The growth of the blockchain and cryptocurrency space is undoubtedly very exciting. Technological innovations and new transaction models at a rapid pace are attracting a large number of participants, the advantages that cryptocurrencies bring are not without problems, but here the disadvantages are in the foreground of the market.

According to a report by Xangle.io Since 2012 there are more than $ 16 billion stolen by investors in the cryptocurrency market. A huge number, isn’t it, I really didn’t think the number was that big.

You can read her report here: Scam report for crypto investors.

Obviously, the lost $ 16 billion not only has a tremendous negative impact on those who are scammed, it damages the reputation of trustworthy projects and can stagnate the entire emerging industry. Some scams look very simple and obvious, but others are more complicated and sometimes difficult to avoid.

However, with proper and basic verifications, we can easily spot these scams, not all but eliminate most of them.

This article shows you how to put these simple methods into practice.

What is an investment fraud?

That’s right, first you need to understand a little about this basic concept.

An investment scam occurs when someone offers you a fake – but often very persuasive – way of making a profit after you’ve assigned them an amount of money.

There are 3 most common types of investment fraud:

1. The investment is completely fictitious, it is not real.
2. The investment exists, but the scammer takes your money instead of giving it to you.
3. Scammers pretend to be representing a legitimate and trustworthy investment group, but they are lying to you.

In the cryptocurrency market, history isn’t all that different. Look back in history and we’ll see.

The first scam in the crypto market was in 2012, it was an investment program by Trenton Shavers that promised high returns to investors and ended up cheating $ 97 million in investors.

The next period is OneCoin, the project is relying on big promises and flashy presentations to promote their token, but there is no nature in it – not even a blockchain. OneCoin raised $ 4.4 billion in investor money, and after news that one founder was arrested, the other disappeared.

BitConnect, a project that many Vietnamese are sure to be fooled by, is basically an investment program that promises high returns – up to 1% per day – for investors who have bought into various profit packages. Legal pressure eventually led founder John Bigatton to shut down BitConnect, but not before handing over $ 2.5 billion to investors.

PlusToken is a Chinese investment project, also with high return promises for investors. It had amassed a following of over 2 million investors and raised its valuation to $ 17 billion before the founders released the words “Sorry we ran” on the ledger and disappear.

These are just a few of the 136 crypto projects that, as reported above, have scammed investors out of $ 16 billion. Of the 136 projects presented in the report Only 71 projects were charged with criminal offenses, while team members were convicted of fraud, money laundering or other criminal offenses in 15 projects. There are no countermeasures for the rest of the crypto projects on the list.

Not far away, even in the thuan capital community, I have received a lot of news about the problem of getting scammed right after joining the cryptocurrency market. That’s right, just getting into the cryptocurrency market.

Popular stories

Let’s take a look at life for a moment Lies are easy to spot. Lying can make life easier: work runs smoother when you lie to customers, colleagues and bosses. Family is more peaceful when they lie to their wives and children. But when lying skills reach the professional level, yes, professionalism means that you have mastered all the skills and have years of experience in the subject you are working on. If you were in the above situation, what would you do next, set foot in the world of professional cheating, or lead a normal life?

Why would I want to tell you this, especially to those who are new to the market because When faced with a scam in the cryptocurrency market, it means that you are dealing with a professional scammer or group. The regrets will come soon and I am sure you will not like the feeling. Below, I’ll give some general stories so that you can easily identify this trick.

According to our summary, we are easily fooled by the following 3 main factors:

1. Cupid
2. trust
3. Lack of vigilance

The main element is basically exactly what I think: We are often deceived of ourselves. The art of deception is to make you believe that your decision is right when it is not.

Let’s go into real life examples on the Thuan Capital Channel itself.

1. Be tempted to give gifts on social networks

This is a very common scam. Check out the photo below:

Here, YOU (scam groups) mainly use “Trust” yours plus a little more “Cupid” and “Lack of vigilance” to develop this strategy. It is simple and easy to tell by this simplicity, but it is easy to spread in large quantities on social networks so that only a very small number of people are trapped.

Unfortunately, some people in the Coincu community have also fallen for this scam.

One simple tip to get rid of this type of scam is to remember the saying: Nobody gives you money for free.

2. Be betrayed by identity theft

This is the second most common scam that you can come across. It is so,

This is where YOU (scam groups) mainly use “Trust” a little bit more “Lack of vigilance” to lure you into their circle.

This is a very popular strategy used in the Vietnamese crypto community. Thuan capital is not immune to this forgery either.

Please make sure to carefully check the information of the person you are talking to to avoid unfortunate incidents.

3. Be cheated to solicit investment

This is the most popular and widely spread scam in the cryptocurrency market. There are many cases of this scam, and the Coincu Channel has also been attacked by a variant of it. “Allegation of investment fraud”, please see the picture below:

Here, YOU (scam groups) mainly use “Cupid” a little bit more “Trust” to develop this strategy.

To avoid getting caught by this type of scam, the easy way is you Please be sure to carefully check the information of the person you are talking to as famous KOLs in the crypto market will not suddenly text you to do something. Pay attention to this point.

Another form of cheating

There are many of you who optimistically think that only exchanges and projects with great fortune can be successful. “possible customers” of cryptocurrency scammers. To be honest, that’s a completely wrong thought! You should know that a large number of new investors are entering the market “wet feet” or who lack investment knowledge, are impatient and want to make a quick profit. Targeted by scammers (especially in the Vietnamese market). They often take advantage of these weaknesses on your part with a fear of missing out on the opportunity which most people are very susceptible to scams and then go away with the fraudulent amount.

I know many of you in the thuan capital community, as well as other cryptocurrency communities, who have been defrauded in increasingly diverse forms and methods.

Here are some other common scams to be aware of:

1. Ponzi model (old but always effective)

You can read a detailed introduction to this here: https: //www.coincu.com/ponzi-mo-h …

This is a trick that I see widely used in the Vietnamese financial market (including crypto and securities), it just focuses on it “Cupid” human nature and facts have always shown that this works.

The 2017 Bitconnect boom in Vietnam is the simplest evidence to be found online.

Prevention tips:

1. Beware of crypto projects that encourage you to refer new investors for bigger profits.
2. Never trust projects that promise unusually high returns (a few tens of percent) in a short period of time.

2. Malware scam (malware)

You can read more about it here: https: //www.coincu.com/ransomware …

To put it simply, in my opinion it is a crime to be technology blind when entering the cryptocurrency market. It will do you significant harm.

Prevention tips:

1. Update your antivirus regularly to protect your computer and phone from malware.
2. Never download and install apps or software unless …