Behind the cryptocurrency frenzy lies a deadly trap. From the dream of 'hundredfold coins' to the temptation of 'guaranteed profits', scammers have various tricks to exploit without limits. With the wave of the metaverse, scams have escalated. This article exposes real cases, revealing five major scams and providing a pitfall avoidance guide to help you protect your money!
1. Offline transactions: 'face-to-face absconding' under trust.
Ms. Cheng from Anhui was introduced by an acquaintance to arrange an offline transaction of 277,000 USDT with Mr. Sun. The other party first gained trust through small tests, but after transferring funds, they delayed by claiming 'the phone is infected', ultimately absconding with the payments. This type of scam often leverages personal connections or a 'rich and handsome' persona to lower vigilance, inducing large transfers after successful small tests and then disappearing under the guise of technical issues.
Pitfall avoidance guide: Refuse offline transactions, choose legitimate exchanges;
Beware of 'guaranteed profits' rhetoric; verify the identity of the other party and the qualifications of the platform.
2. Air coins and pig slaughtering schemes: the knife beneath the illusion of soaring prices.
A certain scam group forged DeepSeek tokens, with a market value once reaching $48 million, but after the official denial, the price went to zero, evaporating over 400 million yuan in funds. Such scams often misuse hot concepts like AI and the metaverse, forge trading data to create the illusion of a 'surge', and induce follow-up investments through accomplices in groups.
Pitfall avoidance guide: Verify the project's white paper, team background, and code open-source status; beware of 'insider information', do not click on unfamiliar links or download unofficial apps.
3. New variants of metaverse scams: traps in the virtual world.
The 315 evening party in 2025 exposed three typical cases:
Virtual real estate speculation: A certain platform forged 'scarce land' trading volume, using bot accounts to create a false rush to purchase, resulting in over 8,000 investors buying virtual properties at high prices, and after the platform closed, 2.2 billion yuan worth of 'digital land' became worthless.
AI hosts selling products: AI face-swapping technology mimicked well-known hosts to promote 'limited metaverse collectibles', inducing purchases of nonexistent virtual goods, involving over 80 million yuan.
Investment courses for the elderly: Selling 'metaverse investment courses' to the elderly with promises of high returns, involving over 50,000 victims across 23 provinces and cities.
Pitfall avoidance guide: Verify project qualifications, beware of 'limited-time purchase' rhetoric; verify the identity of hosts through official channels, do not easily believe in 'exclusive benefits'; educate children about science, and verify information through multiple sources before investing.
4. Wallet trap: authorization leads to theft.
Ms. Pan trusted the advice of a 'blockchain master' and bound her wallet on a phishing website, transferring 130,000 virtual currencies, ultimately losing all her assets. Scammers often build high-fidelity websites to induce users to authorize wallet permissions, urging asset transfers under the pretext of 'exchange crashes', and directly transferring tokens through authorization interfaces.
Pitfall avoidance guide: Confirm the website domain (e.g., Binance.com), do not operate through unfamiliar links; never disclose private keys or mnemonic phrases to others, and regularly check wallet authorization records.
5. Stablecoin fund schemes: high interest collapse.
A certain platform attracted investors with the promise of 'USDT stable investment, daily return of 2%', and ultimately closed the platform, absconding with funds. Such scams lure funds with false promises of 'capital protection and high interest', paying old investors with the money of new investors, and urging deposits through 'limited-time activities'.
Pitfall avoidance guide: Stay away from 'zero risk high return' promotions; returns are proportional to risk; test the waters with small amounts, and verify if the withdrawal process is smooth.
When you are scrambling to buy virtual real estate in the metaverse, the scythe is hidden behind the code; when you celebrate with hundredfold coins, the scammers are already ready to close the net. Every surge and drop in the cryptocurrency circle is a magnifying glass of human weaknesses.
Remember: there is no investment that is 'guaranteed to be profitable', only carefully designed scripts; do not let the fear of 'missing out on wealth' obscure the risk of 'losing everything'; in the virtual world, your judgment is more valuable than NFTs.
From today on, stop clicking on unfamiliar links, verify every investment project, and guard your private keys as if they were your life. Because in the crypto world, the only thing you can trust is your own clarity and rationality.