# Risk & Scam Filter

Run this **before** you claim a bounty, connect a wallet, send crypto, or share identity docs.

If any **STOP** fires, walk away. No exceptions for “urgent,” “limited seats,” or “verification fees.”

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## STOP — immediate red flags

- [ ] Asks for **seed phrase**, private key, recovery phrase, or keystore password
- [ ] “Send crypto to unlock / activate / verify / claim” the bounty
- [ ] Payment requires you to **front** gas or collateral with no escrow you control
- [ ] Job arrived via cold DM promising huge $ for little work
- [ ] Domain is a lookalike (earn-superteam.fun vs earn.superteam.fun, etc.)
- [ ] “Support” asks you to screen-share wallet or paste seed into a form
- [ ] KYC upload to an unofficial Telegram/Discord bot
- [ ] Smart contract “approval” for unlimited USDC/ETH to an unknown spender for a docs gig

Any checked → **DEAD**. Log it. Do not engage further.

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## WARN — investigate before continuing

- [ ] Sponsor / org not verifiable (no website, no GitHub org history, brand-new account)
- [ ] Prize pool / contest with unpaid labor and vague judging
- [ ] Payment rail is opaque (“we’ll figure it out after”)
- [ ] Scope ballooning after you start (“also do X for free”)
- [ ] Pressure to skip written scope or NDA that hides payment terms
- [ ] Requires connecting a **funded** hot wallet to a random dApp for a writing/research task

Two or more WARNs → treat as STOP unless you have independent verification.

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## GO — healthier patterns

- Fixed $ amount stated **before** work starts
- Scope written in an issue / brief you can quote
- Payment via known escrow (Algora, reputable freelance platform) or on-chain to your **public** receive address after delivery
- Repo / org has public history and other completed paid issues
- You never need to export or type a seed to do the job

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## Wallet hygiene (Base / USDC)

1. Receive address is **public** only in trackers and invoices.
2. Keys stay offline / in the user’s custody — never in chat, Notion, or agent memory.
3. For approvals: revoke unknown spenders after one-off interactions (revoke.cash or chain explorer).
4. Prefer USDC on Base for final settle; bridge only via known official bridges.

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## Contests vs fixed pay

Contests are optional lottery tickets. When cashflow matters this week, put ≥70% of hunt time on **fixed-pay** rows in `bounty-tracker.md`.