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An ICO scam got me for 2 Ether. Going to be upfront about how it all happened so you can try to avoid the same thing. You may call me stupid, but I knew the risks when I did this.
You would think I would be pissed off, and I am a little. But, I am just disappointed. ICO scams are a big criticism about crypto and something keeping many people from entering.
We all want to make money investing in crypto. To continue to do this, we need new people, new money, and continued interest. People being scammed is not the way to do this.
Here is how the ICO scam happened.
First, a person contacted me on Reddit.
So I went into the Discord group, noticing there were 10 members when time logged in and the name was CE Pooling. I was skeptical knowing of all the ICO scamms out there. Then it got a little weird.
Four of the members interviewed me over voice chat. They wanted to know my background in crypto, coins I invested in, what some of my strengths are, and how long I have been doing this.
They then told me about the group and that each member pulled their own weight somehow. Either researching, contacting people creating coins, or investing experience. I was to be a researcher.
My job was to research upcoming ICO’s and send info to him through Discord. So, this is what I did for a little over a week.
I was still not sure if this was legit. That several people took the time to interview me, seemed like a lot of work to go to for a scam. People were also doing research and talking in the group.
During the second week they said there was an ICO to get into, which was Quarkchain.
Each member could contribute as much Ethereum as they wanted, but there was a minimum contribution of 10 Ethereum. No way was I going to send that much.
I informed the main person (William) that 2 Ether was all I could send. I knew none of these people and want to see results before contributing more. William said that would be fine.
May 18th I sent my 2 Ether.
For the next 2 weeks I continued to send them ICO information. There was still talk in the group from all the members.
Then one day I opened Discord to send more ICO info, and the group had gone missing. I knew right then; they f**ked me.
And there it is, the whole story. Their ICO scam worked. Do I feel stupid?
No, I knew the risks when I did it. I looked at it like a risky investment. If it worked, that would be great, if not, then so be it.
The people in the pooling group can’t be blamed entirely either. There is no regulation, so they were not breaking any laws. Other than being immoral assholes.
I will not be taking part in any ICO Pools for a long time if ever. This does not mean I do not want to invest in ICO’s. Regulation is something that can help keep an ICO scam from happening. But that is not addressing the real issue.
Having to be an Accredited Investor to invest in ICO’s is the problem. As long as that is in place, people will continue to look for ways to get into ICO’s. Pools will be the best way.
This is what it takes to qualify as an Accredited Investor– One must have a net worth of at least $1,000,000, excluding the value of one’s primary residence, or have income at least $200,000 each year for the last two years (or $300,000 combined income if married)
Many people are missing out on great investment opportunities because they do not meet these criteria. This is not only for crypto, but for many other investments.
They say the reason for it is to protect people. Not allowing for them to lose money they can not afford to lose
The government is telling us where and how to invest our own money, and it has to change.
There are financial advisors out there that do not meet the accreditation standards. Yet, they can tell people how and where to invest their money. F**k that.
If people do not make enough money to qualify as an accredited investor, does that mean they are not smart enough to invest their own money?
If you can not do what you want with your money, then who is in control?
We need to get rid of this outdated Accredited Investor label.
Otherwise, people will continue to find a way to invest in things not allowed to them.