Just Remember:
DONT SHARE YOUR PRIVATE KEY
Don’t share your private keys. Don’t share your recovery words.
If you use myetherwallet or mycrypto to participate in ICOs, install CryptoNite, EAL or MetaMask on Chrome. It will warn you if you connect to a scam site.
If you are using online web wallets like myetherwallet, make sure you use bookmark to access the site. Also consider using the offline version:
https://myetherwallet.github.io/knowledge-base/offline/running-myetherwallet-locally.html
If you want to participate in an ICO, only trust official announcements and don’t trust anybody who connects you privately. Also when you send ETH, always check the address using etherscan.io. Check if there is any comments on the address. If it's used for scam, it might have some comments attached. Etherscan also warns you if they flag address as scam address. I would not send ETH if the address has no smart contracts attached. That means you have to fully trust the other party to send you the tokens manually. I also see availability of contract source code for the crowdsale. It’s best practice to share source code, so anyone could verify if the crowd sale is not cheating. Also check if they got audited by third party auditors.
Do not get information solely from ICO website/community site. Check bitcointalk and youtube for others’ opinions before you invest. Investing in ICOs are high risk. Don't just follow other's opinion and do your own research.
If you want to get forked coins, make sure you have the private key when the fork happens. After the fork, send all funds in the wallet to your different wallet before giving your private key to the forked coin wallet. Please see my post on Litecoin Cash for detailed explanation. It should be applicable to any forking situations. Some exchanges offer forked coins if you have original coin on the exchange. But exchanges are not a safe place for your crypto. Don't deposit in a new/small exchange just to get your forked coins.
There are also many scams related to airdrops. Don’t give them your private key. Installing chrome plugins will also help you identify scams.
Here are two services that check for scams:
- https://www.clearify.io/ : Enter the address and see who owns it.
- http://shamcoin.com/ : List of potential scam ICOs.
Scammers and hackers are busy trying to steal your crypto.
Protect your private key and stay safe.
Here are my posts about “Securing your Cryptos”:
- Intro
- Securing access to exchanges
- Securing your storage & backup
- Hardware Wallet
- Emergency Plan
- ICOs, Forks, AirDrops & Scams : this post
Photo from https://www.pexels.com/photo/ethereum-and-bitcoin-emblems-730569/
Clearify manually verifies ICOs and allows contributors to check that the contribution addresses on each individual ICO website is genuine and owned by that ICO. It's a great way to be sure the ICO website has not been compromised and you are sending funds to the correct address. A colored check mark means an ICO has verified their address.
Thank you. That's a very good tip. I'll add it to the post.
Also welcome
Another good tip Mix my man. This one I always do follow, but still, a good thing to share!
Guess what, today I did make a document that details how to access my crypto and I encrypted it, and only told 2 people where to find it...in case something happens to me.
I really think others need to do this. Your funds are lost forever if someone else does not know how to access them if you pass away.
Thanks again!
I hope you had fun making your puzzle :) And also hope they are not put to use.
what do you think about those sham coins from yesterday i never got mine?
They are trying to find scam ICOs. It will provide utility to ICO investors, but they should be really transparent. I'm not sure about the token value. I got mine, but didn't look into it. Couldn't find a white paper.
Thank you for the information. The rate at which accounts are been hacked these days is alarming.
Thanks for the quality post! This advice is vital to success both on Steemit and the rest of the crypto world. It would be awful to put so much time commenting and posting just to have everything wiped out by a thief. I think it speaks volumes about the potential of this platform that there are so many people looking out for the "small guy" and trying to push Steemit into the main stream. Thanks for the article!
Exactly my opinion on this matter. Wish there was a way to track down these thieves and bring them to justice.
An airdrop in cryptocurrency describes the process in which a cryptocurrency project team distributes tokens to users for free. Airdrops are commonly employed by cryptocurrency startups as a means of raising awareness for their projects. Free tokens are literally “airdropped” into the wallet of these early adopters to get the buzz going. Additionally, established coins and crypto exchange platforms have also been known to carry out airdrops
Air drops are hard fork. good substitute of ICO.