Crypto fraud is well documented and repetitive. A handful of patterns account for the overwhelming majority of losses, and recovery is essentially impossible, so recognition is the whole defence.
The relationship approach
Contact through a dating app, a social platform, or a wrong-number message that becomes friendly. Weeks of ordinary conversation before investment is mentioned, casually, as something the person does.
Small deposits first, with real withdrawals allowed. The platform looks professional and works. Losses occur only once the amount is large.
The defence: treat any investment opportunity raised by someone met online as fraud, regardless of how long you have known them.
The fake platform
A well-built site cloning a real exchange, sometimes at a domain differing by one character. Deposits arrive and cannot be withdrawn, or withdrawal requires an unexpected fee.
The defence: reach exchanges through a bookmark or by typing the address, never through a link you were sent.
The signature drain
A legitimate-looking site asks your wallet to approve a transaction that is not what it appears. The wallet does exactly what was requested; nothing was hacked.
The defence: read what a signature authorises before approving, and revoke old approvals periodically.
Giveaways and impersonation
Send an amount and receive more back. This has never once been real.
Recovery services
Advertisements offering to recover stolen crypto for a fee, targeting people already defrauded. A second fraud on the same victims.
The general rule
Transactions do not reverse. Prevention is the only protection there is.