While some traders or even HODLers have made millions, the niche appeal of meme coins and their potential for manipulation makes the asset class an obvious target for malicious operators. In this guide, we cover how to spot meme coin scams, how to stay safe trading meme coins, and what to do if you are the victim of a meme coin scam.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
➤ Meme coins attract scams due to their speculative nature, social media influence, and the potential for quick profits.
➤ Anonymous teams, unrealistic promises, lack of liquidity, aggressive marketing, and unaudited contracts are common signs of meme coin scams.
➤ Investors should stay informed, verify sources, assess community sentiment, and start with small investments to minimize risk.
➤ Victims should stop interactions, document everything, contact security experts or authorities, and take steps to secure their remaining assets.
What are meme coin scams?
A meme coin scam is any dishonest scheme or fraud involving meme coins. Due to the negative attention these scams bring, many crypto enthusiasts have expressed their exhaustion with meme coin trading as a whole and how the prevalence of scams hurts the entire industry.
Because of their unique nature, meme coins are a honeypot for scams. People trade them despite the risks because of FOMO (fear of missing out), speculation, and the chance to turn small investments into large profits. Their low entry cost and social media influence further fuel their appeal.
In 2024, cryptocurrency users lost over $500 million to meme coin scams.
What are meme coins?
A meme is an image, video, or piece of text, typically humorous in nature, that internet users share. Meme coins are cryptocurrency coins or tokens that are based on memes — traditionally.
However, meme coins have acquired a broader definition to include any coin or token with no inherent utility. The value of a meme coin is determined by market demand and speculation, and they are usually bought for amusement, social interaction, and the expectation of large profits.
How to spot meme coin scams
It is important to learn how to recognize the various types of meme coin scams. Here is a list of the various signs that you can use to spot scams.
1. Anonymous creators
One of the most obvious ways to tell if a meme coin will result in a scam is if the team is anonymous or unverified. When there is a lack of transparent information about the project’s team members or their credentials, it becomes difficult to hold them accountable.
2. Unrealistic promises
Meme coin scams often entail overhyped claims of astronomical returns with little explanation of how they’ll be achieved. This can also be associated with unrealistic tokenomics, such as an excessively large token supply or a disproportionate allocation to the team.
In the former scenario, tokens may have a supply in the trillions or quadrillions; in the latter, the team will usually hold more than 50% of the total supply.
3. The absence of a clear direction
Another red flag is a lack of detailed plans for the project’s development, technology, and long-term vision. Although meme coins typically have no utility, those that do still need a clear direction and a working product.
If a project relies solely on marketing and promises without a functional prototype or minimum viable product (MVP), or offers inconsistent or vague information or conflicting details across different platforms or communications, the project might be a scam.
4. Aggressive promotion/pressure tactics
Scammers often create a sense of urgency, encouraging quick investment and thus limiting time for due diligence. This method may rely heavily on paid advertisements, influencer marketing or celebrity endorsements, and social media hype. There may also be claims of collaborations with well-known companies or figures that are unconfirmed.
5. Suspicious website or platform
Poorly designed websites, misspellings, or URLs that closely mimic legitimate projects are telltale signs that a meme coin may be a scam. Shoddy websites are signs of a rushed project. On the other hand, legitimate projects will take time to create a full-fleshed-out platform that is appealing to the user.
6. Lack of engagement
The absence of community discussions or interactions on official channels is common for new and unknown projects. However, this phenomenon is also common with scam meme coin projects.
This is especially true on sites like X (formerly Twitter), Discord, and Reddit. These projects often create bots to comment on their posts, creating a false sense of engagement.
7. Lack of audits
In 2025, it is incredibly easy to launch tokens, thanks to platforms such as Pump.fun. Some meme coin scams may create bad smart contracts that allow scams. This scenario is difficult to spot if you are not a developer. Therefore, many legitimate projects will audit their tokens as a sign of good faith.
If a project does not have a code audit, it may be a sign that you are engaging in a scam. However, it is important to remember that even safe token contracts do not prevent meme coin scams on secondary markets.
8. Lack of liquidity
When a meme coin has low liquidity, it may be a sign of an impending rug pull. In this situation, a creator will launch a liquidity pool with their meme coin and a more established token (e.g., ETH, SOL, etc.) as a trading pair. They will only place a limited amount of the quote token in the pool and a large supply of the base token (the meme coin).
As investors deposit the quote token, the price of the base token increases. They will then remove the quote token, leaving the meme coin (base token) worthless. Although this does not always indicate a project is a scam, you should exercise caution when trading in low liquidity pools.
Types of meme coins scams
Not all meme coin scams are created equally and scammers will go to great lengths to steal your money. Here’s a look at the various types of threats that exist.
Rug pulls
A rug pull is a type of crypto scam in which the developers of a project suddenly abandon it and disappear with investors’ funds, leaving them with worthless tokens. Rug pulls involve a broad category of actions and can also involve various types of other scams. The practice typically involves the following steps:
- A creator launches a meme coin project.
- They then promote it heavily to attract investors.
- Investors buy in using a variety of methods.
- Once the money is collected, the developers disappear or abandon the project.
The common factor in rug pulls is that they all end in the same way. Traders are left holding the bag while token launchers make off with the real value, the price drops, and the project is abandoned.
Fake presales
A crypto presale is an early stage in a cryptocurrency project’s lifecycle where tokens are offered to investors before they become available to the general public. Presales occur after private sales but before public offerings like initial coin offerings (ICOs), initial DEX offerings (IDOs), or initial exchange offerings (IEOs).
A presale is a fundraising mechanism for blockchain projects in their early development stages. Projects typically offer crypto at a discounted price compared to the public sale. This strategy incentivizes early investment.
With fake presales, scammers create hype around a new token, collect funds for early purchases, and then vanish without delivering the promised tokens or abandon the project altogether.
Pump-and-dump schemes
A pump-and-dump scheme occurs when manipulators artificially inflate a token’s price through false hype or wash trading, then sell off their holdings, causing the price to crash. You can typically recognize a pump-and-dump scheme by the following traits:
- An influencer or token creator promotes a crypto with a low market cap as a potential game-changer or hot ticket.
- After the followers buy, the influencers and token launchers sell their holdings at inflated prices.
- The price of the token drops, the token creators and influencers abandon the project, and holders are left with worthless tokens.
Pump-and-dump schemes often involve coordinated shilling: groups of traders or bots flood social media with false messages exaggerating a meme coin’s profit potential.
Celebrity-backed meme coins
With celebrity-backed meme coins, scammers create tokens falsely associated with celebrities to attract investors. The following scenarios can all be categorized as celebrity-backed meme coin scams:
- A meme coin scam falsely claims support or a partnership with a celebrity.
- A token launcher impersonates a celebrity to promote a meme coin.
- A celebrity launches a meme coin only to pump and dump it.
We use the term celebrity to define anyone of significant notoriety, but this type of scam can also apply to an influencer or key opinion leader (KOL). Celebrity-backed meme coin scams are a popular method for scammers. Sometimes, the celebrities themselves are involved in the scam.
These scams can involve a hacker taking over the celebrity’s social media account. However, another favored method is actually to pay the celebrity to promote the meme coin.
Scammers may also attempt to bribe celebrities to gain access to their social media accounts for a limited time. With this method, celebrities will often claim that they were hacked to avoid accountability.
Phishing attacks
Scammers will often create fake versions of popular tokens or meme coins and use phishing techniques to steal funds. Because of the open nature of blockchains, phishing scams are unavoidable to some degree. Anyone can create a token that resembles an official cryptocurrency.
In the example above, you can see fake TRUMP tokens. However, as the official TRUMP token exists on Solana, these tokens on Ethereum are clearly meme coin scams.
Frontrunning (sniping) bots
Frontrunning or sniping bots are computer programs that execute transactions before users can execute their own. These bots exploit the mempool to frontrun or get in front of transactions and manipulate prices.
A great example of this is when a meme coin launches, a bot will create a large amount of transactions to buy the token before other users can. They will then turn around and sell the same tokens as other buyers come in. This influx of new buyers inflates the price, after which the bot will sell for a profit.
Sniping bots may monitor the blockchain for new token drops, or token launchers may operate the bots themselves to snipe their own tokens.
I think the public not knowing that you have these clandestine activities with these side wallets going on is inherently kind of messed up. And the project controlling the project’s price is a weird kind of price manipulation where you go “Oh, if it’s too high, we’ll clip some off the chart.” — Coffeezilla: The LIBRA interview
In an interview with Coffeezilla, one of the creators of the LIBRA token (Hayden Davis) admitted that his team sniped their own token and that it is a common practice among token creators.
The image below shows the distribution of LIBRA. Each bubble is a wallet, and its size is proportional to the number of tokens in the project. The arrows represent transfers, and the clusters are the associated or connected wallets. Here, you can see that the LIBRA token is highly concentrated on a few holders.
In the following image, you can see that the LIBRA token snipers and creators were also involved with the MELANIA token. As stated previously, a project’s creator or random bots can snipe a project. However, it is becoming a common practice for teams to create tokens with the intention of sniping.
Other meme coin scams
There are a plethora of meme coin scams out there. In brief, some we haven’t yet mentioned include:
- Honeypot scams: Tokens are designed to allow buying but prevent selling, trapping investors’ funds.
- Airdrop scams: Fraudulent airdrops are used to distribute worthless or malicious tokens.
- Private group alpha: A scenario in which scammers lure investors into exclusive groups to steal their money.
- Social engineering: Scammers may engage in deception to manipulate individuals into buying meme coins.
As long as meme coins remain popular, there will always be a new scam. In the end, all meme coin scams result in investors losing funds and token creators reaping the benefits.
How to stay safe from meme coin scams
Avoiding meme coin scams requires careful research and smart decision-making. Here are some key strategies to protect your investments.
To stay safe from meme coin scams, do the following:
- Stay educated around meme coin scams.
- Avoid emotional investing and DYOR.
- Assess the community sentiment.
- Only use official sources.
- Segregate your assets and start with small investments.
Avoiding meme coin scams
Stay informed and educated about scams: Your first line of defense in order to avoid meme coin scams is to stay informed. Understand the various scams out there and stay updated on any new ones. You can follow reliable sources like ZachXBT, Ogle from GlueNet, Samczsun, and others.
Control your emotions: Avoid making decisions based on FOMO (fear of missing out). Take the time to evaluate a project’s legitimacy and potential risks.
Do your own research (DYOR): An important part of avoiding scams is researching. Look for projects with a transparent team, a well-documented whitepaper, and a clear roadmap. Verify their online presence, any established partnerships, and code audits.
Assess the community sentiment: Participate in online discussions and forums to understand public perception. A high number of complaints or negative feedback may indicate red flags.
Only use official sources: Stick to verified project websites and social media accounts to avoid falling for phishing scams. Double-check official token addresses as well. It is easy to replicate a token name and ticker but virtually impossible to replicate a token address.
Start with small investments: If you are unsure of a meme coin’s legitimacy, test the project by initially investing a small amount to reduce exposure to potential losses. You should also segregate your assets when investing. Spread out your crypto in separate wallets; only use a hot wallet for investing, and store the rest in cold wallets.
To protect yourself from these scams, always conduct thorough research, be skeptical of unrealistic promises, and use trusted wallets and exchanges.
What to do if you are scammed
Unfortunately, if you are the victim of a meme coin scam, you may not have many options. That is why it is important always to take precautionary measures. However, if you are the unfortunate victim of a meme coin scam, here is what you can do.
1. Stop all interactions
If you are the victim of a meme coin scam, the first thing you should do is immediately stop trading the token, stop using the wallet/address that interacted with the token, or cease contact with the scammer.
2. Document everything
The next step may be difficult for some users, but you should also create a file or folder containing the events and addresses involving the scam. Record the address of the token, the address of the contract creator (if applicable), and the associated transactions (e.g., outgoing transactions or rug pull), conversations, or anything else involving the scam.
3. Contact a security expert
If you are the victim of any scam, it is important to be vocal about it. This prevents others from falling victim to the same schemes. You can create a social media post, contact authorities, stablecoin issuers, bridges, or exchanges, or get in touch with security experts.
Exposing scams and scammers is an important part of the recovery process. Therefore, it is important not to feel embarrassed about the incident, regardless of how inexperienced or advanced you are. Come forward — you may be saving someone else.
It is important to note that large-scale hacks tend to take priority. If the hack is not large enough, you may not receive a response or action after contacting someone.
4. Sanitize
Lastly, you should sanitize your operation. This means:
- Rotating funds in the affected wallets or devices
- Creating new addresses
- Purchasing new devices to manage your cryptocurrency (e.g., phone, wallet, PC)
- Revoking any wallet or website permissions, removing cookies, etc.
Do not remain silent
Meme coin scams are the unfortunate reality of a decentralized world. It is nearly impossible for the average user to remain aware of the growing amount of scams present in the market. However, you can practice good operational security and investing practices in order to protect yourself as much as possible.
If you are the unfortunate victim of a meme coin scam, do not remain silent; cease all activities and record the incident. While this may not guarantee the recovery of your funds, it can help others avoid the same exploitation.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. Trading meme coins is a high risk activity. Always do your own research (DYOR).
Frequently asked questions
A meme coin scam is any dishonest scheme or fraud involving meme coins. Meme coin scams can be direct or indirect. This means the meme coin itself can be a scam, or circumstances around the meme coin can be used for exploitation..
You can spot meme coin scams by researching. Understand the different types of scams to recognize when a project is legitimate or not. Many meme coin scams are not transparent, lack a clear direction or documentation, and often attempt to capitalize on legitimate projects or an individual’s celebrity.
Immediately cease all interactions and communications. Document the scam and contact the relevant authorities. These actions will not guarantee the recovery of funds but can help prevent future scams.
Disclaimer
In line with the Trust Project guidelines, the educational content on this website is offered in good faith and for general information purposes only. BeInCrypto prioritizes providing high-quality information, taking the time to research and create informative content for readers. While partners may reward the company with commissions for placements in articles, these commissions do not influence the unbiased, honest, and helpful content creation process. Any action taken by the reader based on this information is strictly at their own risk. Please note that our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimers have been updated.
