Funny story:

 Sometime last year, I got introduced to a "scheme" that claimed it would pay you in BTC without much work. I didn't know much about cryptocurrency then. I wasn't exactly moved because I have a hard time believing in things that come easily and I'm usually suspicious of things I get easily. So... At some point I started buying the idea because I knew some few persons close to me that were making real money from it. You didn't have to refer. I didn't want to be left behind, so my curiosity kicked. I was told if have to get the application, put in some BTC and then buy a mining machine I got did all the processes voila, I was making money...

... At least for the first three days, I was making money.
After that week, we were told they wanted to make some upgrade to the app, so we won't be able to place withdrawal at the moment... That was when I knew I was in trouble. Just as I thought, the whole scheme "collapsed" and our money was gone. Ignorance did me bad.

So my question boils down to: are cryptocurrency mining machines really real?  I need answers. How do I know what to trust?!