What does this topic help you check?
A familiar profile, friendly conversation or polished account screen can be copied. The library below separates the stories so you can recognise the next request. If you already shared access, use the response guidance as well as the matching scam page.
Where could you start?
A message claims that a backup must be checked today. The useful question is whether it asks you to disclose recovery words. You can refuse that request without proving who sent the message.
How do the checks fit together?
Which guides can you read now?
- What is the message asking you to give up?
Look past the story to the request. A message that asks for secrets, remote access or another payment deserves a pause, even if it looks familiar.
- How do you recognise fake support?
Treat unsolicited support as unverified. End the contact if it asks for recovery words, private keys, security codes, remote access or a payment to fix access.
- How can a wallet approval become a trap?
On token networks, an approval can let another address or contract spend the specified tokens. Reject requests when you cannot explain the spender, asset or permission being granted.
- What makes a free-token claim suspicious?
An unexpected token or reward message creates no obligation to claim anything. Leave the request alone if it asks for recovery words, unexplained permissions or a payment to release a reward.
- How do you check who a message is really from?
Treat the name and photograph as unverified. Confirm a sensitive request through a separate channel you already know, especially when payment details or urgency have changed.
- When does an online relationship become a payment trap?
Pause when a new online relationship turns into instructions to send money or use a supposed investment platform. Keep the decision outside the relationship by involving someone you trust.
- How can a fake platform look convincing?
A polished app or visible balance does not prove that funds are held or withdrawals will work. Check the operator independently and stop if another payment is demanded to release access.
- Why would a website ask for your recovery phrase?
A website asking you to validate, synchronise or claim funds by entering recovery words is asking for spending secrets. Leave it and use independently located recovery documentation.
- What should you do if you think you have been scammed?
Stop the contact and further payments, then use independently verified help to protect affected access. Preserve evidence and report to local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. You do not need to solve the scam before asking for help.
- How can a SIM swap put wallet accounts at risk?
A SIM swap moves your phone number to a device controlled by someone else. It can expose calls and text-message login codes; it does not itself reveal an offline wallet backup.
- Why should you check a QR code before paying?
A QR code can carry a website link or payment details. Scanning it does not prove who placed it there or whether its destination matches your intended payment.
- What if a pasted wallet address changes?
Malicious software can replace a copied receiving address with an attacker-controlled destination. Compare the full destination at approval and stop if it differs from the recipient you intended.
- How can a browser extension steal wallet access?
A fake or malicious extension can imitate a wallet or request access to sensitive browsing information. Verify its source and permissions before installing, and never enter recovery words because a message tells you to update.
- Why should you avoid copying an address from history?
Address poisoning places a misleading address in activity you might later copy. Obtain the destination from the intended recipient, rather than treating a history entry as your address book.
- Why is a send-first giveaway a warning sign?
A giveaway that requires you to send funds to receive more is asking you to trust an unsupported promise. Do not pay to qualify, even when the account, livestream or conversation looks familiar.
- What can a fake mining dashboard hide?
A dashboard claiming that remote machines are mining for you does not prove the machines, activity or displayed balance exist. Be cautious when access depends on sending funds to an operator you cannot verify.
- Why are guaranteed payouts a scam warning?
A promise of guaranteed payouts is a reason to stop and check. In a Ponzi scheme, money from newer participants pays earlier ones instead of the activity claimed by the promoter.
- How can a pump group turn trust into a trap?
A pump-and-dump group uses hype to attract buyers while promoters can sell into that demand. Private-group access and a scheduled announcement do not put you on equal terms with the organisers.
- Why would a job ask you to deposit crypto?
A job that asks you to deposit your own funds to complete tasks or release pay is a warning sign. Stop paying and verify the employer through a route outside the recruiter's message.
- What should you do about a threatening sextortion email?
Do not pay or follow links in a threatening email. Preserve it, seek support and use official police or fraud-reporting routes. A claimed recording or an old password does not by itself prove the sender controls your device.
- How can a recovery offer become another scam?
An unsolicited offer to recover stolen funds can be another attempt to take money or secrets. Do not pay an upfront release fee or share recovery words with someone claiming to trace your wallet.
- What warning signs can precede a rug pull?
A rug pull is a scam in which people behind a token or project withdraw support or funds and leave others exposed. A familiar name or active community does not establish that a working product or reliable controls exist.
- Which scam red flags should make you pause?
Pause when a request pressures you to hand over secrets, access or funds. A warning sign is enough to stop and verify; you do not have to prove the entire scam first.