Crypto giveaways are everywhere on social media, especially on platforms like Instagram. They promise quick and easy rewards for minimal effort, but many of them are scams designed to steal your funds. I almost fell for one of these schemes, and I’m sharing my experience to help others avoid the same trap.

One day, I saw a post from a popular crypto influencer on Instagram. They were celebrating a milestone and offering a giveaway where you could send a small amount of Bitcoin or Ethereum to a wallet, and in return, you would receive double the amount. The post had tons of likes, and the comments were full of people thanking the influencer for the generous offer.

I was skeptical but intrigued, so I decided to give it a try. I sent a small amount of Ethereum, just 0.05 ETH, thinking that if it worked, I could send more later. After sending the ETH, I waited for the promised return. Hours passed, but I didn’t receive anything. That’s when I started reading through the comments more carefully and realized that many of them were fake—created by bots or scam accounts to make the giveaway seem legitimate.

It became clear that the entire giveaway was a scam. The wallet I had sent my funds to was controlled by scammers, and the influencer’s account had either been hacked or was part of the scheme. I lost my ETH, but thankfully, it wasn’t more.

Social media platforms are full of these types of fake giveaways. The rule I’ve learned to follow is simple: if someone asks you to send them crypto first in exchange for more later, it’s almost certainly a scam. No legitimate influencer or company will ever ask for your funds up front in this way.