Most crypto losses are not sophisticated. They are the same handful of patterns, repeated. If you can recognize the shape, you can refuse the bait.
1. Phishing (the #1 cause of loss)
A fake website that looks like MetaMask, Phantom, or a real dApp. You connect your wallet, sign a transaction, and the contract drains your balance.
**How to spot it:** Bookmark the official site. Never click wallet links from search ads or social media. Check the URL character by character. **metamask.io** with a Cyrillic "a" is not MetaMask.
**How to defend:** Use a hardware wallet. The screen shows you what you're actually signing. Use a wallet with transaction simulation (Phantom, Rabby) so you see the consequences before signing.
2. Fake support (in DMs, every day)
You post in a Discord or tweet about an issue. "Support" replies within minutes. They ask for your seed phrase to "verify" your account. It's a scam. The real support team will never DM you first, never ask for your seed, and will never ask you to install a "remote support" tool.
**How to spot it:** Always initiate support from the official site. Anyone who reaches out to you first is a scammer.
**How to defend:** Block on sight. There is no scenario in which typing your seed phrase into a chat is correct.
3. Address-swap malware (clipboard hijacker)
You copy an address to send crypto. You paste it. It's been swapped for the attacker's address. You send. It's gone.
**How to spot it:** Always check the **first 4 and last 4** characters of the pasted address. If they don't match what the recipient sent, refuse to send.
**How to defend:** A hardware wallet displays the address on its own screen, immune to clipboard malware. Use one. Always send a small test first.
4. Dusting attacks
You receive a tiny amount of a token you didn't buy, in a wallet you control. The attacker hopes you'll try to swap or sell it, interacting with a malicious contract that drains your wallet.
**How to spot it:** Unknown tokens appearing in your wallet. Don't interact with them.
**How to defend:** Don't touch what you don't recognize. Use a separate "burner" wallet for airdrops and dApp exploration.
5. Fake airdrops and "claim" sites
A site that says you're "eligible" for a free airdrop. You connect your wallet to claim. The contract asks for an approval to move unlimited tokens, or asks you to sign a transaction that drains your wallet.
**How to spot it:** If you didn't participate in a project, you're not getting its airdrop. "Free" crypto that requires you to sign something is almost always a scam.
**How to defend:** Treat unknown sites like unknown email attachments: assume they're malicious. Use revoke.cash to clean up old token approvals.
6. Romance / pig-butchering scams
You meet someone on a dating app or social media. They're charming, attentive, and after a few weeks, they mention crypto. They show you their "profits" on a fake platform. You invest. The platform shows gains. When you try to withdraw, you're asked to pay "fees" or "taxes" that never end.
**How to spot it:** Anyone who won't video call you, who is unusually interested in your financial life, or who introduces you to a "trading platform" is a scammer. **Full stop.**
**How to defend:** Don't mix money with online relationships. Period. If someone you've never met in person is guiding you to a trading platform, you are being scammed.
7. Rug pulls and fake projects
You buy a new token based on hype, influencer promotion, or a "presale." The team disappears with the liquidity pool. The token goes to zero. Nobody is coming to save you.
**How to spot it:** Anonymous teams, locked-liquidity claims that aren't verifiable, celebrity endorsements, and "guaranteed returns." All red flags.
**How to defend:** Don't buy what you can't understand. Use tools like Token Sniffer and De.Fi to check contract risk. Verify that the team has donex'd themselves. Be deeply suspicious of anything new and shiny.
The meta-rule
If someone is creating urgency — "act now," "limited time," "this offer ends in 10 minutes" — you are being scammed. Real investments can wait 24 hours. Real giveaways don't need your wallet. Real support doesn't DM you first.
The single most protective habit: **slow down**. Every minute you spend hesitating is a minute the scammer's pressure has to fail.