List of earning websites that I consider to be scams and/or ponzi schemes, or don't recommend for other reasons

Lista de sitios web de ingresos que considero estafas y / o esquemas Ponzi
I am not sure if "scam" is quite the right word for Coinpot. It does pay some of the time. However, it has a really super duper broken bot detection system that falsely flags a lot of legitimate users as bots, but fails to detect genuine bots even when they are running 24/7. Additionally, Coinpot allows the legitimate users falsely flagged as bots to continue working at solving captchas and viewing ads, and then refuses to pay them and has almost no support to speak of. For many users, this has the effect, if not the intent, of a scam. There's a workaround that has worked for some users, but not for me. Click here to read more. Also click here to read my open letter to Coinpot regarding non-payment issues.

Tips to mitigate your risk of falling for scams (and mitigate the damage if you do fall for them)

  • Get a software wallet, on your computer, of the variety where you control the keys, sooner rather than later. Two you might consider are Electrum and Jaxx Liberty. (Alternatively, you might also consider a paper wallet.)
  • If you are dealing with significant amounts of cryptocurrency (for example, hundreds of dollars worth of cryptocurrency or more), get a hardware wallet sooner rather than later. You might consider Trezor. (Alternatively, you might also consider a paper wallet.)
  • Familiarize yourself with the difference between public and private keys, and the functionality of backup passphrases. Never share your private key or backup passphrase with anyone, especially over the internet. No legitimate tech support will ever ask for these things, but phishers pretending to be tech support might. If your private key or backup passphrase is accidentally compromised, send your cryptocurrency to a new wallet ASAP.
  • Whenever you copy-paste your receive address, double check it visually. Some viruses work by interfering with your copy-paste to replace your receive address with the hacker's receive address.
  • If for some reason you are unable to use a software wallet, a hardware wallet, or a paper wallet, at least investigate possible web wallets and try to select the most trustworthy you can. However, bear in mind that even the best rated web wallets can still get hacked, falsely flag some users as bots (even if you aren't a bot), mismanage their business, or otherwise fail to provide a good experience for every user.
  • Unless you are buying advertising or planning to gamble, be wary of anything that asks you for a deposit. Some sites will try to trick you into depositing your hard-earned cryptocurrency (or fiat currency) with the promise that you will later be able to withdraw a greater amount than you deposited. Some of these might be legit, but many aren't. If it's a cloud mining service, some of those are legitimate and some of them are scams. If it's a faucet or a website that pays you to click on ads or complete surveys, there's no reason it should be asking you for a deposit unless you are planning to buy advertising or gamble on it.
  • Note that some sites won't ask you for the deposit until you have already invested a significant amount of time. Sometimes, you can find a clue that they might do this in the website's rules or terms of service.
  • Invest less time in newer websites with fewer reviews than in older websites that have already been tested by many users. You can perhaps ignore this for sites that have no minimum withdrawal, or a very low minimum withdrawal, so you can test them yourself very quickly.
  • Beware of sites with high minimum withdrawals, especially for cryptocurrencies that have low transaction fees. This is especially true if they lack ways for you to earn cryptocurrency quickly, for example by doing surveys. There are some scam faucets that have very high minimum withdrawals, but no surveys or other activities you can do to reach the minimum quickly. Sometimes, these sites will disappear before you ever reach the minimum withdrawal. In the meantime, you spent time visiting their site, and possibly solving captchas, and they profited off showing you ads.
  • Screenshot survey completion pages. It may also be a good idea to take a screenshot when you are near the end of a survey. However, pay attention to any terms and conditions the survey might have that limits screenshot taking, and take screenshots only where allowed. Also, only share the screenshots with your surveywall provider and not on the internet.
See also

To see things I do recommend, or am at least considering recommending, please see my list of "My favorite faucets and websites for earning crypto, some I am still testing, etc."

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