How to spot crypto scams and phishing

Common scam patterns and the signs that give them away.

2 min read · Updated: 2026-10-17

Contents

What you usually meet

Phishing sites copy real exchanges and wallets. The address differs by a letter or uses another domain.

Fake support writes to you first in private messages and asks for your seed phrase or to "verify your wallet".

Giveaways and "doubling" schemes: you send an amount and they promise more back.

Rug pulls: a project raises money and vanishes with the liquidity.

Guaranteed or unusually high returns.

Pressure to hurry: "10 minutes left".

An anonymous team with no verifiable history.

A request to enter a seed phrase or install remote access.

A link that arrived in a private message instead of from the official site.

Open exchanges and wallets only from a saved bookmark.

Turn on two-factor authentication through an app, not only SMS.

Before signing a wallet transaction, read which permissions you are granting.

When in doubt, do not click. Ask the community or check the project yourself.