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Spot the scam

Safety guide · Updated 28 Oct 2026

Spot phishing and fake login links

Phishing is the most common way accounts are lost. A message pushes you to a page that looks like a real login, a giveaway or a trade tool, and the page collects your password, token or code.

The page can look perfect. What matters is how you got there and what it asks you to do.

Warning signs

  • A login, "verify" or "claim" page you reached from a DM, an ad or a giveaway instead of typing the site yourself.
  • A web address that is almost right: extra letters, a different ending, or the real name sitting inside a longer address.
  • Urgency: your account will be locked, the offer ends now, you have won.
  • A request to scan a QR code, paste a command, or download a file to "verify" or "fix" something.
  • A friend's account suddenly sends a link with no context.

Do and don't

The short version. Skim this first.

Do

  • Open sites by typing the address or using your own bookmark, not by tapping a link someone sent.
  • Read the whole web address, especially the part right before the first single slash. Expand shortened links before you open them.
  • Ask the sender on another channel whether they really sent it. A hacked friend's account sends convincing messages.
  • Use a password manager. It will not fill in a password on a lookalike site, which is a useful alarm.
  • Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app or security key.
  • Treat any file from a trade partner as unsafe unless you expected it, and never run a program someone sent you.
  • Report phishing links to the platform, and to TrustDB.

Don't

  • Don't enter your password, token or 2FA code on a page you reached from a message.
  • Don't scan a login QR code someone else gave you. Approving it can sign them in to your account.
  • Don't paste commands or code into your browser, terminal or Run box because a page or a person told you to.
  • Don't download "trade tools", auto-trade bots or value checkers from links in chat.
  • Don't trust a link because the sender has a familiar name, avatar or role.
  • Don't share your screen to "verify" an account.

If it already happened (you clicked, entered details or ran a file)

  1. Stop. Close the page and don't enter anything else. If you ran a file, treat that device as unsafe and don't log in to anything from it until it has been scanned or reset.
  2. From a device you trust, change the password on the affected account and on your email, then sign out of all other sessions.
  3. Remove devices, apps, bots, recovery emails and phone numbers you don't recognise.
  4. Turn on or reset 2FA and store new backup codes safely.
  5. Change the password anywhere else you used the same one. If you entered card details, call your bank.
  6. Tell friends and server staff your account may send spam links until it is secured.
  7. Report it as phishing or account theft. If you lost control of the account, follow the account takeover guide.

Where to go next

The right page on TrustDB for the next step.

Questions

More answers in the FAQ.

General safety information, not legal or financial advice. TrustDB isn't a party to your deals. We don't hold funds, act as a middleman or get refunds for you.

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