Fraud & scams
Rug pulls: how a project takes your money
In a rug pull the team removes liquidity or dumps tokens after investors enter. The clues are almost always visible up front.
Where the liquidity sits
On a decentralised exchange, tradability lives in a liquidity pool. If the team can drain it, the market can vanish in one transaction.
Check whether liquidity is locked or burned, and for how long.
Token distribution and vesting
If the team and early investors hold a large share, their selling determines the price, not adoption.
Check vesting schedules: a large unlock shortly after launch is structural selling pressure.
- Inspect top holders in the block explorer
- Look for mint, pause or blacklist functions
- Verify liquidity locks and their expiry
Contract permissions that should alarm you
Some contracts let the owner mint infinitely, block transfers or blacklist addresses, making scarcity claims meaningless.
An audit is not a guarantee: it reports found bugs, not intentions.
Soft signals that often hold
Anonymous team without track record, a roadmap full of marketing, bought followers and a community where critical questions are deleted.
None of these proves fraud, but together they form a profile.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is a rug pull?
When project creators remove liquidity or dump their token supply, collapsing the price and trapping holders.
Does an audit protect against a rug pull?
Only partly — audits review code for bugs, not intentions.
How do I see if liquidity is locked?
Via the block explorer and known locker services you can see whether LP tokens are time-locked and until when.
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What are you actually signing?
Approvals, permit signatures and drainers explained, plus how to review and revoke permissions before things go wrong.