Self-custody is freedom — and target practice. Wallet scams stole over $2.1B in 2025 alone. The attack surface has expanded far beyond seed-phrase phishing.
The 12 red flags
- Unsolicited "airdrop" tokens with a withdrawal link.
- Address poisoning — a fake wallet 0x prefix matches your recent transaction. Always paste, never copy from history.
- Permit2 / setApprovalForAll on unknown contracts.
- "Wallet sync" sites asking for your seed phrase to "fix" an issue.
- Telegram bots that ask you to import your wallet.
- Browser extension clones of MetaMask / Phantom / Rabby on the Chrome Web Store.
- Discord DMs from "support" — Discord moderators never DM first.
- QR codes in physical locations offering free crypto.
- Ledger "firmware updates" sent by email.
- Multi-sig invitations from unknown signers.
- "Verified" NFT mint sites with a wallet-drainer signature request.
- Recovery services that promise to "trace and reclaim" stolen funds for a fee.
How to check any wallet
GACS's free wallet checker queries the GACS blacklist plus on-chain analytics for sanctions, mixer interaction, and known drainer signatures. Paste the address — you get a verdict in seconds, no signup.
If a wallet is flagged, the page also shows the linked scams, victim count, and total reported losses. Use it before sending — not after.