Spotting fake crypto news and impersonation

Common forms of fake news

• Fake listing announcements — a claim that a major exchange is about to list a small token, timed to push its price up so the people behind it can sell.
• Fake partnerships — a project said to be working with a well-known company, often with an official-looking logo and no announcement from the company itself.
• Spoofed accounts — profiles copying the name, photo and style of a regulator, exchange, project or journalist, sometimes with a handle that differs by one character.
• Fake support — accounts or messages posing as an exchange's help desk, offering to fix a problem if you follow a link.
• Fabricated screenshots — images of posts, chats or documents that never existed. Generative AI tools have made convincing fakes quick and cheap to produce.

Pump groups

Some chat groups exist to coordinate buying in a small token at a set time, then sell into the rush of late buyers. They often spread invented news to attract those buyers. The people who organise them usually buy first; the ones who arrive after the message tend to buy near the top.

If a message urges a group to buy one token at a specific moment, treat it as a warning sign, not an opportunity. In many places, coordinating such schemes can also be illegal.

The pressure signals

Fake news and scams lean on the same emotional levers. Be suspicious when a message:

• Creates urgency — "only today", "last chance", "before the announcement".
• Promises something too generous — free tokens, doubled deposits, fixed high returns with no risk.
• Asks you to act through a link in the message rather than through the official app or site.
• Claims to be secret or early information that "most people don't know yet".
• Comes from an account you did not seek out, especially in a direct message.

Real exchanges and regulators rarely need you to act within minutes, and they do not ask for your password, seed phrase or private keys.

How to verify

Before believing or sharing a claim, check it at the source:

• Go to the organisation's official website by typing the address yourself or using a bookmark, not a link someone sent you. Look for the announcement there.
• Confirm the social account is the real one: check the exact handle, how long it has existed, and whether the official website links to it.
• For a token, check the contract address on the project's official site and compare it with the one being promoted. Copycat tokens often use the same name.
• Look for the same news from several independent, established outlets. One post, however confident, is not confirmation.
• Treat screenshots as claims, not evidence. If the original post or document cannot be found, assume it may not exist.

Never connect a wallet from a message

The most damaging scams do not need you to believe a price story at all. They only need you to connect your wallet to a fake site and sign a transaction. A single approval can give the attacker permission to move tokens out of your wallet.

Never connect a wallet or sign anything through a link that arrived in a message, a reply or an advert, however official it looks. Never type your seed phrase into any website or share it with anyone. If you are unsure, close the page and reach the service through its official site.

If you think you have signed something harmful, move your remaining funds to a new, secure wallet and review the permissions your old wallet has granted. Funds sent on a blockchain usually cannot be recovered.