Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has published safety guidelines to curb the rising incidents of fake tokens. The guidelines detail new crime typologies, techniques, and preventative measures designed to strengthen user security awareness. The guidance emphasizes that superficial token visuals are easily forged and verification should rely on the token’s contract address.
Counterfeit tokens often mimic the name, symbol, logo, and icon of popular projects or memes, transferring to random wallets or exposing themselves on decentralized exchanges to prompt purchases or swaps. Binance notes that superficial token visuals can be easily faked, and the most trustworthy verification method is checking the token’s contract address. On-chain identifiers differ by network: on Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon (the EVM networks), the contract address serves to distinguish tokens, while Solana uses a mint address.
Representative validation tools include Etherscan, BscScan, Solscan, DexScreener, and Token Sniffer. The guidelines also present real-world examples, including Solana meme tokens with different mint addresses, where some users swapped UDST and faced irrecoverable losses.
Binance warns that tokens created just before a price surge or with low liquidity pose higher risk and advises against swapping unsolicited airdrops. To counter evolving threats, it provides ongoing guidance on crime typologies and responses, including protections against address poisoning attacks that manipulate transaction histories. It recommends using smart-wallet spam filters, maintaining an address book, and verifying full addresses before any token swap.
Binance’s stance is clear: token names and icons are not reliable identifiers on-chain, and the contract address must be verified to prevent irreversible losses. Always confirm the chain explorer address prior to any token swap.
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