Before you continue reading; please allow me to give you one single piece of advice. The only one you will need if you wish to be safe. If you have any doubt about something, it most probably is a scam. Don’t trust anyone even if is supposed to be one of the trusted/verified persons you already know.
In the below publication, you will see some of the most evident ‘red flags’ that should prevent you from trusting any recommended platform. One of the major things to consider is when someone you do not know, is referring a site for you to make profits.. Why would they do that? They will earn from referral rewards (first sign of a Ponzi) – And if it is a friend who is making the suggestion, or a user you know – check out if it is an impostor or if they have fallen for the same scam.
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Fact: Scams, frauds, and hacks happen all the time around us. Most of us think we are safe, having an always updated antivirus, and being very cautious about which websites we visit or where we keep our keys/passwords. Nonetheless, we can never be protected well enough and we always have to keep in mind that the scammer is always a step (or more) ahead.
Besides, who can protect us from ourselves?
If you are wondering why I am writing all this, please read on. You will see how I evaluated an investment platform that someone recommended to me and why I consider it as potentially fraudulent and definitely one that I would not trust with my personal/financial information.
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A couple of months ago, I was invited by someone I do not know, to join a new investing website. I would be solving the problems of my life, earning lots of money. Proof? The person who sent me the message had already cashed out!
(1) My first red flag was that I was messaged by someone I did not know, to be introduced to something I never asked for.
(MESSAGES SENT VIA DM ARE PROBABLY SCAMS)
I would not fall for it, but I did check out the website. Mostly to inform this person why it was a scam. These are the red flags I spotted immediately. Of course I shared my thoughts to the person who contacted me, but he did not believe me. We need to mention here that after a couple of weeks he sent me a message to not sign up, because he had lost money!
(2) Second red flag. A plain website that looks like many others, inviting the users to earn without having any trading skills.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? THEN IT MUST BE FALSE
(3) I searched for social media channels. Guess what; I found none. This alone would be a big red flag for me. Legitimate websites are not afraid of having social accounts where users can join and share their experience. It is one of the pillars of marketing!
NO SOCIAL MEDIA?
(4) What about the Team? Are they presented? Are they real people?
Some sites have no team, but some others have a fake team. There are many photos and names on internet that someone can use. If you are in doubt, google them!
MAKE SURE THAT THEIR TEAM MEMBERS ARE REAL PPL
(5) Their website had a certificate of incorporation. I google the number and date, and guess what? I found that the real one was of another company. They had forged the certificate.
CHECK IF CERTIFICATES ARE AUTHENTIC
(6) You can also check their website - when did they register it? Is there a real company under the registration? Usually, if it is a recent register it is a scam that plans to earn as much as possible and then walk away
CHECK DOMAIN NAME
(7) Do they have a privacy polity? Take some moments to read it.
NO / FAKE PRIVACY POLICY & TERMS
(8) FOMO. Does this person keep asking you to join? Do they tell you that if you do not join in XX hours you will loose potential rewards? This is another reason NOT to trust them!
FALSE SENSE OF URGENCY
I hope I did not leave anything out. We always have to be extra careful, because scammers keep getting smarter and more creative day by day.
I personally prefer to skip an opportunity that sounds scammy, and devote more time into learning about how things work and earn with other ways. One of the ways, that I highly recommend is the Binance Academy (check out the occasional learn & earn campaigns)
Let me know what you think. Do you research well a platform before using it? Do you have such stories to share? Let’s spread awareness and educate more people if possible.
Let’s stay safe.
If you have any experience you would like to share, please comment below!
(cover image from Tara Winstead on Pexels)