Promises of guaranteed returns
No honest investment guarantees a profit. “Risk-free 5% a day” is a warning sign, not an offer.
Pressure to act now
Countdown timers, “last chance” and “only for you” are used to stop you thinking. Take time.
Someone you met online is teaching you to invest
Romance and friendship scams (often called pig butchering) build trust for weeks before steering you to a fake trading site.
Requests for your seed phrase or a remote-access app
Real support never needs your seed phrase and never asks you to install software to “fix” your wallet.
Fake airdrops and look-alike sites
Check the web address letter by letter. Do not connect a wallet to a site you reached from an unexpected message.
A token you cannot sell
Some scam tokens let you buy but block selling. Anonymous teams, copied websites and a sudden rush of promotion are common signs.
If it has already happened
Stop sending money, keep screenshots and transaction IDs, tell your exchange, and report it to your national fraud service. Beware of “recovery” services that ask for a fee up front: they are usually a second scam.
This is general education, not financial advice. Crypto can lose value quickly; never put in money you cannot afford to lose.