Cryptocurrency Scams

Introduction

Cryptocurrency themed scams are extremely common on the internet.
You should not be at all surprised if a:

is the victim of a cryptocurrency scam.
If you look up the registration date for a cryptocurrency themed scam website, you may see that the website was created recently.

Website hosts and website address registrars vary greatly in their tolerance for scammers.
The following themes occur frequently in cryptocurrency scams:

Scroll down this page to see an explanation of each of them.

Unrealistic Claims

Unrealistic claims are among the hallmarks of cryptocurrency scams.
Even if the website address registration date is not recent, promises of huge returns trading cryptocurrency would still have to be part of a scam.
The Wikipedia page on Bernie Madoff references Madoff promising returns of 18% to 20% per year.
Cryptocurrency scammers purport to be able to do even better.
As in Madoff's case, the promised returns are complete nonsense.
Unlike Madoff's case, there is a substantial chance that a cryptocurrency scammer lives outside the United States.

Gambling

If you have some absolutely irresistible need to gamble, consider your state's lottery.
You will still likely lose all or most of your money, but at least some amount of your losses may go into local services.
My point is not that putting money into a lottery is a good idea.
It is merely a less bad idea than contributing your money to a cryptocurrency scam.

Ensemble Casts

Just as the script for a movie may call for an ensemble cast, so may the script employed by a cryptocurrency scam.
Below are some common characters in the ensembles:

Depending on a given scam, the portrayals of ensemble members could range from one person playing all parts over text to actual people playing each part meeting potential victims in person.
Imagine a western in the days of radio.
Sufficiently convincing horse noises could be made in studio such that there was no need for actual horses.
However, once radio programs such as Gunsmoke transitioned to television live horses were required.

Romance Scams

If you create a profile on an internet dating website or a social media website, there is a very strong chance that you will be contacted by someone performing cryptocurrency scams.
A romance scammer will tell a potential victim about all the money that he or she is making trading cryptocurrency.
The romance scammer will suggest that you create an account on a cryptocurrency trading website.
The trading website will be a complete scam.

Airdrop Scams

Smart Contracts: Introduction

Another category of cryptocurrency scams is airdrop scams.
In a cryptocurrency airdrop scam, victims are led to believe that they will be given free cryptocurrency.
I cannot predict what will happen with every possible cryptocurrency airdrop scam, but a typical airdrop scam is that smart contracts will drain the victims' wallets.

Smart Contracts: Analogy

If you are familiar with Microsoft Office software you may be aware that software such as Microsoft Word and Excel have scripting functionality to allow users to automate tasks.
People also create viruses using that scripting functionality.
Smart contracts are similar to Microsoft Office viruses in that smart contracts were intended as a useful automation tool but now scammers use them.