(this is a consolodated list of scams that I posted a year ago and have updated)

Social engineering

Phishing

How it works: Scammers trick you into sending them crypto, your seed phrase, or your personal information. They might pretend to be customer service operators or high profile traders and promise you all kinds of things. They will use the medium of email, DMs, social media channels or chat groups.

How to avoid it: Don't trust anyone who offers you free stuff. Don't share your seed phrase or personal info with anyone.

Fake versions of popular apps, browser extensions and exchange websites.

How it works: You click a link that installs/visits a replica version of the real thing, which will send your passwords and personal info to scammers and/or sneak in scammer wallet addresses when you're transferring crypto.

How to avoid it: Only install apps, wallets and extensions from the official website; triple check any website addresses for anything crypto related. If you use google don't click on the "ad" version of websites, as scammers sometimes pay for their scam version to show up there.

Pump and Dump Groups

How it works: You join a group that claims they will pump a coin to dump on the general public for a profit, however the organisers have already filled their bags and dump on the group instead when they release the name of the coin.

How to avoid it: Now you know what it looks like you can avoid it.

SIM swap

How it works: Scammers use personal info to trick your phone company into transferring your number to their SIM, then use your phone + personal info to gain access to emails, crypto exchanges and more.

How to avoid it: Always use an Authenticator based 2FA instead of phone, and don't link email addresses to your phone. Never reveal the phone number / email address attached to your crypto accounts.

Gas trap

How it works: Someone posts the seed to a wallet full of tokens; in order to take the tokens you need to transfer crypto to the wallet to pay for gas; they have a bot that takes your crypto straight away.

How to avoid it: Don't trust anyone giving you free stuff.

Fake Givaways

How it works: Someone advertises through the web or social media that they are giving away crypto – you just have to give them your crypto or personal information first. In reality there is no givaway.

How to avoid it: Research who is running the contest. Generally people don’t give things out for free. If in doubt, it’s fine to miss out.

Malware

Clipboard Hacks

How it works: Malware takes the crypto address you copied to the clipboard and replaces it with the scammer's address, so your crypto gets sent to the scammer.

How to avoid it: Triple check the address you're sending crypto to, if you find you've been compromised, a full reformat + factory reset is the best option. Change all crypto passwords, email passwords, new authenticator on separate device. Move coins to a new wallet.

Fake ledger

How it works: Someone sells you a fake ledger or trezor which is loaded with Malware. As soon as you load it up with crypto they steal it.

How to avoid it: Never buy cold storage second hand; order directly from Ledger or Trezor and triple check that your package has not been tampered with.

Coin scams

Rug Pull / Exit scam

How it works: Developers of a shitcoin spend months shilling their coin & paying influencers to shill their coin. Eventually they dump their bags or drain liquidity pools taking everyone's money and the coin's value goes to zero.

How to avoid it: Thoroughly research every coin you invest in, make sure the developer team are doxxed and are trustoworthy. Don't buy any coins shilled by influencers.

Ponzi/Pyramid coins

How it works: These coins promise high returns or high gains, usually they involve deflationary tokenomics or other tricks to get people interested, all the price gain however is through other investors, there's no actual product or service associated with the coin and the price will eventually collapse.

How to avoid it: Thoroughly research coins before investing - check out some of the DYOR guides that have been posted on Reddit.

Fake coins

How it works: Scammers create a coin with a similar name or ticker code to another popular coin, or the same name on a different chain, and you end up buying the fake coin instead of the real one.

How to avoid it: Check the coin you want is offered on the exchange you're using, triple check the name of the coin your buying and the chain you're buying it on.

Honeypot coin

How it works: A hot new token is pumping and up 100% already. As soon as you buy some you'll see paper gains but you'll never be able to sell, only a select few people are given permission to sell the coin in the smart contract and you're not one of them.

How to avoid it: Thoroughly research any product before you invest.

Other

Dusting attack

How it works: Someone sends you trace amounts of crypto in the hope that you’ll transfer it, revealing the address of other wallets that belong to you.

How to avoid it: If you get dusted, leave the dust there – it may be an indication that the duster already has some of your personal information and is trying to find what exchange you’re on so they can use what they have to get access to your account.

Five dollar wrench attack

How it works: The $5 wrench attack generally refers to any use physical violence or threats of violence to intimidate you into giving up your crypto or access to your accounts.

How to avoid it: Never disclose how much crypto you own to anyone, especially if you live in a country or district with high crime. Never reveal your address, phone number or email address.

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General tips for keeping your crypto safe

· Never, ever, reveal your passwords or seed phrase to anyone.

· Never reveal any personal information to anyone online, other than the bare minimum that is needed for KYC purposes.

· Never tell anyone how much crypto you have, or that you’re into crypto.

· Use authenticator 2FA and whitelist for all exchanges. Keep your authenticator on a separate device.

· Split up seed phrases and store both halves in separate, secure locations; back them up and do the same with the backups.

· Google yourself and any handles you use online, make sure no personal information can be attained this way.

· Assume every person, app, website and browser extension is a scammer until proven otherwise.

· Always triple check crypto addresses and send a small test amount before sending a large amount.

· Research everything thoroughly.