The Crypto Promise
Doubling schemes, fake airdrops, celebrity giveaways, and sites that ask you to connect your wallet.
What it looks like
- A video or post: a well-known figure promises to send back double whatever you send.
- An "airdrop" page asks you to connect your wallet and approve a transaction.
- A fake exchange app where the balance rises but withdrawal never completes.
How to spot it
- Nobody sends back double what you send them. This is a forty-year-old trick in new clothes.
- On a page asking to connect your wallet, read the approval screen: a signature granting access to all assets, or unlimited spending, is permission to empty your wallet.
- Crypto transactions cannot be reversed. That is why scammers prefer it, and why there is no way back for you.
- Stop if you are asked to install an app from outside the official store.
What to do
- Send nothing to any doubling scheme.
- Only connect your wallet to sites you use and whose address you typed yourself.
- Never type your seed phrase anywhere — no genuine service will ever ask for it.
If it already happened
- If you connected your wallet, revoke the approvals you granted and move remaining assets to a new wallet.
- If you entered your seed phrase, the wallet is no longer yours: create a new one and move everything remaining, now.
- Keep the transaction hashes and report them to the exchange; addresses can occasionally be flagged.
- Report it to the police.
Common questions
Can I get the crypto back?
The honest answer is usually no. Crypto transfers cannot be reversed, and "recovery services" promising otherwise are a second scam.
The video really looked like that celebrity.
AI-generated video is very convincing now. Judge the offer rather than the source: no genuine campaign asks you to send money first.