Fake token (counterfeit token)

Anyone can deploy a token contract with any name and symbol, so impostors of popular stablecoins and newly launched projects appear within minutes. Scammers list them on decentralized exchanges, promote them as the official launch, or send them to wallets to create fake balances that support other frauds, such as OTC deals paid in counterfeit USDT.

Fake tokens peak around hyped launches, when buyers race to find the contract before the team publishes it, and in sectors with many copycats such as memecoins. Some are also honeypots that can be bought but not sold. The only reliable identifier of a token is its contract address on a specific chain, which should come from the project's official site or documentation, not from search results or a chat message.

Wallets and explorers flag some impostors, and token lists curated by DEXs help, but neither catches everything. A token showing the right name and logo in a wallet proves nothing. Fake tokens differ from wrapped or bridged versions of a real asset, which are legitimate representations issued by a known contract.