Red flags in a memecoin before you buy

Liquidity and LP red flags

• LP unlocked and held in the dev wallet (one-transaction rug risk).
• A "lock" with a very short duration or only a fraction of LP locked.
• Liquidity that only the dev funds, with no organic growth.
• Liquidity draining while price holds or rises.
• A huge market cap on a shallow pool (mostly paper).

Authority red flags

• Mint authority still live (supply can be inflated to zero your bag).
• Freeze authority still live (your account can be frozen to block sells).
• "Kept for compliance" excuses for live authorities.

Ownership and holder red flags

• A single non-LP wallet holding an outsized share of supply.
• Many top wallets funded by the same address (disguised concentration).
• Heavy early sniping or a launch bundle buy.
• A deployer wallet linked to previous rugs.

Activity red flags

• Huge volume with very few unique buyers (wash trading).
• Ping-pong trading between a small set of related wallets.
• A chart that only goes up with no successful sells (honeypot sign).
• Trending placement that looks bought with fake volume.

Hype and social red flags

• Aggressive, urgent shilling and "last chance" framing.
• Coordinated identical messages flooding chats and replies.
• Unsolicited DMs offering "alpha" or "support".
• A tired narrative arriving late, dressed as the next big thing.

How to use this list

Run through these before every buy. Treat the LP and authority items as non-negotiable: fail one and you simply do not buy, no matter how good the chart looks. The activity and hype flags are weighed together — the more that stack up, the harder you pass.