In the crypto world, you’ve heard too many stories of getting rich overnight. But for most people, they’re gradually cut down “by the sickle” without even realizing it, losing everything they invested. The scammers’ tactics are evolving—packaged and iterated—but the underlying logic never changes: they exploit your greed to harvest your principal.
Remember these iron laws below—helping you avoid 90% of the traps out there.
Rule 1: Any KOLs who pin referral commissions or charge to join a group on their profile—treat them as scammers.
This is the most precise and fastest screening standard.
Why?
A real trading-profitable and capable influencer’s core income comes from the market itself. They don’t need to make that little referral commission by pulling people in, and they definitely won’t be watching the group-join threshold fee of those few hundred USDT in your pocket.
Referral link = Your loss is his profit. He tells you to open high-leverage positions and trade frequently. You think it’s a wealth code, but in fact, every time you place a trade, he is quietly taking steady referral commissions in the background. The faster you lose and the more often you trade, the more he earns. He is not a partner with shared interests—he’s a hustler stacking chips in a casino.
Paying to join a group = a second round of harvesting. If there were really a strategy that guarantees steady gains with no losses, would they really be missing out on that little group fee? They could just quietly make a fortune on their own—selling a house and going all-in would be enough. Forming groups is essentially about filtering out a bunch of “obedient” suckers. In the group, besides you, they may be all accomplices. The group fee is just the appetizer. What comes next—the “team-guided liquidation,” “going to zero in the primary market,” and “pig-butchering” scams—is the real meal.
Conclusion: If you see the pinned post on their homepage says “registration link,” “referral commission invitation,” or “add V to join the group,” block them immediately. Their profit model determines that they must turn you into their income source—not teach you how to make money.
Item 2: Be wary of the “proof-of-profit obsession” and the “guaranteed-always-profiting teacher.”
On the朋友圈 and Twitter, it’s always profit screenshots—never losing trades. They may say, “We made 2 million U again last night,” with pictures of luxury hotels and cars.
The truth is:
Screenshots can be edited, positions can be simulated on a demo account, and profits can be selectively shared only for the winning trade. What they show is survivor bias, meant to create the illusion that “follow him and you’ll get rich.” A real trader faces the market with respect: there will be drawdowns, there will be stop-losses, and they absolutely won’t be earning every day like a perpetual machine.
Item 3: The so-called “primary market whitelist” and “private placement quota” are 99% a trap.
“Our project is led by XX Capital, at least 10x on listing. Here, I’ll give you an internal quota.”
Doesn’t this script sound familiar? The usual outcome is: you send the money, and the project team disappears, or the token dumps right after listing and goes to zero. The so-called “internal quota” is just an excuse to cut into your principal. If it were really that good, the institution would have snapped it up themselves—there’s no way it would be left for retail investors.
Item 4: Be careful of “pig-butchering” romance and socializing scams.
This is the largest single-tranche scam model right now. The骗子 add you on social apps, create a rich-hot-boy / affluent beauty persona, and talk to you about feelings. By accident, they reveal they made a fortune through some “internal platform” or “loophole.”
Key point:
They’ll have you try with a small amount first, so you taste the sweetness (actually they change the data on their backend), then they诱导 you to increase your investment. When you want to withdraw, all kinds of “margin,” “taxes,” and “unlocking fees” appear—until they squeeze you dry.
Remember: If someone on the internet proactively tries to date you and also helps you make money, they are 100% a scammer. No exceptions.
Item 5: Do not click any unknown links, and do not download any apps from non-official app stores.
Scammers will forge phishing websites for well-known exchanges, or send you a wallet app that includes a backdoor. Once you enter your seed phrase or private key, your assets instantly go to zero. Your seed phrase can’t be given to anyone except you. Saving screenshots to a cloud drive or collecting them on WeChat is extremely dangerous.
Summary: How do you protect yourself?
1. Quit greed. Admit you’re just an ordinary person—no pie will fall from the sky. Annualized returns of several hundred or even thousands are inevitably tied to the risk that your principal is wiped out.
2. Identify the interest relationship. Ask yourself: how does he make money? If his income comes from your trading fees, your group-joining fee, or your principal, then you and him are on opposite sides.
3. Learn the basics. Understand the basic logic of wallets, private keys, and on-chain trading. If you don’t even know what a private key is, how could you reasonably think you can make money in the crypto world?
4. Trust only yourself. Anyone’s trade calls can only be used as reference, including the so-called big shots you follow. Your position size and stop-loss levels must be in your own hands.
Finally, one sentence for everyone:
In the crypto world, the people who teach you how to make money are often the ones trying to take yours. The only thing that can truly set you free financially is your own understanding and strict discipline. Protect your principal, stay alive—and you’ll have a chance.
