I. Why airdrop phishing keeps succeeding

Scammers don’t need to hack your wallet; they just need to get you to click "Confirm" yourself. The quieter the market gets, the more people look for opportunities—and the more effective tactics like "claim your airdrop," "whitelist," and "limited-time claim" become. Here are the 5 most common lines and how to check them for yourself.

II. 5 common phrases used in scams

1. "You have an unclaimed airdrop that expires in 24 hours"

Legitimate airdrops rarely pressure you with a countdown. Creating a sense of urgency is meant to stop you from reading the signature details carefully.

2. "Connect your wallet to verify your eligibility"

Simply connecting your wallet usually won’t make you lose your coins, but the subsequent "sign/approve" prompt is what matters. If it asks you to approve an unfamiliar contract to spend $USDT, $USDC or an unlimited amount, close it immediately.

3. "Official support will DM you to help recover your assets"

Official support will never proactively DM you to ask for your recovery phrase, private key, or verification code. Names and profile pictures can be copied, so check the account’s creation date, follower makeup, and verification badge—and, most importantly, compare it with the list of official accounts published on the website.

4. "Transfer a small amount of $BNB for gas first to claim a large reward"

There’s no such thing as free money, and legitimate airdrops never require you to "pay first to claim a reward." This is a classic advance-fee scam.

5. "Scan a QR code/download an app to join the beta"

Only download from official websites and app stores. Don’t click links or scan QR codes shared in group chats or comment sections.

III. Four Steps to Check an Airdrop Message

Step 1: Don’t click the link. Open the project’s official website yourself (via its official social media profile or a trusted aggregator) and verify the promotion.

Step 2: Check the wallet pop-up. If the signature request contains terms like Approve, setApprovalForAll, or Permit, carefully check who you’re authorizing and the allowance amount.

Step 3: Test with a burner wallet. Use a backup wallet with no assets to participate, and keep only long-term assets in your main wallet.

Step 4: Check the contract. Use a block explorer to see whether the contract is verified, whether it was created very recently, and whether it has many reports against it.

IV. A Specific Example

Suppose you see a comment saying, "Holders of a certain meme coin can claim a 5x airdrop," but the link’s domain has an extra letter compared with the official website. After you connect your wallet, the page displays an "Approve" request with the allowance set to "Unlimited." If you confirm, the other party may be able to transfer your approved tokens at any time. The right thing to do is close the page, use a token-approval revocation tool to check for and revoke suspicious approvals, then move your main assets to a new wallet.

V. What to Do If You’ve Already Clicked

1. Immediately revoke the contract’s approval to spend your tokens.

2. Transfer any remaining assets in your wallet to a newly created wallet.

3. Don’t trust strangers who promise to "help you recover" your assets; that’s often a follow-up scam.

4. Keep the transaction hash and report the incident to your exchange or the relevant platform.

Remember: treat any claiming process that asks you to "approve first, transfer funds first, or provide your recovery phrase first" as a scam.

DYOR, not investment advice.

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