Anatoliy Gudcov, founder of a #Web3 digital agency Gudcov.com, shares a real-life story about how he almost got caught—and how you can avoid falling into the same trap.
Hey friends,
Not long ago, a colleague reached out to me — we’re currently partnering up; she has a solid team with strong experience. But, like it often happens, everything was happening fast. She was on the go and said:
“Anatoliy, I can’t hop on right now. Some kind of Chinese version of Meet — can you check it out for me? They said it’s urgent.”
I open the chat and immediately feel like something’s off.
First red flag — the scammer is very enthusiastic. Wants to jump on a call ASAP, says they’re launching five tracks at once: advertising, influencers, academy, content, and community.
That’s way too much, too fast.
Next, there’s a weird call link. Not Zoom, not Google Meet — something like kakaotalk.us.com/....
I send a Google Meet link back. His reply? “Google Meet doesn’t work in China.”
But here’s the catch — he said he was from South Korea. Then he blames the Chinese firewall. That’s a mismatch.
At this point, I just copy-paste the link into #GPT and ask what it is. Turns out, it’s a fake domain — not an official service. I call it out. He backtracks, says “this was a test to make sure you’re cautious,” and then deletes the entire chat.
So what do you do in situations like this? How do you double-check someone without offending them?
It’s important to remember — sometimes people really do have legit tech issues: VPNs, local restrictions, slow internet, or just weird company policies. It happens, though rarely.
If you’re unsure, you can always respond in a polite, open way:
- “Let’s maybe use something neutral — Whereby, Jitsi, Skype, Zoom, Meet — whatever works best for you?”
- “If your platform is easier for you — just send me the name and link, and I’ll check it out or download it if needed.”
- “A middle ground would be great — I just want to make sure we’re using a secure platform.”
That way you’re not being rude or paranoid — you’re just being careful. And it gives you time to verify things without pressure.
Red flags that scream “#scam”:
- Over-the-top enthusiasm right away
- Pushing for an urgent call out of the blue
- Weird or unknown platforms for communication
- Inconsistencies in what they say or where they’re from
- Trying to launch 4–5 initiatives at once with zero clarity
- Avoiding standard, secure ways to connect
We see stuff like this a lot. One of our students got hit by a scammer right after sending his very first outreach message.
So take a second. Slow down. Check the details before jumping in.
Stay safe out there!
