In the era of cryptocurrency boom, "shills" have become the most hidden trap makers in the market. Through carefully planned public opinion manipulation, they package low-value tokens as "wealth codes", induce investors to take over at high prices and then quietly leave, leaving a mess. To see through this kind of scam, you need to be wary of the following five proven warning signals and their underlying logic:
⚠️ 1. Exaggerated profit promises: "illusion of wealth" that violates financial laws
Core features:
• "Hundred-fold potential" and "guaranteed profit" and other rhetoric: real projects focus on technology implementation (such as solving pain points such as cross-border payments and data privacy), rather than empty slogans of wealth.
• Case evidence: For example, the Internet celebrity Blockchain Backer has repeatedly predicted that XRP will "surge to $589", and the actual price has long hovered in the $0.3 range. Such predictions that are out of touch with fundamentals are essentially signals of pulling the market.
Countermeasures:
📉 Use data to verify: Check whether the economic model in the project white paper is reasonable and whether the token distribution is transparent (such as whether the team's pre-mining ratio is too high). If it is found that 90% of the tokens are controlled by the team, or the annualized rate of return exceeds 100%, you need to be alert to the Ponzi structure immediately.
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🕵️ 2. Anonymous team and false endorsement: manipulators hidden behind masks
Core features:
• Missing team information: no real name, resume or LinkedIn verification, only virtual avatars or stolen photos of others (reverse image search can be detected).
• Fake celebrity platform: For example, the scam project SQUID once forged Musk's tweets, inducing investors to take over and then collapse to zero.
Countermeasures:
🔍 Deep human audit: Check the code submission record through GitHub to verify the developer's technical strength; search whether the team has a history of running away in past projects. If the team refuses to show up, it is likely to leave a way out for absconding with the money.
