🔥Do not fall prey to fake ICO🔥

🏅 In the blockchain community there has been a disturbing trend: worldwide we see the emergence of blockchain-start-ups that deceive people, attracting funds at the expense of big names.

🏅 This is not exactly a financial pyramid. I would call such a scam a 'circular scheme'. Its essence lies in the fact that the 'leader of opinions' gathers around itself uninformed investors. This person can be a fraudster himself, or, in most cases, an authoritative person in the industry or social media.

🏅 Given that the crypto currency market is still not regulated, it represents Eldorado for such scams. They - or hired by authoritative persons - pump up the currency or ICO, having previously received a significant share of this asset. They carry marketing nonsense to lure the maximum number of 'simpletons' who do not even realize that an imminent dump will soon follow. And then they sell their share and make a profit.

🏅 I know this because in the world I am quite well known for crypto currency, and so I was often asked to advertise some questionable projects for good money. This happened infrequently, but after the rapid development of the ICO market to me and my co-founders are increasingly resorting to such scammers. Now almost every day we get different kinds of offers. We are in Singapore, but such requests come from all over the world.

🏅 Consider the general scenario of this scheme. One day a friend tells you about the newest and best 'investment tool'. You study it, and everything looks legal. The currency is on www.coinmarketcap.com, and ICO information is posted on various tracking sites. Even videoblogers from YouTube are positive about this project. And you decide to invest. It seems that you were in the right place at the right time.

🏅 The price of the token grows, but when you think of selling the asset and withdrawing the profit, the value falls. You call a friend, and he says that he has already withdrawn his money, and you should wait. You do so in the hope that the price will rise again. But this does not happen. As a result, you are in a panic selling the asset, fixing a large loss. And about yourself, you think: 'At least I did not fall for the bait of speculators. It was a legitimate project ?! '.

🏅 Is it so? At the time of writing the article (August 2017), this type of fraud is not considered a violation of the law, and such scams are cranked every day. I'm not even sure that in a decentralized world with blockchains and crypto-currencies such things can be regulated. Therefore, it is important to know that such scams are cranked more often than many think.

🍀 Here are some more examples:

🏅 A worthless ICO, supported by a publicly known person. People do not know his true motives. Does he really believe in this company or just take care of his 90% discount, which will allow him to earn millions in a few weeks?
Videoblogers, podcasters and authors of articles on various portals (yes, I appeal to you!), Which create channels, placing valuable materials, and then take 'bribes' and expose the company or service in the right light.
'Consultants', who are invited to the project, so that they speak positively about it.
Here are a few types of suggestions that came to me:

🏅 Prior to our sale of the tokens, we received several offers from large investors who wanted to participate, having received a large discount, then to 'ramp' the ICO. We refused. But if such proposals came to us, then they receive other companies that conduct ICO; and if the latter are not very confident of success, they can accept them. Therefore, when the next time you see a company that a well-known person supports, think about the deal that can be behind this relationship.

🏅 Since I am well known in the cryptomir, I am regularly offered 5-digit (sometimes 6-digit) amounts and double-digit percentages of tokens only for mentioning the service in a positive way. My assistant knows that you should reject any such proposals. But, I repeat, if they act to me, they receive many others, among whom there are those who will agree. Therefore, when a video blogger from YouTube or an influential person in social media positively or negatively comments about a product or service, think about the possible context behind this opinion.

🏅 I am invited to the event, everyone pays for it, and this is only to present a questionable product or offer to visitors. We carefully check everything to avoid such situations, but I believe that many others do not.
I am offered a 1% stake in the company only for placing my name on the site. Time? Zero. Easy money, is not it? But this is a blow to the reputation.

🏅These are examples of circular schemes. Instead of distributing profits from the top to bottom, which is typical for financial pyramids, here we see a pattern 'from the inside out': the closer your position to the center of the 'pumping', the more likely that you will have time to exit the project before the reset. As in the pyramids, people are forced to believe that they are next to this position. For example, they are invited to Telegram groups, where they 'pump up' currencies. They believe that they were the first to learn about this, but they have already lost. Scammers at this time dump assets.

🏅 Does the community know about this blockchain? Of course yes! Most people know all this, but like in the case of the pyramids, they hope to quickly and easily get rich. People are consumed by greed, and they can not think rationally. I myself went through this and I am sure that you too.

🏅 But I hope that this article will help those who have not heard about such scams. Be careful if the investor or consultant diligently 'pumps' the tokens, if the video blogger or the author of the articles very positively comments about the company. Do not let the pumping and dumping groups fool you. They are only trying to convince people that they are at the center of a circular scheme.

🍀 Here are some tips to help you avoid cheating:

🍀 Check basic information about currency or token.

🍀 Ask yourself if the company has a good idea.

🍀 Who are its founders / creators? Which team?

🍀 People who 'pump up' the project, participated in something like this before?

🍀 Is the price growth justified?

🍀 Why does someone speak positively about the project?

🏅 Regulators will not intervene soon, but we as a community can work together and replace the top-down approach with a bottom-up decision.

🏅 Therefore, it is necessary to disseminate information and properly educate people about investing in the sphere of blockchain. In the end, this will allow us to strengthen and develop our cryptosystem.