Web 3 and Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

As I explored through my inbox this morning I came across a link to a Twitter thread. I’m not usually a fan of Twitter threads, I prefer to read an article, not get it in bits and pieces but this one caught my attention, all seventy parts.

NFTEthics laid out in very clear detail the history behind the NFT influencer known as beanie going back some twenty years ago to his earliest known scams in Toronto. He has a long history of scams, hiding behind others, making use of anonymity the crypto world allows for and of course, outright lying.

I did a quick search for his name on Google and found some articles about the thread which also reported that others in the space who had been involved with him or wanted to be are now backing away from him. With his history, he will likely remake himself and reappear when it’s least expected.

The thread doxxed him with considerable documentation behind their statements.

The last name was familiar and took me a while to remember it was the last name of a very colourful Toronto City councillor around the time of the infamous Rob Ford, brother of the current Premier of Ontario. I have no idea if they are related.

The thread got me to thinking.

I’m never against anyone getting an opportunity to start again in life.

New beginnings are important opportunities for anyone who has fallen onto hard times, experienced losses or been caught up in bad behaviour.

New beginnings needs to include a new set of behaviour to effect change.

Web3 can give us the freedom to be any persona we want to be, like me using ShadowsPub where I post. If someone gets to know me well enough they can find who I am without a huge amount of searching.

I use the screen name not only because it speaks to my professional side, Shadows Publishing, but it affords me some level of privacy.

Also makes me aware that my privacy is also other’s privacy. Some will use that privacy to mislead, even scam others.

We have to be cautious with our trust. One of the main markers I use is watching for words to line up with actions. When says one thing and does another it raises red flags with me.

There is a very small handful of people I know online who I would say I have any level of trust in and an even smaller number I would trust without question.

I can’t control what others do, I can control what I do. It’s important to me to live with integrity. It’s important to me the have people around me who live with integrity.

It’s been my experience that the clearer I am about integrity, the more likely I’ll find like minded people around my orbit.

There’s two old adages when it comes to associations, “birds of a feather flock together” and “opposites attract”.

Both of them tend to be true to some degree.

You’ll usually attract people around you who are similar to your standards of how you behave but inevitably you’ll find someone in your orbit who is indeed an opposite.

Often the opposite isn’t obvious, they are sort of the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Beware the Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Our name and reputation are the two things we know for sure in life are ours. Behaving in a way the tarnishes them just doesn’t make a lot of sense.

I don’t mean that I need to bend over backwards to be friends with everyone but behaving with honesty and ethics is my first thought when it comes to dealing with a situation.
**
We have the tools to protect our assets on Web3.**

Those tools will work best when they are coupled with a cautious entry into any new situation and a very health dose of watchful uncertainty.

It’s not bulletproof but it gives you a chance at spotting the wolves in sheep’s clothing in this space.

Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.

She created Prompt A Day to share with others. You can subscribe to Prompt A Day to get started.