exchange or liquidity pool). Victims are walked through depositing funds and shown fake profits—until they try to withdraw.2025 twist: AI-generated deepfake video calls and voice clones make the “person” seem real.
   Red flags: Unsolicited romantic interest that quickly pivots to crypto.
   The “exchange” only exists on a .xyz or .top domain with no SEC/FINRA filings.
   Pressure to use a specific wallet or bridge.
   Real case: The Hong Kong–U.S. widow scam (2024) drained $450 million from 200+ victims using cloned trading dashboards.

2. Rug Pulls (Liquidity Drained by Project Founders)
   How it works: A new token launches with massive Telegram/Discord hype. Devs lock liquidity for “6 months” (using fake locks). Once TVL hits $1M–$50M, they remove liquidity and vanish.2025 data: Dune Analytics shows ~4,200 rug pulls in Q1–Q3 2025, averaging $180k stolen each.
   Red flags: Anonymous team with stock-photo PFPs.
   90 %+ of supply in 3–5 wallets.
   “Locked liquidity” on unverified platforms like PinkSale clones.

3. Fake Airdrops & Snapshot Scams
   How it works: You see “$SOLANA AIRDROP – Connect wallet to claim 500 $JTO.” Clicking signs a malicious contract that drains approvals (ERC-20 approve, setApprovalForAll).2025 variant: Scammers spoof official project domains via ENS hijacking or Cloudflare typosquatting.
   Red flags: URL is solana-airdrop[.]co instead of solana[.]com.
   No official tweet/thread from the project.
   Wallet connect pop-up appears before any claim button.

THESE ARE THE MOST COMMON SCAMS:

1. Phishing via Wallet Drainers (OpenSea, MetaMask, Ledger)
   How it works: Fake “security update” emails or Discord DMs lead to a site that mimics MetaMask. Signing the prompt hands over your seed phrase or unlimited token approvals.Scale: Ledger’s 2024 breach phishing wave stole $600k in 48 hours via a single GitHub repo. Red flags: Email from support@metamask[.]io (real domain is @metamask .io).
   Any site asking for your 12/24-word seed.
   “Sync wallet” buttons that trigger blind signing.
   Coinbase, Ledger, Ellipal and others WILL NEVER contact you to verify your wallet or accounts.

2. Impersonation of Influencers & Support Staff
   How it works: A blue-check Twitter clone (@VitalikButerin_ vs @VitalikButerin) DMs you: “You won my giveaway – send 0.5 ETH to activate.” 2025 escalation: AI voice clones of CZ, Saylor, or Elon used in Telegram voice chats.Red flag: No legit project will ever ask you to send crypto first.

3. Pump-and-Dump Telegram Groups
   How it works: 50k-member "Alpha Calls" channel hypes a micro-cap Solana memecoin. Insiders buy at 3-second sniper bots, pump 100x in 20 minutes, then dump on retail.On-chain proof: 68 % of 2025 memecoin launches on Pump.fun have >70 % insider wallets (per Bubblemaps).
   Red flags: "100x guaranteed" language.
   Dev wallet sells within first 5 blocks.
   Bundled wallets (same sniper contract address).

4. Fake Staking / Yield Farming Sites
   How it works: Clone of Yearn, Aave, or Lido promises 500 % APY. You connect wallet, approve, and funds vanish.2025 trend: Scammers now use real audited contracts but swap the front-end JavaScript to redirect deposits.
   Check: Compare the contract address in the UI with the official docs. One digit off = scam.

5. NFT “Mint Now” Discord Hacks
   How it works: Project Discord is compromised; a fake “stealth mint” link spreads. Wallet signer gives setApprovalForAll to a burner contract that sweeps your BAYC, Punks, etc.Prevention: Turn on wallet simulation in Rabby or Frame.
   Never click “Verify” or “Mint” links in DMs.

Keep your crypto secure. NEVER share private information including login info, passwords and recovery/seed phrases. (12/24 word)

Not your KEYS, not your COINS