Spotting the Scams
The digital asset market has its share of bad actors. Watch out for these critical red flags during negotiations.
1. Refusal to Use Escrow
If a seller insists on a direct wire transfer, CashApp, or direct Crypto transaction and refuses to use a secure escrow service, walk away immediately. This is the most common sign of a scam.
2. Doctored Analytics
Screenshots can be easily altered using Photoshop or browser inspect elements. The Fix: Always demand live screen recordings of the seller refreshing the analytics page, or request temporary view-only access to the analytics dashboard.
3. Artificial Engagement Pods
A page might have 10,000 followers and 2,000 likes per post, which looks like an incredible 20% engagement rate. However, if all the comments are generic ("Great pic!", "🔥") from accounts in the same niche, they are likely using "Engagement Pods" to artificially inflate numbers. This audience holds no real commercial value.
4. Sudden Follower Spikes
Check the account's historical growth on SocialBlade. If an account gained 50,000 followers in a single day with no viral content to justify it, those followers were purchased.
