Topic: Having trouble finding out if the ICO you are interested in is legit? (Read 112 times)
March 26, 2018, 08:44:43 AM
Good list to look out for... Yeah I think the idea here is just do your research. Do you think that another good way to check would be to email their customer support or try to contact someone at the company to see if they respond?
March 26, 2018, 06:06:21 AM
Thanks for this. It will help. I have some ICOs on my eyes.
March 26, 2018, 03:40:46 AM
Don't forget to join our survey on our Reddit thread! We'd love to hear your thoughts about the major problems in the cryptocurrency markets today. View the survey here: https://www.reddit.com/r/fundyourselfnow/comments/85r2tp/survey_on_the_major_problems_in_the/major_problems_in_the_cryptocurrency_market_survey/
March 26, 2018, 02:38:52 AM
IT’S EXTENDED!!
We’re running an intriguing survey on our Reddit thread about the major problems in the cryptocurrency markets today. Would love to hear your thoughts. We will be sharing the results of this survey after a week on our reddit page. If you’re not yet subscribed, please do so in order to have quick access on the results.
Here is the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/fundyourselfnow/comments/85r2tp/survey_on_the_major_problems_in_the/major_problems_in_the_cryptocurrency_market_survey/
We’re running an intriguing survey on our Reddit thread about the major problems in the cryptocurrency markets today. Would love to hear your thoughts. We will be sharing the results of this survey after a week on our reddit page. If you’re not yet subscribed, please do so in order to have quick access on the results.
Here is the link: https://www.reddit.com/r/fundyourselfnow/comments/85r2tp/survey_on_the_major_problems_in_the/major_problems_in_the_cryptocurrency_market_survey/
March 12, 2018, 11:46:17 PM
Be informed and know how to spot a scam ICO.
Here are some of the red flags that you should take note of:
Flag 1: Beware of over-usage of buzzwords for the ICO
Scam ICOs like to confuse the backers by including lots of buzzwords, like blockchain, AI, marketplace or even invent their own terms when not needed. They also tend to promise investors outrageous returns that are too good to be true.
If you spend 10 minutes watching the ICO video and still have no idea what they are doing or how they are going to accomplish their goal, then it is probably something that we recommend you to strongly avoid.
Flag 2. Token sale & Subscribers are faked
Successful ICOs like to show their token sale progress by displaying their token sale address prominently, since it’s free marketing for them. Scam ICOs, on the other hand, tend to hide their token sale progress by giving individual contribution addresses so that no one knows how much is actually raised.
A common tactic involves giving your visitors a big “sold out” message to create a sense of urgency. What happens is that the ICO has already sold out in the presale and round A,B,C token sale. When you scroll down the bottom, Viola! You see see Round D token sale open now for you!
Another common tactic for pre-ICO is to inflate the number of subscribers to your ICO to create FOMO. I have seen ICOs who have claimed to have a few hundred thousand subscribers on their mailing list. An example is Plexcoin which was recently arrested and jailed by US SEC and Canadian Regulators.
You don’t need that many people for a successful ICOs, Kyber Network which raised 60 million only had 50,000 whitelisted participants. Getting 10,000 interested participants is more than enough for a 10 million fundraise.
Flag 3. Fake LinkedIn Profile, Fake Advisors
Many scam projects now make an effort to do up a proper linkedIn profile, so you have to scan their profiles carefully. Look at their experiences and see if they have relevant qualifications and check out the companies which they work at previously.
Some of them will make obvious mistakes such as an ICO founder who claimed had 20-year “working” experience although he is only 30 years old.
Scam ICOs also tend to use logos of big well known companies, for example Visa and Mastercard, Microsoft, or Apple. The more logos you see, the more cautious you should be.
Interestingly, this also seems to be the modus operandi for many big coins post-ICO nowadays by announcing “fake” partnership before their coin gets pumped. A recent case is IOTA, where the market cap quadrupled on the news of a fake microsoft partnership which they eventually clarified.
If there are advisors listed on the ICOs, especially the more famous ones, you should email them and confirm if they are indeed an advisor to the project. Vitalik, Founder of Ethereum, was listed as an “Advisor” or “Supporters” in so many ICOs that he had to come out to make an official statement that he is not advising any ICOs except OMG and Kyber Network.
Flag 4. Practice Makes Perfect!
No one can truly become an expert without actual practice of your professional scam hunting skills. Here’s a fun website http://yetanotherico.com where you can put the theory you learned to practice!
We hope that you have enjoyed this article.
If you liked this article, do leave your comments below and let us know what are the other ingenious ways you have seen!
Here are some of the red flags that you should take note of:
Flag 1: Beware of over-usage of buzzwords for the ICO
Scam ICOs like to confuse the backers by including lots of buzzwords, like blockchain, AI, marketplace or even invent their own terms when not needed. They also tend to promise investors outrageous returns that are too good to be true.
If you spend 10 minutes watching the ICO video and still have no idea what they are doing or how they are going to accomplish their goal, then it is probably something that we recommend you to strongly avoid.
Flag 2. Token sale & Subscribers are faked
Successful ICOs like to show their token sale progress by displaying their token sale address prominently, since it’s free marketing for them. Scam ICOs, on the other hand, tend to hide their token sale progress by giving individual contribution addresses so that no one knows how much is actually raised.
A common tactic involves giving your visitors a big “sold out” message to create a sense of urgency. What happens is that the ICO has already sold out in the presale and round A,B,C token sale. When you scroll down the bottom, Viola! You see see Round D token sale open now for you!
Another common tactic for pre-ICO is to inflate the number of subscribers to your ICO to create FOMO. I have seen ICOs who have claimed to have a few hundred thousand subscribers on their mailing list. An example is Plexcoin which was recently arrested and jailed by US SEC and Canadian Regulators.
You don’t need that many people for a successful ICOs, Kyber Network which raised 60 million only had 50,000 whitelisted participants. Getting 10,000 interested participants is more than enough for a 10 million fundraise.
Flag 3. Fake LinkedIn Profile, Fake Advisors
Many scam projects now make an effort to do up a proper linkedIn profile, so you have to scan their profiles carefully. Look at their experiences and see if they have relevant qualifications and check out the companies which they work at previously.
Some of them will make obvious mistakes such as an ICO founder who claimed had 20-year “working” experience although he is only 30 years old.
Scam ICOs also tend to use logos of big well known companies, for example Visa and Mastercard, Microsoft, or Apple. The more logos you see, the more cautious you should be.
Interestingly, this also seems to be the modus operandi for many big coins post-ICO nowadays by announcing “fake” partnership before their coin gets pumped. A recent case is IOTA, where the market cap quadrupled on the news of a fake microsoft partnership which they eventually clarified.
If there are advisors listed on the ICOs, especially the more famous ones, you should email them and confirm if they are indeed an advisor to the project. Vitalik, Founder of Ethereum, was listed as an “Advisor” or “Supporters” in so many ICOs that he had to come out to make an official statement that he is not advising any ICOs except OMG and Kyber Network.
Flag 4. Practice Makes Perfect!
No one can truly become an expert without actual practice of your professional scam hunting skills. Here’s a fun website http://yetanotherico.com where you can put the theory you learned to practice!
We hope that you have enjoyed this article.
If you liked this article, do leave your comments below and let us know what are the other ingenious ways you have seen!
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