#StaySAFU A couple of years ago I almost fell for a too good to be true presale of a new DeFi token that promised insane APY returns and early access to a staking pool The website looked polished the Telegram group was active and there were fake influencer endorsements But something felt off the team was anonymous the contract wasnt verified and there was no presence on CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko I dug deeper using tools like Token Sniffer and RugDoc which flagged major red flags like honeypot behavior and ownership not renounced A week later the project rugged and the website vanished

Now I always follow a simple checklist

Doxxed team with a verifiable track record

Clear audited smart contracts

Community transparency

Real utility not just hype

I also use tools like Etherscan CoinMarketCap and Crypto Twitter with caution to cross verify claims If something feels rushed or overly hyped I walk away In crypto FOMO is the enemy of safety

The biggest lesson Trust your gut question everything and never invest more than you can afford to lose Staying informed and cautious is the best way to #StaySAFU