Crypto Flame and Shame: Top 5 Bitcoin Scams and How I Lost $600 in One

🔥 Crypto Flame and Shame: The 5 Bitcoin Scams to Avoid—Plus One Humbling Lesson From Opa

Okay, folks. It’s time for some serious talk—and a not-so-proud moment from yours truly.

We’re all here to travel this Big, Beautiful Bitcoin Journey together. And yes, it’s exciting. It’s revolutionary. It’s full of hope for the future. But let’s be honest: it’s also full of traps, tricksters, and techno-charlatans ready to pounce on your precious Sats.

So before I tell you how I personally fell for a scam (and yes, I really did), let’s lay out the Top 5 Bitcoin Scams every HODLer, newbie or seasoned, needs to watch out for.

🔥 Top 5 Bitcoin Scams (Crypto Flame and Shame Edition)

1. Fake Investment Platforms
They promise ridiculous returns like “Double your BTC in 24 hours!” You see a slick dashboard showing your profits going up-up-up—until it’s time to withdraw. Then poof! It vanishes faster than your lunch money in middle school.

2. Phishing and Impersonation Scams
You think you're messaging Coinbase, Binance, or maybe even Elon Musk himself. But nope—it’s a scammer using fake websites, emails, or DMs to steal your login info or wallet keys.

3. Pump-and-Dump Schemes
Crypto influencers (some with questionable haircuts) hype up a junk coin, pump it to the moon with buzz and bravado, then dump their holdings—leaving you holding the empty bag of dreams.

4. Giveaway Scams
“Send me 0.1 BTC and I’ll send back 1 BTC!” Sound too good to be true? That’s because it is. These scams show up all over social media, often using fake celebrity endorsements and fake comment bots. And this, dear friends, is where I made my very real mistake.

5. Romance or Friendship Scams
Ah, love in the digital age. Someone you “meet” online says they’ve got a once-in-a-lifetime crypto opportunity. They flirt, flatter, or friendship you right into sending them Bitcoin—and then vanish like a rogue DAO.

💸 My $600 Lesson in Humility (AKA: I Got Scammed, So You Don’t Have To)

So here’s my confession. I fell for Scam #4: The Giveaway.

It happened during the 2025 Bitcoin Conference in Las Vegas. Now, I wasn’t there in person—I’m just a humble old guy who prefers to stream the big events from home while sipping herbal tea and daydreaming about funny stories and caricatures.

I was watching a YouTube video that featured Michael Saylor, one of Bitcoin’s most respected and visionary leaders. The video looked legit. Saylor was speaking, the screen was branded to look like it was part of the live conference, and there was even a QR code promising to double your Bitcoin if you sent a certain amount.

Now let me pause right here and say this as clearly as I can:

MICHAEL SAYLOR WAS NOT PART OF THIS SCAM!!!

• He didn’t authorize it, endorse it, or benefit from it in any way.
  

• The scammers simply ripped an old video of him, dressed it up with fake graphics, and used his good name to trick people like me.

• And, well… I bit. I am responsible for what I did (now you know why I draw caricatures instead of building rocket ships).

I sent about $600 worth of Bitcoin into the abyss. No return. No reply. Just me, a blinking screen, and the sinking realization that I’d been had.

I call it “tuition.” Because I learned a lesson I won’t forget:

Never, ever send Bitcoin to someone promising to give you more back.
Even if it looks like it’s coming from one of the most respected voices in Bitcoin.
Even if the setup is slick. Even if the comment section is full of love.
If you send it, it’s gone. Period.

🧭 So What Do We Do Going Forward?

We learn. We warn each other. We stay humble. And we laugh at ourselves when appropriate—because sometimes, the best defense is remembering just how human we all actually are.

Bitcoin is still the most exciting financial development of our time. But like any frontier, it’s got its outlaws and tricksters. So be wise. Be careful. And don’t let a scam be part of your crypto story.

Our Story

That’s our story—and we’re sticking to it. What’s your story?

Please let it not include falling for a Bitcoin scam. But if it does… hey, you’re in good company. 😉