We love Telegram, it's a great place to have informal chats about crypto and we can share Acorn news. But as with all social media, there is a dark side to be aware of. Here are our three top tips to staying safe on Telegram…
Pump and dump groups… The groups are led by skilled crypto traders. The groups attract thousands of readers. Often readers are newbies attracted by big influences on social media.
The sight of a large group promising x10 increase in value, encourages newbies to buy before doing research. Once the price is inflated the group leader dumps and newbies can’t react fast enough to sell, losing money.
There may be nothing wrong with giving insider tips on coins, buyers can get quick, huge rewards. However the aim of some groups may be to stir up mass buying, profiting from the hype (when a large amount of people fail to react fast enough to the dump).
Ponzi schemes. The Ponzi scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, who was notorious for using the scheme in 1920’s. In other words, it’s nothing new. But Telegram users do need to watch out for operators promising quick returns. On Telegram, trading bots promising big investments generate huge profit for the operators, but when the business fails, buyers are left penniless.
Pyramid Scheme. A pyramid scheme is a scheme which promises returns on a referral basis. When you refer a friend, you get paid. However there are bots and Telegram feeds that promise quick returns from referrals which in the end, don’t deliver.
Fake admin messages asking for details. Telegram scammers are still impersonating Channel Admin, making conversation before asking for investment details. Acorn admin will NEVER PM you, we always ask for you to message us first before asking for your details.
So what should you do? Certainly not avoid Telegram, but a few tips to stay safe:
Research the offer. Do the operators have a white paper and business plan? For instance: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1PbmmXatTeAODdsWUl4bmRJOW8
Check out their social media - is there a long history, a decent number of followers? Acorn has a https://twitter.com/AcoCollective and a https://www.facebook.com/TheAcornCollectiveICO/ with loads of pictures of real people.
Never respond to a PM from admin, contact them first to check you’re talking to the real person. Check out our Telegram page and meet the friendly admins, http://bit.ly/AcornTelegramChannel
Have you had any bad experiences on Telegram? I'd be grateful for anyone who shares their story too.