I've watched the same few scripts take people's money for years, and they're much easier to spot once you've seen them. Every scam guide we've written is below, grouped by how the scam reaches you.
Tell us what's happening: who contacted you, what they're asking for, how they want to be paid. You get a plain answer, what to do right now, and the guides that match your situation.
Got a fake Coinbase email or text? Don't tap, call or move funds. Real vs fake signs and a 60-second check.
The letter with a QR code and a "Digital Asset Compliance Portal" is a scam. How the real IRS contacts you, and five checks.
How a Bitcoin ATM works step by step, what it really charges, the limits in your state, and the kiosk scam behind $389 million in reported losses.
Read the domain, ignore the padlock, check its age and regulator lists, and spot the withdrawal trap.
An exchange to your bank, P2P escrow, a Bitcoin ATM or a debit card. Plus the withdrawal fee scam the FBI warns about.
No: nobody mines USDT. The "Join" button signs an approval that lets scammers drain your wallet. How to revoke and report it.
The wrong-number text, the fake trading app, the "tax" to withdraw. Real opening texts, red flags and what to do now.
Arbitrage bots are real, but most sold to the public are scams. The 2026 cases, the fee math and the red flags.
Five free checks in about ten minutes: the team, the audit, the contract, the listing and the next big token unlock.
Team, tokenomics, audits, community and what to check before you put money into a crypto or DeFi project.
Five checks that catch most rug pulls in ten minutes: can you sell, is the liquidity locked, owner powers, top holders and the deployer's history.
The checks to run on a new meme coin before you buy, and the signs it was built so you can never sell.
Fake wallet mining, flash USDT, look-alike tokens, fake support in your DMs and the "your USDT is frozen" fee.
A fake address planted in your history, built to look like one you use. How it works and the habit that stops it.
Some are. Many "free token" claims are drainers. How to tell a real airdrop from a fake one before you connect a wallet.
Old approvals can let a contract move your tokens. How to see what you have signed and cut it off.
Ledger confirmed a spy implant in some resold wallets. Check by where you bought yours, and how to move to a fresh seed.
What each one protects against, what it costs, and how to split your crypto between them.
Recovery scams took $1.4 billion in 2025, per the FBI. The six checks to run, and what real recovery looks like.
Where scam crypto goes, where it can be frozen, and what to do first.
Investment scams may be, romance scams are not, per a 2025 IRS memo. Form 4684 and what to ask a CPA.
Updated monthly: pig butchering, fake IRS letters, kiosk and courier cons, drainers and wrench attacks, with FBI data.
How the QR code scam works, who it targets, and the one rule that stops it.
What we know, what isn't confirmed, and what to do if you bought a hardware wallet secondhand.
What happened, why the pitch was impossible, and the checks that catch it.
Editor of DeFi Market Journal and Deputy Editor of Crypto Magazine. First bought Bitcoin in 2011. Writes from Belen, New Mexico. @StoneOnChain
Free: all three scam checklists
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These guides are for education and are not financial, legal or tax advice. If you think you have been scammed, report it at ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
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