Do you remember that post I wrote about taking a break from HIVE? Yes, it was a click-bait but a part of me meant it.
I did want to be away from my phone for a while, probably go somewhere, and breathe in a bit of fresh air. I wanted it so badly, I transformed it into text. It turned out I had fallen in love with this place too much, I couldn't just leave completely.
I delegated my tokens, read articles, but say nothing to the authors, only responded to the comments on my posts, made sure, I submitted my entries for both of my favorite contests (POB-wotw, and DCC tag contests), and that was it.
After successfully submitting my entry for the DCC tag contest, I signed off of my account, the rest was trying to exchange some of my tokens so I can fix myself up for the week, the rest is history.
I won't say I haven't been tempted to write on Hive, since Sunday evening, I have...... I had to hold myself back from everything. I wanted to reboot, re-strategize. So, I kept away, but today, something happened that made me realize, what we have here cannot be gotten elsewhere.
It's like leaving your fiancee for someone else, thinking the new person is better, only to realize, the previous was the best, and you were only blinded by your selfishness, to figure it out all along.
That's what happened to me today. While on my beautiful break, a friend showed me something... believe me when I say it's juicy because it is.
Someone had anonymously added him to a telegram group that is supposedly a P2P group for various crypto coins. The numbers were juicy. Those who sold their tokens were doing so at a price that is guaranteed to make a huge amount of returns for the buyer.
For an instant, one can decide to sell off $300USDT at 380/$, if you have been in cryptocurrency long enough to understand numbers, you will know you can sell it off to another person at 500/$ or more depending on the bargains.
In this group, we found people were selling their tokens at lesser rates, and it was a chance to buy, and resell for bigger returns. It was an eye-opening experience, one that if it worked out, then, we would be having lots of money to buy Hive engine tokens (this was what we said to ourselves... lol)
My friend asked, do you think someone will be willing to sell $30BTC for us? He wanted to test the system and see if it's a scam or not. It was all looking too good to be true.
They had a middle man called the Escrow..... The rule said, after you have agreed with the seller on the price, transfer the amount plus the #200 extra fee(escrow fee), then, once the seller transfers the token to you, the escrow sends his money to him.
So, when he asked me if someone would sell $30BTC to him, I just said we should try it. This conversation took place on Sunday afternoon, I asked him to add me to the group so I can monitor it from my end. We planned to get into it if it works out. We agreed to do it separately, if one of us approaches a seller, the second person should back off. If a situation comes up that needed extra fundings, the other party helps out with a cut.
My telegram is frozen on my phone, the notification was too much, and the fact that it uses quite a large amount of data. So, when I left him on Sunday afternoon, I hadn't logged in to that group, it was only there at the back of my mind.
This afternoon, I felt a hunch to look into the group and see how people are doing. I wanted to message my friend and tell him, I was looking at the group at that time from my end, then, I held myself back, promising to fill him in with the details later.
A few seconds later, his WhatsApp message popped up, he was asking if I was still in that group. I said yes, I was on it right now, reading old chats. He asked me to scroll down, I was reluctant because I had close to 1000 unread messages pending. I wanted to take my time, but he insisted and even asked for a screenshot of the last message.
Now, I am pissed off, why can't you just look at it from your end, dude? I questioned him. I reluctantly send him the screenshot. Then, something caught my attention, it was his name. What? were you trying to tell me, you are about to buy a coin, by asking me to go to the end? I asked him
Then he said, "That group is a scam" What? How do you mean?
He had gone ahead with that $30btc plan, and after transferring the money to their escrow, he was immediately removed from the group. So, when he asked if I was still there, he wanted to see how the conversation ended without him in the picture.
The screenshot revealed after they sent him out, they created a new number with his name, and finalize the transaction for the rest of us to see.
So, he asked that I add him up through a different number, when he gained access, we saw the same person trying to sell another quantity of BTC, can you imagine? So my friend asked him if the last transaction he duped him of his money wasn't enough, he was looking for another victim. They removed him and removed me as well (because I added him up.... hehehehe)
I am wondering what they did after they sent us both out. I wanted to be angry, but, I left it, $30 was a chicken change, at least, he tested the authenticity of the group before we put our entire foot in.
These encounters made us discuss other crypto scams we had experienced in the past, that we wouldn't dare tell anyone then, and how we learn from each one.
In the end, he said this, "OMG, Hive is the only legit business and investment for me, now"
And he is right, hive is transparent to the last drop of blood, there are codes everywhere, that show the extent to which Hive is transparent enough for any investor or content creator.
Every day, quite a great number of folks are victims of scams here and there. When I read the book, "The Art of Manipulation" by R. B. Sparkman, there was a chapter, that taught me a thing about doing money deals with people.
The phrase goes this way, "watch where the money is". This was a tactic that is meant to teach one, how to avoid being taken in financial dealings. The author explained that whoever is with the money is in control, and can decide to do anything he wants to you. I choose to never forget that whoever holds the money holds the power. I'll quote the author directly
As long as you hold the money until you're fully satisfied, things will be done your way. But the minute you let go of the money, you let go of the power.
So things will be done your way only if the other guy wants to do it your way and he probably doesn't.
He knows he's got the strategic advantage. And he knows you can't do a thing, even if he does nothing but tell you to get lost, and spends your money with impunity.
Another thing that makes me skeptical of most scam schemes was a lesson I learned from Law 12 from the book, 48 Laws of Power. This law gave me an insightful story about a con man called Count Victor Lustig. He had visited Al Capone and requested $50,000 promising to double it in 60 days. The count took the money, placed it in a safe deposit, continued with his life. After 60 days, he returned to the Capone, and regretfully told him, he couldn't double the money. The Capone had expected this, what he didn't expect was Count Victor returning his $50,000 to the penny. The Capone was astonished, and he handed $5, 000 to him for his honesty.
People get taken in financial dealings in more than one way. Some con artists use selective honesty, some don't.
I am not writing this article today to dent anyone's image, no, anyone can do whatever they want as long as it puts money in their pockets, and they can sleep peacefully at night.
I am merely writing it to tell you that you shouldn't joke with Hive if you are planning to make the most out of the financial world. It doesn't matter if you joined today, or a few years ago, you should not take this place for granted.
If you have encountered other scam ventures in the past, you should consider taking a step back, and give Hive a try. It's a crypto platform that is bound to outlive other ones. Put your money, time, energy, and resources here, and you won't regret your decision.