It has been reported that up to
80% of advertised ICOs turn out to be scams. So, how do investors, especially those who are new to investing or new to cryptocurrency, know how to avoid falling into the hands of these scammers? (source:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-study-says-80-percent-of-icos-conducted-in-2017-were-scams)
Listed below are 3 suggested (but not exhaustive) steps that one can take before making an investment. Hopefully, this will help many of you avoid being scammed.
1. Do your background research:
Whitepaper: If you ever think of investing into an ICO, make sure you make your proper due diligence into different areas. Firstly, read thoroughly through the Whitepaper to understand how strong is the company's business proposition. It should be clear and concise with information to the goals, how these will be attained, the timeline, the funding model and token sale to name the most important. If the Whitepaper does not have much to do with the project's main idea, seems vague and poorly thought out with more emphasis on explaining blockchain related concepts, then know that these can be possible signs of fraud. On the contrary, sometimes the Whitepaper can seem utterly well written and refined, but when you look deeper, you will realise that the idea is likely to fail and can hardly be carried out. Additionally, it is always an option to examine the Whitepapers of some of the legitimate ICOs as a point of comparison to the Whitepaper in question (e.g. the level of detail, clarity, topics covered etc.). Any mention of 'guaranteed returns' or specifications of what returns you will get on an investment are big warning signs. In other words, any business idea that puts emphasis on the monetary incentive over and above communicating the strength of the business idea is certainly suspicious.
Website: Check if the website gives a clear idea about the core of the project. When a website is looking polished and clean, it is a good sign, but note that even scammers can spend money into great looking websites. So, the key is to examine the quality content provided besides the Whitepaper, such as links to a blog, press materials, videos presenting the team etc.
The team: Check the identity and experience of everyone who is involved in the project team, including the developers, and cross check if their identities are verified elsewhere, like in LinkedIn. Examine if the team's background makes sense and adds value to the project. Some scammers use the name of famous blockchain experts as advisors or team members, but these claims are actually fraudulent. Hence, always check the veracity of such claims.
2. Stay suspicious:
Before investing into an ICO, take a 'guilty until proven innocent' stance. Don't make any assumptions that a project seems legitimate or sound. Make your research and if something seems off, investigate every inch out of it. For example, you can join the Telegram group, where the ICO has their active community, and ask your questions there. Examine the genuineness of the response you receive.
3. Check rating sites: There are a number of independent sites (e.g. ICObench, ICORating, FoundICO etc.) that help investors to check how legitimate are upcoming ICOs. Some of them give a rating based on the various factors, such as business idea, team or finance model. Other sites help to call out scammy ICOs, such as ICO Alert. We cannot take the information provided on these sites for granted, but it may be worthwhile to see what is their point of view on the project in question. Additionally, it is always an option to check what experts on crypto-related forums online say (e.g. Reddit) about a prospective investment.
