Yes you must be always be on alert. The perfect example of misguided one is on social media. Example you follow an official twitter of certain project, then the scammer will post something related to that on the 2nd page as if they are the 1stu author but the truth is they are scammer who impersonating anf using the post of the original and attaching scam link or airdrop link that users wouldnt notice since they saw the first post and will thought that was just a follow up but in reality its a different person.
Does having official social media account such as Twitter guarantee the legitimacy of the project? I doubt that. Twitter for example now is after money and as such everyone can request and pay for verification badge. You can not tell the difference between the real owner and the impersonator because they're very smart to use very similar Username that one can hardly notice the difference. Project like Luna with reputable and trust official account failed within a twinkle of eye. Yes, bitcoin has no official media accounts and it gain the trust and popularity.
Op, stay off alt coins and stick to BTC to minimize your chance of falling victim.