Chris Curl,
Editor
July 7, 2022
I’ve written before about the scams that abound in the crypto space.
Being decentralized and unregulated means that there are ample opportunities for unscrupulous actors to steal your money.
This was illustrated recently as I was reviewing the Solana NFTs in my Phantom wallet.
Alongside the normal denizens I noticed this little gem:
The title, “Official Solana NFT” was enough to at least get my attention. Usually, scammy NFT links are as obvious as the day is long. But this one had an air of legitimacy about it.
The description was even more enticing. It informed me that I was part of a select group of 100,000 Solana users who had been sent this token directly from the creator of Solana himself, Anatoly Yakovenko. Although anyone with two brain cells to rub together should know that he might have better things to do — like developing a web3 smartphone.
It directed me to a website where I could exchange the token for a special NFT of which there were only 1,000 in existence.
I had better hurry.
The website did a decent job of almost looking legit… the official Solana logo in the corner… along with a “mint now” button with wallet connect might fool the unsuspecting.
But smelling a scam I opted to do more research.
I had previously lost some SOL in a scam originating from a fake mint link on Discord. That is one of many reasons why I choose not to use that platform anymore. Its interface is a mess, which makes it easy for scammers to take advantage of people.
I’ll leave it to the zoomers. Hopefully they’ll figure out how to make it more user friendly in the years ahead.
That previous experience made me a bit more cautious.
I typed the website address into www.scam-detector.com and was quickly given conclusive results.
Their algorithm had not only flagged the website for “solanagetnft” as a scam but gave it a rank of 0.0/100.
My caution had saved me this time. If some unsuspecting person minted a token from that website, they would have found all their SOL simply gone with nothing to show for it.
Crypto is a playground for scammers and criminals. And although there will eventually be some regulations in the space, it will always largely be this way. It’s not like your crypto wallet will ever give you the protections of a credit card. Nor should it.
That is why it’s important to always research everything and do your due diligence before pulling the trigger on any project.
Sometimes it’s as simple as doing a Google search.
Other times you have to dig a little deeper.
But part of the service I provide with Crypto Cycle is steering you clear of scams and rugpulls and into quality projects that will see long-term growth over time.
The key to making money in crypto is investing in the projects that have teams building every day towards larger goals.
You can make a quick buck speculating but I like to leave the gambling in Vegas.
If you have questions about cryptos, NFTs, or any of the various scams out there, you’ll want to join my Q&A next Wednesday, July 13. It’s open to all members of Crypto Cycle.
Chris Curl
Editor, Daily Profit Cycle