This short post will explain to you how to avoid Bitcoin scams once and for all. It is a short 3 minute read that will educate you enough in the subject so you can feel comfortable moving forward in your cryptocurrency investing journey.
The topic is very hot right now, and will (most likely) continue to be in the coming months and years. And it is also the industry that is absolutely most flooded with scams so I feel this post is an important read.
Ok, let´s get started!
First – Biggest Mistake Crypto Investors Are Making
The (without a doubt) biggest mistake crypto investors are performing right now is that they fall for the scam coins out there. It is easy to see why! Aas people get bombarded constantly with “new coins” and hear how many great things the new coin can do. Including the earning potential and so on. This creates FOMO (fear of missing out).
I know, and I absolutely understand that it can be very tempting to invest in a new, super cheap coin… especially after listening to a rant (from the con artist) on how good of a future the coin has ahead of it.
They relly in their victims with their “tech talk” that you (most likely) do not understand a fraction about. He (or she) use words like ICO, Blockchain and other crypto related words that you might have heard a few times in your crypto journey.
You nood your head and agree, mostly to not look stupid, right?
And… you want to believe that what he said is true. I mean, who do not want to find an opportunity to become very wealthy, right?
Many times they say things like: “you missed the Bitcoin train. But… with this new coin (whatever the name is) there is still time to jump on the train.
You might start to think about the Bitcoin millionaire kid you saw on the news… and then you put your disbeliefs aside…
Then… you end up giving your hard earned money (that you never see again) to the scammer and his fake coin.
You will never see your money again… I know how that feels. I have been scammed myself on different occasions in the past.
The scam artist know exactly what he is doing. This is a classic scam tactic that has been around for a very long time. The obvious reason it still exists is that it works.
They (the scammers) might sound very smart to the uneducated (in the subject) person, but in reality… they are VERY stupid.
The scammers will ALWAYS take advantage of a new exploding market like cryptocurrency is. Subsequently, you also need to know is that the sad truth is that around 95%-99% of the crypto coins out there are scams.
Avoid Bitcoin Scams – This is how
As mentioned above, the scam artists always going to thrive in every new great market. It happened in the dot.com boom, and now it is happening in the crypto boom.
Everywhere you look online there is a new coin to mine, or a new product to invest in that promise you SKY HIGH returns. You better understand (and fast) that pretty much ALL of them are scams. Their only purpose is to make the con artist rich, and trust me they will be rich. That is also a very sad truth.
Now you see them, now you don´t
Trust me on this one, most of the coins you see today won´t exist in a couple of years. Most people cannot see this. The other week in my local grocery store, the guy who works there told me he had invested in a new great coin. He even wanted me to invest in them, buying from him or “under him” as he called it. I knew at that exact moment (when he said under me) that he had been scammed into a so-called Ponzi scheme (pyramid scam).
This stuff is everywhere and just waiting for someone to fall into the trap that they in reality are. Unfortunately, most people cannot see through those traps. This is also the reason why I write this post today. I am really really tired to see people getting scammed over and over again. Good people, even friends and people I know and like (like the grocery store guy for example).
Here is a general rule of thumb you want to stick to before even considering investing in a new coin:
- If it started (or starts) with a BIG pre-mine (Like DASH) then you (most likely) want to stay away
- If it is exclusively mined by a central authority (Like STEEM) then be careful
- If it doesn´t solve any problem in the real (offline) world then it is not even worth looking at
- If it claims to solve A LOT of problems, then it is (most likely) very hyped
- If it does not have a strong community on social media, then it will probably never be worth anything also
IMPORTANT TO MENTION:
The absolute #1 rule of them all that you should follow is: Avoid ALL of the new coins you come across until you are sure what you are dealing with. ALWAYS.
P.S.
Some bad news: Cryptocurrency is a very complicated subject and to be able to 100% know if a coin is legit or not is to read the actual software code that created it.
Some good news: Unlike the dollar, the software is available for anyone to read
What coins are best to invest in then?
I will try to give you a short and simple answer to this. First of all, as mentioned above, avoid ALL of them. At least until you are educated enough to know what to look out for and understand how to spot the warning signs.
Please do NOT invest a single dollar if you aren´t sure.
However, this shouldn´t scare you from thinking that you will never find a new coin that got the potential to rise and explode in value because I strongly believe more such coins will be created. But trying to find them without knowledge is going to be like “finding a needle in a pile of hay”.
What characteristics do LEGIT profitable coins ALWAYS have?
- ALWAYS have a limited supply
- ALWAYS follows the main philosophy: Secure (if I send money to you, you get it first and in first hand), decentralized (no geographical boundaries), anonymous (no one needs to know), forgery-proof (no duplicate money is possible)
- ALWAYS solves a problem in the real world that bitcoin isn´t already solving
IMPORTANT: If the coin you come across doesn´t fit in at least the criteria below then run the other direction
So, in short:
My advice is that you buy the ones that we know are legit, such as the most well-known Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoi, etc. At least until you are educated enough to go for new coins.
Where can you start?
It is very easy to get started to buy Bitcoins and other cryptos, you can do it in minutes with a credit card for example. What I would say is the most important thing is that you need to store it off-line?! At least if it is an amount that you cannot afford to lose. I suggest you keep your coins that you plan to use (for example for trading, or buying stuff) on different online wallets. However, if you plan to just invest and sit on your investment (hodl) then you should keep it offline as it then becomes hacker proof.
==> Here is my #1 recommended place if you plan to invest $10,000+ (worlds safest storing)
==> If you plan to invest less then you can have a look at the $1,000 + or – investing page
I hope you found this short post on how to avoid bitcoin scams to be helpful. In view of having a better understanding now on how to do just that. Also how to find opportunities among the endless scams out there. If you have experienced being scammed on a “new coin” please share your experience in the comment section below as it can help others. Also, if you got any other questions about this I will be more than happy to answer them below!
Also, please, if you want to be part of the solution make sure to share this by using the share buttons below (Facebook, Twitter, etc)
I wish you success
Michael
Founder of: Gold Retired