September is over and so time for some advice and tips. I will be releasing how much I earned from faucets and publish0x tomorrow (October 1st at 8pm ET/ October 2nd 00:00 UTC), so stay tuned!

Core Question

How to spot scams, websites, and malware quickly.

Intro

There are a multitude of ways to spot scams. And we all know the basics, "Look for official stuff like terms of service", "Look for history", "Do research" etc. But, in this post, I'll be talking my 6 ways that I actively use so that I can rule out more scams and malware, and anything unwanted quickly.  

How to spot the scam

You can spot fake websites by looking for visual clues and by doing some of your own research (ever heard of Google?). Here are the basic steps you should look for when deciding on whether a website is real: 

1) Look for official/legal pages. This can include terms of service (tos) and privacy policy.

2) Avoid websites that are single-page. A website that contains just 1 page is usually a scam, as legitimate websites often have different pages like about us, contact us, legal documents, FAQ, and so on.

3) Copyright. This is something we sometimes forget to check, but always check the copyright date. While not a strong indicator, scammers usually reuse a template that is outdated and uses static code instead of a simple Javascript code to automatically update the year.

4) Familiarity. I've come across a lot of websites that look practically identical except for maybe colors, or slightly different wording. A common layout I've come across is a website that has something like title, download/sign up button, short description to entice users, a 123 steps guide and reasons, and a FAQ all on the same page. If you feel like a website feels familiar but you have never heard of the name, best to avoid. 

5) Too good to be true. Now, in the late 1990s, when paid surveys started to become a thing, it all seemed too good to be true. I mean, how could you earn just for answering questions. But this kind of too good to be true is more like a faucet claiming that you can redeem maybe .01 SOL every 10 minutes (that is about $1.20 as of the time of writing this). No faucet would let you do that. Meanwhile, surveys can, because they operate as an investment from the platform in order to improve their product or research to hopefully make more money later.

6) Always read the legal documents. If your suspicious site has legal documents, always read them. Look them over and make sure you fully understand it. Also, look for any small footer text or something that says you must deposit some sort of amount in crypto in order to withdraw. If you see anything with "deposit to withdraw" in it, immediately close the tab. These are pretty much always scams. Even if it says something like "In order for you to withdraw, we require $5 of deposits in order to prevent abuse." Exactly what kind of abuse? A bot and human could both do that. Anything requiring deposit to withdraw is a no go.

Things to keep in mind

While these are good tips, this is not a guaranteed scam-preventing method. It just helps out a bit more. Of course, if something feels off, even if it passes everything, avoid it. Having peace of mind is more important than trying to make a quick buck off a site you're not completely sure about.