I've been trying to be a little more active on the forums. I've been troubled by the amount of scam accusations I've seen. So I've decided to write this in hopes to educate (hopefully) some early adopters of this great currency (or other ones who know better than the world)
Some quick tips:
First and foremost. Do your research! Use goodle, search things. Use keywords like scam with whatever you are searching.
Avoid paypal - There are some ok services like virwox(at least for me) trading person to person without escrow will most likely cost you money in the end.
Cloud mining even if it's not a HYIP or something similiar will never return your ROI. They may be Ok if you don't want to purchase coins through an exchange but you will never profit.
Never accept a buyers escrow. Again do your research. Listen to other peoples experiences and forumalte your own opinion.
Don't rush. This will have you making questionable decisions that may bite you later on when you're out money.
If it is too good to be true it is. Just like with fiat, would you give money to a pyramid or chain letter?
Longer winded explanations:
Reaearch:
This is the most important thing you can do. It helps you gain more understanding on different technoligies, scams, bad websites etc. It helps you identify known scammers. So much. The thing about Bitcoin etc is it is not going anywhere. If you feel the urge to give money to something because it seems really good, it will still be around tomorrow, next week. That is because businesses that have good business models typically continue to do well. You will not lose out by maintaining a little due dilligence.
Avoiding Paypal:
Many people have horrible experiences with this. Maybe the item you want to purchase doesn't accept Bitcoin? Maybe you could contact them and see if it's an option for them to consider including it in the future? This not only helps the community as a whole but potential future value as more and more companies begin to utilize this. Aside from that, if you really need to do this, there are providers out there with a proven track record, more than a couple posts with no reputation such a virwox. That said, Paypal has been known to suspend accounts dealing with Bitcoin due to a couple of reasons. If you note rule #1, you'll see this.
Cloud mining:
Lets face it. If you had 1000$€ whatever currency, would you give it away for 800? (If so, contact me Cheesy) First off, many of these companies are scams and will vanish soon. the others may be legit, but they are a business. They are in this to make money. PERIOD. If they can make more money mining than selling it to you, they will. You will be stupid to think otherwise no matter how much they tell you about how honest they are and want you to make money... Don't go spamming the scam accusations with garbage if you do not take this point seriously. You've been warned..
Escrow:
If you sell a car, would you sign the papers and let the buyers friend hold them before he paid you. I'm just going to take this car for a test drive with my friend to the bank and come right back to pay you. Seems stupid right? Again see rule #1. There are plenty of people on these forums with a large + trust rating that for a smaller fee than many escrows will help facilitate your trades, purchases etc.
Good comment from poster on enscrow:
I've just sold a domain name, and the buyer insisted on using escrow.com. I think that is a reputable service, and I'm happy to agree to using them. Especially as the buyer is paying the fees. Smiley I think it is important to do some research before using these services. Forum trust may not be sufficient to risk using the person for escrow. Memberships can be bought, and the trusted member may not be the current user of the account. It's best to check recent posts to see if the character and content has changed.
Rushing:
I think this gets people the most. They don't seem to think these amazing offers will be around if they don't act, buy etc right this very second. They can't wait for the confirmations so they can haphazardly spend spend spend. 9 times out of 10 you will lose because you again avoided rule #1. If the company etc in question is legit, worse case wait till next time this amazing offer comes. They're not going anywhere. Not unless they're a scammer, then you're better off.
Too good to be true
In all fairness I could have included this with Rushing, but felt it merited it's own little section. If a guy came to your house and offered to double your paycheck in one week if you gave it all to him would you?
Nothing comes for free in this world, you should know this. If not you probably still live under your parent roof. Don't get me wrong. Nothing wrong with that, but the world will teach you some harsh lessons...
The bottom line:
Due dilligence is the key and google is your friend. (you can also use tags in your searches like site:bitcointank.com thisguy scammer or "thisHasToBeInTheResult" "thisPotentialScammer") They will help filter down your results for ambiguous searches. If you're unsure of something after doing research and have a gut feeling. Go with it. You may not make your riches off that particular idea, but you won't lose either.
Hopefully this helps someone learn the lessons I've had to learn through trial and error the difficult way. If so than I've done my duty.