Someone has pitched you an “opportunity”, or a person calling themselves support staff or a trading mentor is pressing you to act, and you can't tell whether it is real. Answer the seven questions below against what is happening to you right now, yes or no for each. “See my result” then gives one of three results, with next steps for the signals you hit. What counts as a “yes” is set out question by question under the quiz.
What counts as a “yes” for each question
The seven questions don't ask which scam this is. They ask whether a few actions are present: the other side came to you first, is rushing you, wants money, wants a verification code or private key, promises a sure profit, sent you the link, or claims to be official but will only talk in a private chat. If you're unsure which way to answer, use the table.
| Question | Answer “yes” if | Answer “no” if |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · Did they approach you first? | A stranger messaged you, added you as a contact, pulled you into a group or phoned you, and went straight to investing, making money or an “opportunity” | You went looking for this yourself and chose to find out more, and you can say where you first heard about it |
| 2 · Are they rushing you? | They keep saying time is short or places are limited: “before midnight tonight”, “act now or the account gets frozen”, “the offer lapses” | They said you can take your time. There is no countdown, and you have room to check |
| 3 · Do you have to pay first to continue? | You are asked to transfer or deposit money, or to pay a deposit, a fee or a “tax” before you can withdraw or unfreeze anything | Nothing in this requires you to send money anywhere |
| 4 · Do they want a code, private key or seed phrase? | They want an SMS or authenticator code or your account password, want you to sign a wallet approval you don't understand, or ask outright for your private key or seed phrase | Nobody has asked you for any of these. A private key or seed phrase is not handed over, whatever reason is given |
| 5 · Do they promise guaranteed returns? | They say your capital is protected, the profit is guaranteed, the rate is fixed and high, or it doubles steadily; or they describe a high return as “no risk with us” | They talked about the risks and guaranteed nothing. No “guaranteed”, no “zero risk” |
| 6 · Did someone else send you the app or link? | The installer, download page, login link or QR code came from them; or the domain is a character or two off the official one, or ends differently | You typed the address yourself or opened it from your own bookmark, and checked it character by character. The domain checker can run that comparison |
| 7 · Do they claim to be official but only talk in a private chat? | They say they are support, an admin or official staff, but only talk to you one to one on Telegram, WhatsApp or another messaging app, and the only “proof” of who they are is a screenshot they sent | You reached them yourself, through the support entry on the official website or inside the official app |
Three things to do after you answer
Whichever result you get, if this involves money or access to an account, go through these three steps before you do anything.
- Leave it for a day. Anything that needs you to transfer, click a link, give a code or sign an approval right now can wait 24 hours, or at least overnight. If the pressure goes up when you stall, count that under question 2.
- Tell a second person. Describe the whole thing from the start to someone with no stake in it; a relative or a friend will do. If you were told “don't tell anyone” or “your place goes if you talk about it”, or you find you don't want to tell anyone, treat that as a warning sign.
- Write your rules down in advance. While nobody is rushing you, write a few and keep them where you will see them: don't open links other people send; give no one a verification code, private key or seed phrase; don't believe a guaranteed profit; wait a day before anything involving money. When the moment comes, follow the list instead of deciding on the spot.
What the result does and doesn't tell you
The result only reflects how many of these seven actions are present. With three or more, stop and step away from the conversation. A yes to question 3 or 4 is enough on its own to stop. With none, all it says is that these seven actions did not show up; a scam that works differently won't be caught by this quiz. If you're still uneasy, go through the three steps above again and confirm who you're dealing with through the official channel.
If you have already sent money, given out a code or signed an approval, skip the quiz and go to Scammed in Crypto? What to Do and Where to Report It. That page deals separately with a hijacked account, a leaked approval or seed phrase, and a transfer you made yourself, and says what to do first in each case. To look things up by type of scam, see the scam guide.