Other than the sudden appearance of what appears to be a mole, what are the early warning signs of melanoma? Small scab that would resemble the remnant of a scratched mosquito bite with a 1 inch diameter area of flaky, dry skin around it. I would not have been concerned but for my dermo telling me that I am high risk for melanoma as a result of my former sun habits, skin charachteristics and the appearance over the last several years of a multitude of pre-cancers and basil cells.