Crypto Scam Glossary
Definitions of common red flags and scam terminology used in crypto projects.
Red Flags & Warning Signs
Rug Pull Critical
When developers abandon a project and take investors' funds, often by draining liquidity pools or selling team-held tokens.
Honey Pot Critical
A smart contract that appears legitimate but only allows users to buy tokens, not sell them, trapping investors.
Pump and Dump Critical
Artificially inflating a token's price through coordinated buying and marketing, then selling off holdings to crash the price.
Unlimited Mint High
Smart contracts that allow unlimited creation of new tokens, potentially leading to inflation and devaluation.
Guaranteed Returns High
Promises of specific or guaranteed profit percentages, which are impossible to guarantee in legitimate investments.
Mint Function High
Smart contract function that creates new tokens, which can be abused if not properly restricted.
Blacklist Function High
Ability to prevent specific addresses from trading tokens, often used maliciously.
Admin Keys Medium
Special privileges that allow developers to pause trading, blacklist addresses, or modify contract parameters.
Anonymous Team Medium
Project founders who hide their identities, making it difficult to verify credentials or hold them accountable.
Liquidity Lock Medium
Time-locked liquidity pools that prevent developers from removing funds, providing some investor protection.
Multi-Signature Wallet Medium
Wallets that require multiple private keys to authorize transactions, reducing single points of failure.
Smart Contract Audit Medium
Professional security review of smart contract code to identify vulnerabilities and backdoors.
Token Vesting Medium
Scheduled release of team tokens over time, preventing immediate dumping on the market.
Whitepaper Medium
Technical document explaining a project's purpose, technology, tokenomics, and roadmap.
KYC (Know Your Customer) Medium
Identity verification process for team members or users, adding transparency to project operations.
Slippage Medium
Price difference between expected and actual trade execution, often manipulated in scam tokens.