When you hear about a cryptocurrency scam, a deceptive scheme designed to steal your money under the guise of a legitimate crypto project. Also known as crypto fraud, it often hides behind flashy websites, fake testimonials, and promises of quick riches. These aren’t just rumors—they happen every day, and the people behind them are good at making things look real. You might get a DM on Twitter saying you’ve won a free NFT. Or see a CoinMarketCap airdrop with thousands of participants and zero real updates after the tokens drop. That’s not luck—it’s a trap.
Many crypto airdrop scams, fake giveaways that collect your wallet address or private keys under the pretense of distributing free tokens. Also known as phantom airdrops, they rely on hype and urgency to trick you into connecting your wallet or paying a "gas fee"—which is always a red flag. Look at FAN8 in 2025: $0 trading volume, no official website, no team, yet people were still searching for how to claim it. That’s a textbook scam. Same with BananaGuy or Peanut—no utility, no updates, just a price pump and a silent exit. These are rug pulls, when developers drain all the liquidity from a token’s pool and disappear, leaving holders with worthless coins. Also known as exit scams, they’re the most common way people lose money in crypto. And it’s not just new coins. Even projects like TRAVA.FINANCE and ACMD started with real promises, then vanished after the airdrop. No roadmap, no team updates, no community—just silence.
North Korean hackers aren’t the only ones stealing. Most scams come from anonymous devs in Telegram groups, using fake YouTube tutorials and paid influencers to push their tokens. They don’t need to be smart—they just need to be convincing. You don’t need to be a tech expert to spot these. Check the token’s liquidity. Look at the team’s history. Search for reviews from real users—not bots. If a project has no GitHub commits, no Discord activity, and a website that looks like it was made in 2017, walk away. The cryptocurrency scam isn’t going away. But you can stop being its next victim.
Below, you’ll find real case studies of projects that promised the moon—and delivered nothing. Some were airdrops you might’ve considered joining. Others were tokens you might’ve held, hoping for a comeback. We break down what went wrong, who was behind it, and how to avoid the same mistakes. No fluff. No hype. Just what actually happened.
There is no legitimate AFEN Marketplace airdrop. Despite rumors online, no credible source confirms its existence. This article explains why it's likely a scam and how to avoid losing your crypto to fake airdrop traps.
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