Avoiding scams in the DeFi and Cryptocurrency space
We give you some simple steps to steer clear of scammers ahead of the DAOventures token sale on Polkastarter
With our upcoming Polkastarter IDO now just days away, we wanted to give our community a friendly reminder that scammers are still unfortunately an issue within the cryptocurrency community.
There have been several large scale hacks and scams in recent months in the DeFi space and, although we do our very best to keep our community channels free from bad actors, there are always scammers looking for unsuspecting victims to take funds from.
Below we cover some of the most common scams and how to avoid them. Please read and even if you have been in the space a while refresh your memory!
Avoid scammers lurking in Telegram channels
Anyone within the cryptocurrency space will know that Telegram groups and channels play a major part in overall community growth. However, this these communities are also targeted by scammers who prey on new and unsuspecting people in the space.
Fake admins
One of the most common ploys used by scammers is to impersonate a project admin. Scammers are able to create a username looking very similar to a group admin, changing letters such as S for the number 5 and so on. They are also free to use the same profile photo and title text.
That being said, scammers can be distinguished from admins as they will not have the grey admin badge next to their posts and names. See below one of the legitimate admins of DAOventures, Adrian L:
Only if the admin has this next to their name are they legitimate.
Often, scammers impersonating an admin will DM users from Telegram communities and offer discounts, bonuses or early-access to token sales. These will always end up asking for funds or personal information of some sort.
The DAOventures Telegram community admins are:
- @victorleejw
- @mirrasel
- @Lesterlim15
- @alvinfoo
- @adrianlam2
- @ravneetkaurtech
- @freddycrypto1
- @CMLaw101
- @freddy00000
- @veersinghD
Always remember
DAOventures Admins will never ask you for money on Telegram. Do not, for any reason, send funds to anyone telling you they are an admin and asking for money from our community.
If you think somebody might be trying to scam you, please tell one of the DAOventures admins and we will look into the issue and also warn the community.
Make sure that you are on the right website
Today, phishing is becoming more commonplace and scammers are becoming more skilled in their attempts to take money from unsuspecting web users.
In the cryptocurrency world, one of the major ways scammers are now targeting investors in IDOs and token raises is by cloning official websites of projects.
Often, these scammers will go to extreme lengths to appear legitimate, even purchasing paid advertising on Google and other search engines to increase their search rankings.
Be sure to double check the URL when clicking through from a search engine or anywhere else.
Pay close attention to the extension at the end of the website!
The DAOventures website is https://www.daoventures.co/
Be sure to check the SSL certificate to make sure you are on the site is genuine.
We recommend bookmarking our website rather than navigating to the site via a search engine each time to ensure you are clicking the correct URL.
Never reveal your private keys to anyone
Another way for scammers to take money from unlucky investors is by gaining control of their private keys.
Not sure what a private key is?
Read this article to learn more.
Giving somebody your private keys is the same as giving them full control over your hard earned funds. With your private keys, scammers can access your wallets, exchanges and other platforms and drain your funds completely.
Your private keys should remain private.
DAOventures Admins will never ask you for your private keys under any circumstances.
If anybody asks you for your private keys in the DAOventures community you should be immediately suspicious and report it to an admin.
Twitter scammers
Twitter plays a big part in the cryptocurrency community and there are several ways to get scammed on the platform.
Just last year, various high profile celebrity Twitter accounts were hacked, with the scammers using the profiles of the hacked accounts to post links to fake Bitcoin giveaways that eventually made people send funds and hand over their private details with no actual competition taking place.
These “give me $1000 and I give you $2000 back” messages are always scams. Never send funds to somebody you do not know and trust implicitly on social media platforms such as Twitter!
DAOventures Twitter
The DAOventures Twitter account handle is @VenturesDao. Please make sure that this is the right profile when talking with admins.
The DAOventures Twitter profile will never PM you first.
The DAOventures Twitter profile will never ask you to send money anywhere at any time.
Remaining vigilant
The cryptocurrency space is full of exciting opportunities, pioneering technologies and amazing people, but it is also a landscape prevalent with scammers and bad actors.
Make sure that you keep your wits about you and always check that the person that you are talking to is who they say they are.
If you believe that something is too good to be true, then it probably is.
And above all else — Never send money to strangers over the internet!
The DAOventures IDO on Polkstarter
Our IDO on Polkastarter will be launched on the 15th of February 2021.
Exact timing will be announced soon.
POLS holders have been allocated 222,222 DVG tokens of the overall raise with the other 222,222 DVG tokens being offered to non-POLS holders and the DVG community. DVG tokens will be available to swap for either POLS tokens or ETH at a sale price of $0.225 per token.
- Thursday 15th February 2021 — Exact time TBC
- 444,444 DVG tokens for sale in total
- 0.63% overall token allocation
- Price $0.225 per token
- Hold 3000 POLS for a minimum of 7 days or provide POLS/ETH Liquidity on Uniswap to access the POLS pool
- Accepting ETH only for non-POLS holders
- Max individual cap $300
- Total raise $100,000
- Initial market cap $430k
About DAOVentures
DAOventures is a DeFi robo-advisor and automated money manager platform. Imagine “Robinhood for DeFi”. It is our mission to make DeFi simpler, accessible & inclusive. We believe in creating a simpler, more accessible, and more open world that is permissionless, inclusive and guided by our DNA of continuous learning, integrity and transparency.
