The Crypto Influencer Scam Playbook
Most influencers aren’t concerned about your profits—they care about their payouts. Here’s how they manipulate you:
1. Secretly Paid to Promote Garbage
- Token developers pay them in cash or pre-mined coins
- “Not financial advice” is just legal cover
- They dump their free tokens as soon as you buy
2. Fake Trading Results
- Their profits are photoshopped (check their wallet on Etherscan)
- The “live trades” are fake and pre-recorded
3. Manufactured Hype
- Bought followers (90% of their audience are bots)
- Paid commenters pretending to be “happy investors”
Spotting a Paid Influencer: 5 Effective Ways
- “This is NOT a paid promotion!” (It always is)
- Promoting unknown coins (no legitimate crypto project needs influencers)
- Referral links: They get kickbacks if you lose
- Little to no verifiable track record (Where’s their trading history?)
- ✅ Outrageous claims (“100x or I’ll eat my shoe!”)
The Most Dangerous Influencer Tactics
1. The Rug Pull Review Scam
- Promote the coin
- Make the price surge
- Sell at the top
- Then “expose” it as a scam
- They profit from both the pump and traffic
2. The Exclusive Alpha Group Trap
- Charge $500/month for “secret signals”
- Signals are just the coins they’re paid to promote
3. The Fake Giveaway
- “Invest 1 ETH, get 2 ETH back!”
- 100% scam—classic giveaway fraud
How to Protect Yourself
- Do not buy a coin just because an influencer backs it
- Verify if they currently hold the token in their wallet
- Avoid “analysts” who say, “Trust me.” Real traders show proof
- Steer clear of projects with influencer marketing
The Hard Truth
The best “influencers” aren’t traders. They’re millionaire scammers who manipulate retail investors while pretending to help them.
Alex
Formally freelance blogger Alex is passionate writer with interest in Finance and Business, fascinated about crypto following news and covering stories.
