From poorly written forum advertisements posted on the deep dark web, to seemingly stable multi-million dollar exchanges, scams involving bitcoin are abundant and plentiful.

It's microscopic when compared to credit card fraud, which is in the billions annually, and everything is trounced by cash. Money-laundering alone is a 2.2 trillion dollar annual industry. However, scams do involve bitcoin from time to time just like any other payment method, currency, or commodity, and this is the topic of our latest Top 10.



Note, all of the following assume "bitcoin" is also present.

The Top 10 Most Obvious "Tells" That It Might Just Be A Bitcoin Scam.

10 IF ITS AN EMAIL FROM BITPAY'S CEO... It might just be a Bitcoin scam





9 IF YOUR RICHES BEGIN WITH ONLY 0.001... It might just be a Bitcoin scam





This is what we call a Nonzi. It looks, feels and smells like a Ponzi, but it's not.





This scheme isn't going to pay anyone back anything. It's not meant for that, it's meant for enough people to "give it a try" at the tune of next to nothing and then they take the money and walk.





I say walk because they don't need to run. Nobody will be chasing at them with a loss of only 0.001 (roughly 22 cents).

8

IF CLOUD MINING IS INVOLVED ... It might just be a

7 IF SOMEONE CALLS YOU "BRO" ... It might just be a Bitcoin scam





most scammers that I have dealt with on a communication level called me "bro", "friend", or some sort of "bro" variation. (this is more related to P2P transactions)



Well I'm an asshole, so I know there's no chance of anyone calling me any of these things unless they are up to something shady.



But why are they calling anyone anything other than Sir, Ma'am? Defintely not synonymous with a reputable organization or individual and an easy tell.



If they had half a brain they would at least scam with some manners. I can certainly be spared the whole "Sir" thing, but my Mother would likely slap the scam right out of them if they called her "bro".



Now that I think about it, I'd actually pay to see that.



I'm not here to explain why, although I would if I had the answer, but scammers like to call people "bro". In factscammers that I have dealt with on a communication level called me "bro", "friend", or some sort of "bro" variation. (this is more related to P2P transactions)Well I'm an asshole, so I know there's no chance of anyone calling me any of these things unless they are up to something shady.But why are they calling anyone anything other than Sir, Ma'am? Defintely not synonymous with a reputable organization or individual and an easy tell.If they had half a brain they would at least scam with some manners. I can certainly be spared the whole "Sir" thing, but my Mother would likely slap the scam right out of them if they calledbro".Now that I think about it, I'd actuallyto see that.

Just ask CFO Bryan Krohn, he received an alleged email from Bitpay's CEO ordering him to send 1.8 million bucks somewhere, which he did, and came to find out it was a scammer that sent that email and made off with the bitcoin.Always verify the source if it's more than $1.92, especially if it's BitPay's CEO since we now know there is at leastimpersonator on earth.This is not to say that cloud mining is all bad, there are a few companies out there that offer this and do not completely suck.It's just rare to find a reputable company offering any kind of realistic returns with cloud mining. If you do, it's most likely from vigorous marketing and financial backing.Most cloud mining schemes that people just "stumble upon" are Ponzi schemes.