What to do if you have received a counterfeit token
What to do if you have received a counterfeit token
A counterfeit token has no value, and its appearance in your wallet does not by itself mean that your wallet has been compromised. The risk comes from what happens next: requests for payment, and websites that ask you to connect your wallet. These steps are in order of priority.
1. Do not pay anyone
No one can unlock, release, convert or withdraw the value of a counterfeit token, because it has none. Anyone who asks you for a fee, tax, gas deposit or verification payment to do so is attempting a further fraud. This includes people who say they are investigators, lawyers, police officers, regulators or exchange staff. Read how recovery scams work.
2. Check whether the token is genuine
Open the token in your wallet or on a block explorer and find its contract address. Compare it, character by character, with the official contract addresses listed on our home page. If the token is called USDT or USDC and its contract address is different, it is counterfeit. You can also search our register by contract address.
3. Do not interact with the token
Do not try to sell, swap or send the token, and do not connect your wallet to any website that claims to support it. Counterfeit tokens are often used to lead people to websites that request a token approval or a signature. That approval can then be used to take your genuine assets.
4. Revoke token approvals
If you have approved a contract or website connected with the token, revoke that approval. Most wallets show active approvals in their settings. Block explorers also provide a token approval tool for each chain. Revoking an approval requires a small network fee paid from your own wallet. It never requires a payment to anyone else.
5. Report it
- To the police or the national fraud reporting service where you live. In the United Kingdom, this is Report Fraud. In the United States, this is the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). In Israel, the Israel Police accepts online complaints through the government services portal.
- To Chainabuse, a public database of reports about scam addresses.
- To any exchange or platform involved, so that it can review the accounts concerned.
- To your bank, if you paid anyone by card or bank transfer.
6. Keep records
Keep screenshots of your wallet, the contract address, the transaction hashes, every message you received, and the details of anyone who contacted you. Scammers often delete their messages and accounts, so keep copies now.
7. Get independent help if you need it
You can contact us to tell us what happened. Contacting us is free, optional, and only one of the options above. We will never ask you for your seed phrase or private key.