A 'support' contacts you privately on Discord. You should:

Ignore and check the official support channel. No legitimate support contacts you in DMs first. Anyone DMing you claiming to be support is suspicious by default.

Unknown tokens appear in your wallet. What do you do?

Don't touch them — check if you remember a legit airdrop. Fake airdrops are very common traps. If you didn't actively participate in an airdrop, consider those tokens dangerous and don't touch them.

A new project promises 100% returns per month. It is:

Probably a rug pull or Ponzi scheme. No legitimate investment promises 100% per month. It's mathematically unsustainable. In 99% of cases it's a Ponzi or rug pull.

What is the absolute golden rule that protects you from 90% of scams?

Never share your seed phrase, with anyone, for any reason. Your seed phrase = full access to your wallet. No legitimate service will ever ask for it. Protecting it absolutely prevents the majority of catastrophic losses.

You search 'deblock' on Google. The very first result is marked 'Sponsored'. You should:

Avoid it and use your saved bookmark, checking the URL. Sponsored results can be fake sites bought via Google Ads with near-identical URLs. Reach sensitive sites via your bookmarks and verify the URL + HTTPS padlock.

Crypto scams: 6 common traps to absolutely avoid

Introduction

Crypto unfortunately attracts many scams. The good news: 99% of them follow known patterns, easy to recognize once you've seen them. This module covers the 6 main families of crypto scams, with concrete examples and the right reflexes. Probably the module that will save you the most money in your crypto life.

The 6 main scam families

Almost all crypto scams fall into 6 main categories. Once you know them, you spot warning signs in seconds. The goal isn't to scare you — it's to make you confident, like a driver who can recognize speeding or a bad driver.

Recognize any of these situations? Stay on your guard.

1. Phishing: the fake site that copies the original

Phishing is the #1 crypto scam. You receive an email or SMS that looks like a message from Deblock, Coinbase or Ledger. The link sends you to a fake site, identical to the real one, asking you to connect your wallet or enter your seed phrase. Once done, your account is drained.

The warning signs: a slightly different URL (deblock.co instead of deblock.com, or with a hyphen), a sense of urgency ('action required within 24h or your account will be suspended'), a direct request for your seed phrase.

ALWAYS check the URL before logging in.
No service ever asks for your seed phrase. NEVER.
Type the URL manually rather than clicking a link in an email.

2. Fake airdrop: the gift that drains your wallet

Unknown tokens you never bought suddenly appear in your wallet. You try to sell them, you go to the site indicated, you connect your wallet to 'claim' the value — and without realizing it you sign a transaction that empties your entire wallet.

Simple rule: if you don't remember taking part in an airdrop, don't touch the tokens you received. Don't connect to any related site.

Analogy

The digital Trojan horse

Imagine someone leaving a wrapped gift on your doorstep with a note: 'to claim it, open this special door'. The special door is your wallet. The gift is booby-trapped.

3. Rug pull: the project that disappears

A new project pops up on Twitter, with a very clean website, an active Discord community, promises of 100% monthly returns. You invest. For a few weeks, it works. Then one morning: site shut down, Discord deleted, team gone, money vanished.

This is what's called a 'rug pull' (literally: pulling the rug out from under your feet). It's one of the most common scams in DeFi. Several billion dollars have disappeared this way.

Be wary of promised returns above 20% per year.
Check how long the project has existed (less than 6 months = high risk).
Look into whether the team is identified (public KYC).

4. Fake support: Discord, Telegram, Twitter

You ask a question on Twitter or Discord. A few minutes later, an account that looks like official support contacts you privately to 'help' you. It asks for your seed phrase, or asks you to log in to a fake site.

No legitimate support will ever contact you privately first. No support will ask for your seed phrase. None. Ever.

5. Pump & dump: artificial hype

A group of people (often influencers) massively buy a little-known token, drive its price up, and hype it on social media. When the general public starts buying, they sell everything at the top. The price collapses, and those who bought last lose everything.

If an influencer tells you 'buy this token now, it's going to the moon', they've probably already bought and want to sell you theirs at a higher price.

6. Romance scam: the modern version

You meet someone on a dating app or social network. The relationship develops over several weeks, even months. Then this person tells you about 'their crypto investment that's doing really well', shows you screenshots, convinces you to try. You put a few thousand euros on a platform that looks real. You watch your balance grow. Then you can't withdraw. The person disappears.

This is today the most devastating crypto scam in terms of individual losses. Victims sometimes lose several hundred thousand euros.

Common belief

The AMF reimburses victims of crypto scams.

Actually : The AMF regulates platforms (bankruptcies, internal fraud), not the market or personal scams. If you give your seed phrase to a fraudster, no one reimburses you. Prevention is your only real safeguard.

Spotlight: fake sponsored links (Google Ads)

A vicious variant of phishing: scammers buy Google Ads to put their fake site RIGHT AT THE TOP of search results, above the real one. You search 'deblock' or 'ledger', click the first (sponsored) link, and land on a perfect — but fraudulent — copy designed to steal your credentials or seed phrase.

The URL is often nearly identical to the original: one letter changed, an extra hyphen, a different extension (.co, .app, .net instead of .com). To the eye, it's almost invisible. It's currently one of the techniques that traps the most beginners.

The first Google results marked 'Sponsored' / 'Ad' can be scams.
Fake domains: one letter changed, a hyphen, or .co/.app instead of .com.
The fake site is a pixel-perfect copy of the real one — looks prove nothing.

Key insight

The fix: bookmarks + URL verification

Save sensitive sites (Deblock, your bank, your exchange) in your bookmarks and access them ONLY from there — never via Google. Before logging in, check the URL character by character and the presence of the HTTPS padlock.

The golden anti-scam rules

If you remember just one thing from this module, remember these rules. Keep them in mind on every crypto operation — they protect you from nearly all scams.

NEVER share your seed phrase — no legitimate service will ever ask for it.
Access sensitive sites only via your bookmarks, never via Google.
Check the URL character by character + the HTTPS padlock before logging in.
Beware of 'Sponsored' Google results: they are sometimes fake sites.
If it's too good to be true (huge yield, free gift), it's fake.
Legitimate support never contacts you first via private message.
Take your time: any urgency or pressure is a scam signal.
When in doubt, sign nothing and don't connect your wallet.

Key takeaways

What you should remember

016 scam families: phishing, fake airdrop, rug pull, fake support, pump & dump, romance.
02No legitimate service ever asks for your seed phrase.
03Fake sponsored links (Google Ads) + near-identical URLs: reach sensitive sites via your bookmarks.
04Too good to be true = scam in 99% of cases.
05Always verify the URL and the HTTPS padlock, and take your time before acting.