How to spot scams in the memecoin space

The one rule that stops most scams

Never sign a transaction or connect your wallet to "claim", "migrate", "verify", or "unlock" anything you did not initiate and cannot verify on-chain. Almost every drainer relies on you signing something — refuse, and most of them fail.

Honeypots

A honeypot lets you buy but blocks selling, often via a live freeze authority, blacklist, or extreme sell tax. The chart looks perfect because no one can sell. Always confirm ordinary wallets have sold successfully and that freeze authority is renounced.

Fake airdrops and drainer sites

Unexpected tokens with a "claim" page are almost always drainers. The claim flow tricks you into a malicious signature. Never interact with a claim site for an airdrop you did not earn, and never connect your wallet to a surprise mint.

Impersonation and fake support

Scammers clone official accounts, bots, and "support" channels. No legitimate project DMs you first to help. Reach tools and projects only through verified, bookmarked links, and treat any unsolicited DM as hostile.

Migration and "new contract" cons

"Migrate your tokens to the new contract" is a classic con — the migration transaction is a drainer. Verify any migration against official, on-chain sources, and never approve a contract you cannot confirm.

Your structural defenses

• Trade from a burner wallet so any slip-up is capped.
• Never sign unverified transactions or approvals.
• Verify links and handles via bookmarks, not search or DMs.
• Confirm others can sell before buying any token.
• Revoke stale approvals periodically.