Spam and Scam Tokens Across Blockchains – A Deep Dive

B
BlockGuard Team
security analysis tokens scams blockchain
Spam and Scam Tokens Across Blockchains – A Deep Dive

Spam and scam tokens have become a pervasive threat across many blockchain ecosystems. These are tokens created with malicious intent – often airdropped unsolicited into users’ wallets or launched as deceptive projects – to trick victims into fraudulent schemes. In recent years, the prevalence of such tokens has exploded. This report analyzes publicly available data (notably from BlockGuard and industry research) to identify key trends, the scale of the problem, common scam tactics, differences between blockchains, and some of the most notable examples. The goal is to shed light on how these malicious tokens operate and how their growth impacts the crypto space, in a way that’s analytical yet accessible.

The creation of scam tokens has skyrocketed over the past few years. Early instances of airdropped scam tokens appeared around 2020, but the phenomenon truly took off during the 2021–2022 crypto boom. Data from blockchain security firms show a sharp upward trajectory in the number of new tokens that are malicious. For example, over 117,000 scam tokens were deployed in 2022, a 41% increase from the 83,000 seen in 2021 (5 “Worst” Rug-Pulls in Crypto (April 2025)). This means by the end of 2022, an average of 15 new scam tokens were being created every hour (5 “Worst” Rug-Pulls in Crypto (April 2025)). Solidus Labs reported that between September 2020 and January 2023, fraudsters had launched about 211,000 scam tokens, with more than 10,000 created in just December 2022 (The Rug Pull Epidemic in Numbers - 2023 Update | Solidus Labs) – illustrating how the rate accelerated toward the end of that year.

This explosive growth continued into 2023 and 2024. Chainalysis found that roughly 24.4% of all new tokens on Ethereum in 2023 were likely scams, often pump-and-dump schemes (). By 2024, the problem reached unprecedented levels: one report indicated that almost 60% of all new crypto tokens launched in 2024 were malicious (More Than Half of Crypto Tokens, Memecoins Launched in 2024 Were Malicious: Blockaid). In other words, more new tokens were scams than legitimate projects in 2024, which is astonishing. Despite this flood of scam tokens, there is a small silver lining – greater awareness and security measures meant that the total value stolen by scams and hacks in 2024 ($1.4 billion) was actually lower than in 2023 ($5.6 billion) (More Than Half of Crypto Tokens, Memecoins Launched in 2024 Were Malicious: Blockaid) (More Than Half of Crypto Tokens, Memecoins Launched in 2024 Were Malicious: Blockaid). Nevertheless, the sheer count of spam/scam tokens shows no sign of abating as scammers continually exploit low barriers to token creation.

Total Volume and Impact of Spam Tokens

The volume and impact of spam tokens are also significant and growing. In terms of victims and financial damage, scam tokens (including rug-pulls and wallet drainer schemes) have collectively defrauded millions. By early 2023, roughly 2 million investors had lost funds to rug-pull tokens, a number greater than the victims of FTX, Celsius, and Voyager collapses combined (The Rug Pull Epidemic in Numbers - 2023 Update | Solidus Labs). Wallet drainer scams – where a spam token lures users to sign away permissions – stole nearly $500 million in 2024, up 67% from the year prior (How Spam Tokens Drain Your Wallet And What You Can Do About It - BlockGuard Blog). One infamous phishing toolkit called Inferno Drainer impersonated over 100 legitimate crypto projects via fake tokens and sites, helping criminals steal over $80 million from 100,000+ victims (How Spam Tokens Drain Your Wallet And What You Can Do About It - BlockGuard Blog).

image

Scam tokens also generate significant trading activity on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), often through manipulated volume. When Coinbase’s Base network launched, scammers deployed over 500 malicious tokens even before the public launch, which then generated about $3.7 million in trading volume on Base DEXs in a short span (Solidus Labs: Latest News, Social Media Updates and Insights | CryptoRank.io). This highlights how scammers seize on hype – in this case, a new chain launch – to create fake tokens and even orchestrate trades (sometimes via bots or wash trading) to appear legitimate. In general, many scam tokens attempt to get unsuspecting traders to buy in; the total trading volume of such tokens can reach into the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars across the ecosystem. For example, by mid-2023, over 211,000 scam tokens had been identified, and scammers were able to deposit/withdraw funds related to these scams through at least 153 centralized exchanges (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams) (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams) – indicating a broad financial footprint.

While many spam airdrop tokens are not actively traded on major exchanges (their main purpose is phishing), the rug-pull type scam tokens can attract substantial investment before the trap is sprung. A famous case was the Squid Game (SQUID) token in 2021 – a BSC-based token that piggybacked on the hit Netflix show’s name. It raised about $3.3 million from investors during its hype, only for the developers to suddenly drain liquidity and crash the price to zero (5 “Worst” Rug-Pulls in Crypto (April 2025)). This one token alone caused millions in losses, demonstrating how high the stakes can be when a scam token gains traction.

Common Naming Patterns and Scam Tactics

One way to spot a spam token scam is by looking at the token’s name and behavior. Scammers often use very direct, message-like names for these tokens – effectively turning the token name into a phishing message. A typical spam token name might be something like “Claim rewards on XYZ.com” or “Visit ABC to claim airdrop”. For instance, BlockGuard’s database of malicious tokens shows many examples such as “Visit linkget.org to claim rewards” and “claim rewards on pepev2.com” (“Visit linkget.org to claim rewards on Ethereum (0x8a7a…7f9281) Risk Analysis) (claim rewards on pepev2.com on Ethereum (0x5fcd…c53816) Risk Analysis). The token name itself urges the user to click a link or visit a website (often a lookalike of a real service) to claim some fake reward. This is a huge red flag – legitimate tokens don’t include instructions or URLs in their name!

Another pattern is the use of special characters or symbols in token names to attract attention. Many spam tokens include prefixes like *, %, #, quotes, or other symbols at the start of the name (e.g. *“Earn $ETHFI rewards at ethfi.world” or “%Visit LiquidEther.io to claim rewards”) (*Earn $ETHFI rewards at https://ethfi.world on Ethereum (0x9db2…faf06f) Risk Analysis) (%Visit LiquidEther.io to claim rewards on Ethereum (0xd7cc…196fa5) Risk Analysis). Scammers do this because some wallet apps sort tokens alphabetically; a symbol at the beginning can push the spam token to the very top of the victim’s wallet list. By appearing first, the token is more likely to be noticed by the user. In BlockGuard’s listings, examples like *“Claim $AXL Reward at https://axl-token.com” and “-Visit https://usdrewards.org to claim rewards” show this tactic clearly (note the leading * and -) (*Claim $AXL Reward at https://axl-token.com on Ethereum (0xda94…53af06) Risk Analysis) (-Visit https://usdrewards.org to claim rewards on Ethereum (0x8d58…f02331) Risk Analysis). The content of these names often promises a reward (ETH, tokens, staking yield) if the user interacts.

image Word cloud of common words in spam token names (from BlockGuard data). Terms like “claim,” “rewards,” “visit,” and “eth” dominate, reflecting the typical lures (e.g. “Visit… to claim rewards”).

Scam token names also frequently impersonate or reference popular projects, buzzwords, or cryptocurrency terms. We see tokens using terms like “ETH,” “swap,” “staking,” “airdrop,” “NFT,” “DeFi,” etc., within the name to appear related to legitimate trends. For example, a spam token might include “ether” or “eth” in a fake domain (e.g. poolstaked-eth.net or nft-ether.fi), or mention “Airdrop” and “reward”. One spam token in BlockGuard’s database was named “NVIDIA AI” (NVIDIA AI on Ethereum (0xef4f…1355cd) Risk Analysis) – likely trying to capitalize on the AI hype and the Nvidia brand to intrigue users. Another was simply called “RICH (RICH)” (Ethereum Address 0xe84f…a179d7 Risk Analysis), a generic bait for greed. We also see innocuous or trending terms like “COVID” and “Measles” used as token names on certain networks (Search Results for 0x - BlockGuard), possibly to pique curiosity or piggyback on news. In short, scammers are very creative and opportunistic in naming; anything that can catch a user’s eye or imply a connection to free money is fair game.

Beyond names, scam tactics employed by these token schemes include:

  • Mass Airdrops: Scammers use blockchain explorers to find active wallet addresses (for example, all wallets that recently did a transaction) and then airdrop the scam tokens to thousands of addresses (Why would I receive airdrops of scam tokens in TRX wallet? – imToken - Ethereum Wallet, Bitcoin Wallet - Help Center). This shotgun approach ensures at least some users will see the token in their wallet and wonder what it is. As a Tron wallet guide notes, “airdrops of scam tokens are rampant” – scammers target any recently active address with these drops (Why would I receive airdrops of scam tokens in TRX wallet? – imToken - Ethereum Wallet, Bitcoin Wallet - Help Center).

  • Phishing Websites: The token names almost always point to a third-party malicious website. If a user takes the bait and visits the URL in the token name, they’ll find a fake dApp site that asks them to connect their wallet. The site often masquerades as a legitimate platform (for example, a fake staking platform or a clone of an official site) but is really designed to steal keys or trick the user into signing a wallet-draining transaction (How Spam Tokens Drain Your Wallet And What You Can Do About It - BlockGuard Blog). The typical flow was described by BlockGuard and Blockaid: user finds token → token says “Claim your ETH reward” → user goes to provided site → site asks to connect wallet and sign → then all funds/NFTs get drained instantly (How Spam Tokens Drain Your Wallet And What You Can Do About It - BlockGuard Blog). Essentially, the spam token is the bait leading to the actual trap.

  • Malicious Smart Contracts: In some scam tokens (particularly rug-pull types), the token’s smart contract code itself is malicious. These may be coded as honeypots (where only the creator can sell, so buyers get stuck), or have hidden functions that, when triggered, can transfer out users’ tokens. In the notorious Squid Game token case, the contract prevented any selling of the token except by the deployers (5 “Worst” Rug-Pulls in Crypto (April 2025)). This is a different approach from the phishing airdrops – here the scam is in the token economics or code (often called a “honeypot” or “rug code”). BlockGuard’s focus is largely on spam/phishing tokens, but it also flags obviously malicious contracts. (For example, a fake dividend tracker contract was flagged as spam (Ethereum Address 0xd119…59554b Risk Analysis), likely because it fit a known malicious pattern.)

  • Impersonation and Social Engineering: Scammers sometimes name tokens after real ones (e.g., using a real project’s name or ticker) to confuse users. They may also create fake social media profiles or Telegram groups for the token to appear legitimate. While this is more common in outright project scams than random airdrops, it’s part of the broader toolkit. A recent trend even saw scammers hacking verified Twitter accounts of reputable companies (like a cybersecurity firm) and then promoting scam tokens/airdrops from those accounts (Scam Alert: Crypto Hackers Lure Ethereum, Solana & Tron Communities Into Fake Airdrop | Osmy_CryptoT on Binance Square) – showing the lengths they will go to lure people in.

In summary, the names and narratives around spam tokens are a huge giveaway: if a token in your wallet is telling you to visit a site to claim something, it is almost certainly a scam. Legitimate airdrops (from say Uniswap or ENS) don’t require you to go to a strange website and never embed the URL in the token name itself.

Chain-Specific Behaviors and Hotspots

While no chain is completely immune, there are some chain-specific behaviors in how spam/scam tokens proliferate:

  • Ethereum Mainnet: As the largest smart contract platform, Ethereum sees a high volume of scam tokens. However, deploying and transacting on Ethereum can be costly due to gas fees, which perhaps moderates the spam volume slightly (scammers have to spend more to airdrop thousands of tokens). Even so, the scale is huge: about 8% of all ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum deployed in 2022 were scams (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams), rising to ~24% in 2023 () as noted. Many of the phishing airdrop tokens (e.g. those “claim reward” tokens) target Ethereum users, especially those who have interacted with DeFi protocols (since those users might have significant assets to steal). Ethereum is also home to numerous rug-pull token scams (like Squid Game token) where scammers capitalize on ERC-20 standards’ flexibility. BlockGuard’s data shows dozens of spam tokens on Ethereum with names like “LiquidEther” or “nft-ether” or “ETHFI” in them (%Visit LiquidEther.io to claim rewards on Ethereum (0xd7cc…196fa5) Risk Analysis) (*Earn $ETHFI rewards at https://ethfi.world on Ethereum (0x9db2…faf06f) Risk Analysis) – clearly aiming at Ethereum enthusiasts.

  • BNB Chain (Binance Smart Chain): BNB Chain is often considered the most heavily targeted chain for scam tokens. Its low fees and huge retail user base make it fertile ground for scammers. A 2022 report found 12% of all BEP-20 tokens on BNB Chain were rug-pull scams, the highest ratio among major chains (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams). Indeed, BSC gained a reputation for rampant meme coin rug-pulls and honeypots during the DeFi craze. Tokens like SQUID thrived there. A lot of inexperienced users joined via BSC (attracted by low fees), and scammers took advantage. While blockguard’s current spam token list did not explicitly show BSC examples, other sources indicate BNB Chain faces both phishing airdrops and malicious token sales at very high rates (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams) (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams). If anything, BSC users should be extra cautious, as a higher proportion of new tokens are fraudulent on that chain.

  • Layer-2s and New Chains (Arbitrum, Polygon, Base, etc.): Scammers are quick to adapt to new ecosystems. When Arbitrum announced an airdrop in 2023, phishing tokens and websites popped up to exploit the hype (and similarly for Optimism’s airdrop). BlockGuard’s records as of early 2025 show many spam tokens on Base (Coinbase’s Layer-2) – for example tokens named “Measles” and “COVID” on Base (Search Results for 0x - BlockGuard), which might have been part of some gimmick airdrop there. Before Base’s public launch, over 500 scam tokens were deployed as mentioned, showing how scammers “beat users to the network” (Base Network Launch Attracts Over 500 Scam Tokens - Solidus blog) (Base Network Launch Attracts Over 500 Scam Tokens - Solidus blog). Polygon has also seen its share of scam tokens (especially since it hosts many gaming/NFT users, scammers may drop fake NFT-related tokens). It’s worth noting that initially scammers focused on EVM-compatible chains, but by late 2023 they had expanded to non-EVM chains like Solana and Tron as well (Scam Alert: Crypto Hackers Lure Ethereum, Solana & Tron Communities Into Fake Airdrop | Osmy_CryptoT on Binance Square). In Solana’s case, scammers often airdropped fake “NFTs” or tokens to Phantom wallets with links to phishing sites – a similar concept. On Tron, wallet providers have warned that scam token airdrops are “rampant” on TRX as well (Why would I receive airdrops of scam tokens in TRX wallet? – imToken - Ethereum Wallet, Bitcoin Wallet - Help Center). Tron’s active addresses often receive tokens with messages in their name (since Tron supports token metadata) urging them to visit malicious dApps.

  • Bitcoin and Others: Traditional UTXO chains like Bitcoin weren’t a vector for token scams in the past (since Bitcoin didn’t support user-issued tokens). However, in 2023, with the advent of BRC-20 tokens via Ordinals on Bitcoin, even the Bitcoin ecosystem saw a few scam token attempts (though this is still very niche compared to smart contract chains). Bitcoin address scams are more common (like dusting attacks with small amounts of BTC linking to messages), but token-specific spam is minimal. Multichain campaigns are a new trend – scammers create parallel fake tokens on Ethereum, Solana, and Tron simultaneously to cast a wider net, as reported by security researchers (Scam Alert: Crypto Hackers Lure Ethereum, Solana & Tron Communities Into Fake Airdrop | Osmy_CryptoT on Binance Square).

In summary, BNB Chain and Ethereum remain the biggest targets simply due to user count and ease of token creation (with BNB having the edge in sheer scam percentage). But no chain is untouched – wherever there are users and assets, scammers will follow. It’s telling that in a 2022 analysis, 99% of scam tokens slipped past traditional detection, appearing across dozens of exchanges and chains (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams). This cross-chain pervasiveness is why tools like BlockGuard now check addresses on multiple networks (BlockGuard tracks Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, Arbitrum, Base, Solana, Tron, etc. in its database).

To put some comparative numbers in perspective, the table below summarizes what portion of new tokens were found to be scams on various chains and timeframes:

NetworkShare of New Tokens that are ScamsTimeframeSource
Ethereum~8%2022Solidus Labs (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams)
BNB Chain~12%2022Solidus Labs (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams)
Ethereum~24.4%2023Chainalysis ()
All Chains (avg.)~59%2024Blockaid (More Than Half of Crypto Tokens, Memecoins Launched in 2024 Were Malicious: Blockaid)

Table: Estimates of what fraction of new tokens were malicious on different chains. BNB Chain consistently shows a higher concentration of scam tokens than Ethereum. By 2024, a majority of new token launches were deemed malicious overall.

These figures underscore that BNB Chain has a particularly severe issue (even in 2022, about 1 in 8 new tokens there was a scam (Report reveals 12% of BNB Chain and 8% of ETH tokens are scams)), and that the problem worsened industry-wide by 2024.

Notable Examples of Scam Tokens

To illustrate how these scams play out, here are a few notable examples and case studies of spam/scam tokens:

  • “Claim rewards on pepev2.com” (Phishing Airdrop on Ethereum): This was a spam token airdropped to Ethereum wallets in 2025, named “claim rewards on pepev2.com”. The token pretended to be related to the Pepe meme coin. Its name urged users to visit a website (pepev2.com) to claim rewards (claim rewards on pepev2.com on Ethereum (0x5fcd…c53816) Risk Analysis) (claim rewards on pepev2.com on Ethereum (0x5fcd…c53816) Risk Analysis). In reality, the website was a fake dApp likely designed to connect wallets and steal assets. BlockGuard flagged this token as spam with a high risk score. It’s notable because it shows the simplicity of the scheme – just a token with a convincing-enough message can entice holders of popular tokens (Pepe had a big community) into a trap. Many similar tokens exist (e.g. “linkget.org” and “LiquidEther.io” were other domains used in the same campaign (How Spam Tokens Drain Your Wallet And What You Can Do About It - BlockGuard Blog)).

  • Squid Game Token (BSC Rug Pull, 2021): Mentioned earlier, the Squid Game (SQUID) token is one of the most infamous rug-pull scams. It launched on Binance Smart Chain in late 2021, riding the popularity of the Squid Game show. The token’s price skyrocketed as thousands bought in, but unknown to buyers, the smart contract contained a malicious function that prevented them from selling. The developers rug-pulled and drained the liquidity pool, stealing an estimated $3 million and leaving the price of SQUID virtually zero (5 “Worst” Rug-Pulls in Crypto (April 2025)). Solidus Labs highlighted Squid Game token as a textbook example of a honeypot scam token (5 “Worst” Rug-Pulls in Crypto (April 2025)). This case is notable for its scale (many victims and media attention) and as a warning that just because a token is popular on social media doesn’t mean it’s safe – it could be a cleverly designed scam.

  • Inferno Drainer Operation (Multi-chain Phishing Scams, 2023): Inferno Drainer isn’t a single token, but a service that provided ready-made scam websites and tokens for “clients” (other scammers). Active in 2023, it reportedly mimicked over 100 legitimate crypto projects via fake tokens/sites and operated 16,000+ phishing domains, stealing more than $80 million from about 100k people (How Spam Tokens Drain Your Wallet And What You Can Do About It - BlockGuard Blog). This large-scale operation created countless spam tokens on various chains, all using the names of known projects (from Uniswap to ApeCoin to popular NFT platforms) combined with phrases like “rewards” or “airdrop”. It’s a notable example of how scam token creation has become professionalized – essentially Scam-as-a-Service kits that any amateur can use to launch their own fake token campaign. The fallout from Inferno Drainer was global, hitting users on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Solana, Tron, and more (Scam Alert: Crypto Hackers Lure Ethereum, Solana & Tron Communities Into Fake Airdrop | Osmy_CryptoT on Binance Square).

  • Base Network Launch Scams (Base, 2023): As discussed, when Coinbase’s Base chain was in its launch phase, scammers swarmed. Over 500 scam tokens were deployed on Base before the chain was even open to the public (Base Network Launch Attracts Over 500 Scam Tokens - Solidus blog). Names included things like Base’s official ecosystem projects but altered, as well as generic bait. These tokens collectively managed to generate a few million dollars in (often fake) volume within days (Solidus Labs: Latest News, Social Media Updates and Insights | CryptoRank.io). One example was a token named “BALD” on Base that turned out to be a manipulative scheme (though that one’s status as a deliberate scam or just extreme speculation is debated). The Base launch scams are notable because they show how scammers watch for any new opportunity (new chain, popular airdrop, trending meme) and move faster than legitimate users. It also demonstrated that cross-chain movement of scammers is swift – they do not stick to one network.

  • Tron/USDT Airdrop Scams (Tron, 2022-2024): Tron users often reported receiving scam tokens named after TRC-20 USDT or other stablecoins, with messages to “activate” or “unlock” some reward by paying a fee. While not as widely publicized as Ethereum/BSC scams, the Tron community has its own plague of spam tokens. The imToken wallet support specifically warned in 2024 that Tron addresses were being targeted with fake reward token drops that include fraudulent messages luring users to malicious sites (Why would I receive airdrops of scam tokens in TRX wallet? – imToken - Ethereum Wallet, Bitcoin Wallet - Help Center). A common trick was a token that appears valuable (maybe showing a high USD value in some explorers) to tempt the user into trying to swap it – and the swap instructions would direct them to a phishing site or require an “unlock fee.” These examples on Tron highlight that even on non-EVM chains, users see similar patterns (lots of unsolicited tokens with too-good-to-be-true promises).

There are countless other examples – from fake Uniswap governance tokens to scam NFT reward tokens – but the pattern is often similar. The most unusual spam tokens sometimes don’t even pretend to be something big; for example, BlockGuard shows tokens simply named “SSR”, “BORGOBOT”, “LUCE”, etc., flagged as spam on Base (Search Results for 0x - BlockGuard) (Search Results for 0x - BlockGuard). These might be testing different tactics (perhaps those were used in social media spam rather than airdrops). Overall, virtually any buzzworthy event in crypto has a scam token shadow: when Layer-2 airdrops were hot, scam tokens appeared; when “AI tokens” became a trend, we got tokens named “NVIDIA AI” and such; when memecoins ran wild, scammers copied their names or made lookalikes.

What these examples teach us is that user vigilance is key. Whether it’s an obvious “claim reward” token or a more subtle honeypot like SQUID, doing due diligence can prevent disaster. A quick search on a block explorer or a security platform like BlockGuard can reveal if a token is reported as malicious. In BlockGuard’s search, all the above examples are flagged with Risk Scores in the red zone (0.8–0.9) and reasons like “Spam” or “Phishing.” The community often reports these tokens quickly – for instance, the PepeV2 scam token was noted with an original community report in BlockGuard’s notes (claim rewards on pepev2.com on Ethereum (0x5fcd…c53816) Risk Analysis). Similarly, contracts that have malicious code (like Squid’s) are often discussed on forums or flagged by tools like TokenSniffer.

Conclusion

Spam and scam tokens represent a persistent and evolving threat to crypto users across all major chains. The data shows an alarming trend: tens of thousands of malicious tokens are being created each year, accounting for a sizable share of all new token launches. Scammers leverage these tokens as bait – using social engineering in token names, exploiting hype on specific chains, and employing technical tricks – to ensnare unsuspecting users. The trends differ by chain (with BNB Chain historically a hotbed, and new networks quickly becoming targets), but the underlying scams share common patterns.

For users, the takeaway is clear: treat unexpected tokens in your wallet with extreme suspicion. In almost every case, that free token promising you riches is a ploy to make you give up something. Whether it’s signing a transaction on a phishing site or buying into a fraudulent project, interacting with scam tokens can be financially devastating – wallet drainers alone stole half a billion dollars in a year (How Spam Tokens Drain Your Wallet And What You Can Do About It - BlockGuard Blog). Always verify token contract addresses and read what others are saying (tools like BlockGuard, Etherscan comments, etc., often show warnings). If a token’s name contains a URL or instruction, it’s virtually guaranteed to be malicious. Remember that no legitimate airdrop will ever require you to connect your wallet to an unknown site or send back tokens to claim a reward.

On the industry side, efforts are ramping up to combat these scams. Platforms like BlockGuard are tracking tens of thousands of malicious addresses across multiple networks, and security firms are improving detection (Blockaid’s on-chain monitoring, for example, processed billions of transactions to flag 59% of 2024’s new tokens as malicious (More Than Half of Crypto Tokens, Memecoins Launched in 2024 Were Malicious: Blockaid)). Decentralized and centralized exchanges are also starting to blacklist known scam tokens more promptly. However, given how easy and cheap it is to create a new token, this is a cat-and-mouse game likely to continue.

In conclusion, spam/scam tokens have become an unfortunate byproduct of the open, trustless nature of blockchain – anyone can create a token and send it to you, just like anyone can email you a phishing link. But with education, cautious behavior, and the help of community-driven data (like BlockGuard’s spam token database), users can stay one step ahead. By recognizing the red flags – suspicious token names, unsolicited “gifts”, unrealistic promises – you can protect your wallet from these scams. As the crypto space matures, hopefully the community and tools will together mitigate the impact of scam tokens, but in the meantime, stay alert and never interact with tokens you didn’t expect to receive (How Spam Tokens Drain Your Wallet And What You Can Do About It - BlockGuard Blog). Your skepticism is the first line of defense against this wave of blockchain spam.

← Back to Blog