I recently spoke with Sarah. Her story is far from exceptional, and that’s what makes it so maddening. Sarah, a hard-working single mom, is doing everything she can to save for her daughter’s college fund. She put a huge portion of her life savings into what she thought was a great AI-powered crypto moonshot. Publicity on X gave the impression that this was a legitimate product, supported by a verified account, a slickly constructed professional website and a whitepaper even listed on Medium. It looked legit. It felt legit. Until it wasn't. Her wallet was drained, her dreams shattered. The reality behind the project A smokescreen, a house of cards, an elaborate mirage created to rob people like Sarah. This isn’t all just financial, either – it’s the trust that’s broken, dreams that are ruined, and how downright evil these con artists are.

Who Guards the Guardians Now?

This isn’t the crypto space that many envisioned — a decentralized, democratized movement against the dogma of Wall Street’s traditional finance. Revolutions need guardrails. We can no longer continue overlooking these frauds as one-off cases. They are systemic, being driven by greed and made possible by a culture of no accountability. The underlying technology really is transformative. If independent experts determine that a solid foundation of trust and safety isn’t present, it might simply become a new playground for predators.

Think about it: we trust social media platforms to verify accounts, but those blue checks are being weaponized against us. We are used to judgment based on a slick website and whitepapers, but scammers are the best imitators. While we hope for greater transparency among crypto projects, most remain cloaked in the shadows, protected under the veil of anonymity.

And this is precisely where the “unexpected connection” enters. It feels a lot like the early days of the internet. We were sold a golden dream of information and community, but the online realm soon grew crowded with spam, phishing, and malware. We successfully defended ourselves with spam filters, antivirus software, and internet literacy. We are going to need that same level of collective action in the crypto space.

Community Is Our Best Defense

The answer isn’t to regulate more – or at least, not only to regulate. We need community-driven governance. We, the consumers, the financiers, the creators, have to hold ourselves accountable first and foremost for being more equitable and inclusive, for closing those gaps. That starts with creating a culture of precaution, learning from each other and protecting one another.

I'm not suggesting this will be easy. It requires a fundamental shift in mindset. We cannot continue acting on the “get rich quick” mentality and have to adopt a more sustainable, responsible approach to crypto. We all have to internalize and understand that our own success is fundamentally connected to everyone in our community doing well.

  • Community Watchdogs: Imagine decentralized groups dedicated to vetting new crypto projects. Think of them as crowdsourced due diligence teams, flagging red flags and exposing potential scams.
  • Educational Programs: We need to equip people like Sarah with the knowledge to spot scams. This means creating accessible, easy-to-understand resources that explain the red flags, the risks, and the best practices for protecting their wallets.
  • Mutual Aid Funds: While we can’t undo the damage caused by scams, we can create funds to help victims recover. These funds could be supported by donations from the crypto community and used to provide financial assistance and emotional support.

Let's be blunt: social media platforms are complicit in these scams. This is because they continue to profit from the ads and engagement that fake accounts and malicious content create. They have a moral and ethical obligation to do much more to protect their users.

Big Tech Must Step Up Too

It's not enough to simply remove scam accounts after they've already caused harm. In addition to better detection, platforms must take proactive steps to ensure these types of accounts are never created in the first place. And they need to improve their verification procedures. Further, they need to make a powerful statement against the purchase of verified accounts and work with the crypto industry to identify and flag nefarious behavior.

To be clear, our fight against crypto scams is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires a sustained, collective effort. However, if we collaborate, join forces, and coordinate our actions, we can make the crypto space a safer, more secure, and trustworthy environment for all. We can’t allow the next generation of Sarahs to have their dreams stolen by these digital bandits. The time to act is now. Our community depends on it.

Practical Tips to Protect Yourself:

  • Be Skeptical: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • Verify Everything: Check the legitimacy of the project, the team, and the technology.
  • Use Strong Passwords: And never reuse them across multiple accounts.
  • Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): This adds an extra layer of security to your accounts.
  • Store Your Crypto Safely: Use a hardware wallet or a reputable custodial wallet.
  • Report Suspicious Activity: If you see something that looks like a scam, report it to the platform and to the crypto community.

The fight against crypto scams is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires a sustained, collective effort. But if we work together, we can create a safer, more trustworthy crypto space for everyone. Let's not let the Sarahs of the world lose their dreams to these digital thieves. The time to act is now. Our community depends on it.