Airdrops are rewards in the form of cryptocurrencies that are usually given to the first people to support certain projects. However, they can also be a form of scam if you are not careful. According to the FTC, Americans lost about $80 million (âŹ71 million) in thousands of scams related to these investments between October 2020 and May 2021. Some of the most common scams are:
Receive a mysterious airdrop of an unknown token and access a fake web page that asks to connect the electronic wallet. By doing so, the scammer can steal all of the user's funds. An example is the VERA token (thevera.io) which has affected many Metamask users.
Receive an email, message, or call from someone posing as a representative of a cryptocurrency platform and requesting personal information, passwords, or private keys. By providing this information, the user may lose access to their account and cryptocurrencies.
Investing in projects that promise high and guaranteed returns, but which in reality are pyramid or Ponzi schemes. These projects usually have an unprofessional website, an anonymous or non-existent team, and a lack of transparency about how the protocol works. An example is Bitconnect, which was declared a scam in 2018 after raising more than $2 billion.
To avoid falling for these scams, it is recommended to follow some precautions, such as:
Research the project before investing or accepting an airdrop. Verify the project's reputation, track record, team, source code, and community. Consult reliable sources and compare the information.
Do not provide personal data, passwords or private keys to anyone. Use a secure e-wallet and protect it with a recovery phrase. Do not access suspicious or unknown web pages that ask to connect the electronic wallet.
Be skeptical of offers that are too good to be true. Don't get carried away by greed or fear of missing out on an opportunity. Remember that cryptocurrency investments have risks and there are no guarantees of profits.