This comprehensive guide explains rug pull scams in cryptocurrency, where developers abandon projects leaving investors with worthless tokens. The article distinguishes between soft rug pulls involving misleading promises and hard rug pulls as premeditated theft schemes. Readers learn to identify common manipulation tactics including artificial hype, developer silence, and unlocked liquidity pools that enable fund drainage. Real-world cases like OneCoin, Thodex, and Squid Game demonstrate various scam methods and their devastating impact. Critical red flags covered include anonymous teams, unaudited smart contracts, restricted selling mechanisms, and unrealistic profit promises. The guide emphasizes that while hard rug pulls constitute criminal fraud in most jurisdictions, recovery remains extremely difficult due to cryptocurrency's decentralized nature. By conducting thorough due diligence—verifying locked liquidity, researching team credentials, and analyzing project fundamentals on platforms like Gate—inve