Every single day individuals direct message me to get into some crypto-scam, hoping for a quick buck and no responsability. Well, there has been plenty of scamcoin-developers and scam-exchange operators that has gotten what they deserve through law enforcement, or they fucked over the wrong people and got what they deserved anyway, let me rant a bit about that here:
So How To avoid crypto-scammers and other story-tellers... Like a Boss!
Never get sidelined or sidetracked by someone who wants to talk with you in private, always consult with a group of people you trust before making a transaction decision, do real research and sleep on it.
Just because "something new" is released or "about to be released" does not mean you should get in on it. The easiest way to scam the most money is to create hopes and dreams that people will believe in, clash on a nice logo and pay $100 to have a botnet go crazy on twitter, trollboxes & IRC for a few days: "HopesAndDreamsCoin will go to the moon, invest". Avoid that.
Make sure you belong to a diverse community of potential advisors. steemit.chat and SteemSpeak Discord has a lot of old timers and no-bullshit attitude. Don´t be shy, if something seems too good to be true, it often is - except when it is not, so make sure you get in the "know-zone" before you do anything irrational and irreversible.
A Friend is just an Enemy with a Secret Identity. Don´t fall for the friendship-trap. This is a Dog eat Dog World, and most people get fooled right here on the Internet, so make sure you do not become one of them.
Do not store more money then you need. Diversify your digital assets and money and make sure you lock them in with a secure password and a 2 Factor Authenticator on your Phone or elsewhere.
Remain Sceptic - People need to prove themselves worthy of your trust.
