WalletScam types
How crypto scams actually get you
If you got hit, it's not because you're dumb. These tricks are built to fool careful people, and they work on everyone. Our founder got hit by several of them. Here's what they look like.
⚠️ No real company, support agent, "revoke" tool or investigator will ever ask for your seed phrase. We won't either.
1. The clipboard swap
What it looks like: You copy your friend's address, paste it, and hit send. The address that got pasted wasn't the one you copied. Malware on your computer or phone swapped it for the scammer's, usually one that starts and ends the same way.
2. Address poisoning
What it looks like: A tiny "dust" payment shows up in your history from an address that looks almost exactly like one you really use (same first and last few characters). Next time you copy an address from your history, you grab the fake one and send money to the scammer.
3. Drainer sites, fake mints and fake airdrops
What it looks like: "You're eligible for a free airdrop!" or "Mint now, only 100 left." You connect your wallet and sign what looks like a normal approval. Seconds later, your tokens and SOL are gone.
4. Hidden token permissions (approvals)
What it looks like: Nothing happens at first. Weeks later, tokens leave your wallet without you doing anything. An app you signed for long ago still had permission to move them.
5. Fee skimming
What it looks like: A swap or trading app works, but every trade costs a little more than it should. A malicious app adds its own hidden transfer to every transaction and takes a cut.
6. Fake "revoke" and "wallet checker" sites
What it looks like: You search "how to revoke permissions" after a scare and find a site that asks you to connect and sign, or to "verify" with your seed phrase. That site is the second drain.
7. Recovery scammers
What it looks like: Right after you post about your loss, someone DMs you: "I'm a blockchain investigator, I can get your funds back for a small fee." They can't. They're targeting you a second time. The FBI and FTC warn about exactly this.
8. Free tokens that randomly show up
What it looks like: A token you never bought appears in your wallet, often named like a website or "claim your reward." Visiting the site to claim or sell it connects you to a drainer. Some can't be sold at all, or selling triggers a bad approval. Don't click, don't sell, don't send it anywhere. Just hide it or burn it using your wallet app's own button.
How to protect yourself
- Never type your seed phrase anywhere except your own wallet app when you restore it yourself.
- Check the whole address before you send, not just the start and end. Use your wallet's address book.
- Never copy an address from your transaction history.
- Read what you're signing. If a free airdrop wants you to sign, walk away.
- Use your wallet app's own settings to review and revoke permissions. Don't use a site you found in a search result or a DM.
- Keep big amounts in a separate wallet you never connect to new sites.
- If you think your device is infected, scan it or reset it, then move to a brand-new wallet with a new seed phrase.
- Anyone who DMs you offering recovery is a scammer. We never DM first.