Table of Contents
- 1. Guaranteed or unusually high returns
- 2. Pressure and urgency
- 3. A stranger contacted you first
- 4. Requests for your keys, seed phrase, or passwords
- 5. You cannot withdraw — or there are fees to withdraw
- 6. An unregistered or unverifiable platform
- 7. You are pushed to keep it secret
- The seven at a glance
- Run your situation through the check
- How to verify before you invest
- If you already sent money
Crypto scams come in many costumes but rely on the same few tactics — and they intensify at the extremes of the market's fear-and-greed cycle. Spot these seven signals and you can screen out most fraud before it reaches your wallet. If two or more apply, stop and verify.
1. Guaranteed or unusually high returns
No real investment can promise returns. "Risk-free", "guaranteed profit", or fixed daily percentages are the oldest tell there is — and the engine of rug pulls and pump-and-dump schemes, memecoin manias, and fake "double your money" giveaways.
2. Pressure and urgency
A closing window, a limited allocation, a price about to move — urgency exists to stop you from checking. Real opportunities survive a few days of due diligence.
3. A stranger contacted you first
Much fraud begins with an unsolicited message that drifts toward investing. That is the opening of a pig butchering scam — or a crypto romance scam when it arrives wrapped in affection.
4. Requests for your keys, seed phrase, or passwords
This rule has no exceptions.
No legitimate person, platform, or support team will ever ask for your private keys, seed phrase, or wallet password. Anyone who does is a thief — it is exactly how seed phrase phishing and wallet drainers empty self-custody wallets.
5. You cannot withdraw — or there are fees to withdraw
Free deposits but blocked withdrawals, or a "tax" to release your balance, mean the money is already gone. This is the signature of a fake trading platform.
6. An unregistered or unverifiable platform
If you cannot confirm the company is registered with the relevant regulator — or the site is brand new, oddly named, or link-only — treat it as unsafe.
7. You are pushed to keep it secret
"Don't tell your bank." "Keep this between us." Secrecy protects the scammer, not you.
The seven at a glance
| # | Red flag | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guaranteed or high returns | No real investment promises returns |
| 2 | Urgency and pressure | Designed to stop you checking |
| 3 | They contacted you first | A classic scam opener |
| 4 | Asks for keys or seed phrase | Only a thief asks |
| 5 | You cannot withdraw | The money is already gone |
| 6 | Unverifiable platform | No accountability |
| 7 | Demands secrecy | Protects the scammer |
Run your situation through the check
Scam risk quick-check
Tick anything that matches your situation:
No red flags selected
Nothing flagged yet — but stay alert and verify anything before you send money.
How to verify before you invest
Test your instincts with our resilience simulator, weigh a specific opportunity with the risk calculator, and check domains and on-chain activity with the OSINT tools. A few minutes of checking is the cheapest insurance you will buy.
If you already sent money
It is not your fault. Preserve your evidence and report it — our reporting guide shows how, and the report flow does the heavy lifting. Then share this list: every person who learns these signals is one fewer victim.
Key takeaways
- Most scams share the same seven tells — learn them once.
- Guaranteed returns and manufactured urgency are the classic openers.
- No one legitimate ever asks for your keys, seed phrase, or passwords.
- Being unable to withdraw means the funds are already gone.
- Verify with independent tools before sending money.
Know someone who needs this? Share it.
Scambulance will never ask for your private keys, passwords, or seed phrases. Anyone promising guaranteed fund recovery is likely a scammer.