I fell for this scam when I first started trading BROT in early December 2024. Here’s how they do it.
I initially bought 10 SOL worth of the BROT, then it dipped 20% to 30% below my initial few minutes after and I decided to add more.
Now, unknown to me, scammers had already sent the same amount of a fake BROT into my wallet.
For example, I had 2,000,000 of the real BROT and they sent exactly 2,000,000 of the fake BROT to my wallet.
I went to Jupiter, and simply selected BROT from the list of tokens in my wallet and bought another 10 SOL. Then, I realised there were now two different BROT tokens in my wallet.
It was at that moment I realised I have fucked up—I bought a wrong BROT that can’t be sold. 10 SOL, gone!
But I recovered it the next day when I woke up to a 3x on my original 10 SOL purchase. It was a huge relief.
Why did I fall for this?
First, I was caught off-guard as I had never experienced something like this before and I can’t say I was careful enough.
Yes, I know scammers send spam tokens to random wallets all the time, but I’ve never imagined myself mistakenly buying them instead of the real one.
I guess I was overconfident and a little bit careless here. After all, I’m an OG, how could I make such a dumb mistake, right?
Secondly, both the real and the fake BROT tokens were unverified. If the real one had a verified mark, I would have been able to easily notice I picked the wrong one.
Third and the most sneaky part, they sent the exact same amount as the real token I already had. If I had seen a lower or higher balance than I originally bought, I would have had to double-check.
How could I have avoided it
These scammers are relentless and continue to bombard my wallet with fake versions of the tokens I’m actively trading. But never again would I fall this cheap trick.
Here’s how I deal with it now
- Consciously look out for fake or spam tokens in your wallet.
- Send them a burn address immediately you find one. But note that they will usually send again and again, especially if you’re actively trading the token.
- Always copy the contract address of a token every time you want to trade it even if you already have it in your wallet. You can’t be too careful.
- Avoid rushing emotions or distractions when executing trades. Always keep your cool, stay calm and deliberate with every click.
If you observe all 4 above, it would be very difficult to fall for this and most scams.
Conclusion
When you receive a strange token in your wallet, first attempt to sell it on a decentralised exchange (DEX). If it can’t be sold, you know it’s a honeypot.
Scammers send you these tokens with the hope that you will mistakenly buy them instead of the real ones, effectively stealing your money.
It’s a simple trick that you can easily avoid by being careful and always verifying the contract address before executing any trade.