How to Spot a Scam Token

📉How to Spot a Scam Token: Tips from CoinGecko

The cryptocurrency market is developing rapidly, but along with the growth of honest projects, scams multiply.

According to CoinGecko, 98% of new participants cannot recognize fraudulent tokens, which makes them easy targets for scammers.

To avoid losing everything at the very first step, experts have highlighted key signs of tokens to stay away from.

🔹 1. Lack of transparent information

A normal project publishes a whitepaper, states goals, tokenomics, team members’ names, and development links. If you can’t find documentation, code, or people – it’s almost certainly a scam.

🔹 2. Anonymous or fake team

If a project has no team profiles on LinkedIn, no digital history, bios sound too “perfect,” and photos look like stock images, you are looking at decorations, not developers.

🔹 3. Promises of easy and quick profits

Phrases like “we’ll double your capital in a week” or “x100 this month” should only trigger one feeling – alarm.

💬 CoinGecko warns:
“Any project focusing on easy earnings is most likely built on deception, not technology.”

🔹 4. Toxic tokenomics

Check how many tokens the team holds, how funds are distributed, and whether liquidity is locked. If 90% of tokens are with developers and liquidity is not locked – they can just “pull out” everything and disappear.

🔹 5. Honeypot, fees, and rug pulls

🚫 CoinGecko analysts highlight three classic signs of fraud:

• honeypot – a token you can buy but cannot sell. You fall into a trap.

• hidden fees – the smart contract deducts a portion of funds on each transaction. Often up to 90%.

• developers with a bad reputation; if they have been caught in scams, rug pulls, or disappearing with other people’s money – this is a direct red flag.

🔹6. Aggressive marketing and referral schemes

If a project is promoted via Telegram spam, empty memes, and bonuses for invitations – most likely, it lives off user greed, not technology.

🔹 7. No product, no code

The site may look good, but if there’s no MVP, code, or active development – it’s not a project, but a showcase.

💬 CoinGecko advises: “Check GitHub. If it’s empty – likely the project is empty too.”

🔹 8. Fake followers and dead engagement

If a project has 100,000 Twitter followers but posts get about 12 likes – that’s not a community, but a bot farm. And it won’t save your wallet.

🔹Checklist: How Not to Fall into the Trap

Public whitepaper

Live team with real names

No promises of “golden mountains”

Transparent tokenomics

Locked liquidity

Code and product exist

Real audience, not bots

Smart contract without restrictions or hidden fees

If even half of these are missing – don’t invest. Even if the token is rising – it might just be a pump before a dump.

💡 The main thing in crypto is not to fall into a trap. Better to miss an “opportunity” than lose everything.