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When a free token is the bait

Fake claim pages, tokens sent to bait you, and eligibility checkers that request approvals. How legitimate airdrops differ from the imitations.

By FBT Swap · 5 October 2026

Open the app See the details

        
        Fake claim
        Requests an approval or permit for a token you already hold
      
        Bait token
        Arrives unsolicited and points you to a malicious site
      
        Real claim
        Costs gas only; eligibility comes from a published snapshot

FBT Swap

What you should know

Airdrops are real and people genuinely receive meaningful amounts from them. That legitimacy is exactly what makes the imitation effective — a claim page is a normal thing to visit.

The imitations share a structure that is easy to recognise once named.

The claim-page pattern

A page announces an airdrop, asks you to connect, and then requests an approval or a permit signature to "verify eligibility" or "cover the claim". No legitimate claim requires permission over an unrelated token you already hold.

Some request a small payment to "activate" the claim. That payment is the entire scam, and nothing arrives afterwards.

Tokens sent to you as bait

An unknown token appears in your wallet showing a large notional value. Selling it requires visiting a site named in the token metadata, which is a drainer. The token exists purely to deliver you to that page.

Receiving it is harmless. Interacting with it is the attack.

What genuine airdrops look like

Announced through the project's own established channels, with a claim on its own verified domain. Eligibility is already determined by a published snapshot, so no checker needs permission over your tokens. Claiming costs gas and nothing else.

If you have to find out about it from a direct message, it is almost certainly not real.

Checking before you claim

Navigate to the project's site yourself rather than following a link. Confirm the claim contract address against the official announcement. Read the wallet prompt — a claim transaction should not include an approval for a token you already hold.

If anything does not line up, missing the airdrop is cheaper than the alternative.

FBT Swap never distributes tokens through direct messages and never asks you to connect a wallet to claim anything. It is a non-custodial interface with no token to give away, and it does not contact users first under any circumstances.

At a glance

Fake claim

Requests an approval or permit for a token you already hold

Bait token

Arrives unsolicited and points you to a malicious site

Real claim

Costs gas only; eligibility comes from a published snapshot

Arrival

If you learned about it from a DM, treat it as fake

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Clear answers before you decide.

Is it dangerous to hold an unknown airdropped token?

Holding it is harmless; a token cannot act on its own. The danger begins if you approve it, swap it on a site it names, or visit a page from its metadata.

Should a real airdrop ever cost money?

It costs gas to claim, paid to the network. Any request for a payment to the project to unlock a claim is a scam pattern with no legitimate counterpart.

How do I check if I am eligible safely?

Use the official site reached by your own navigation. Eligibility checks read public addresses and never need an approval or a signature granting spending power.

Risk notice

Crypto assets are volatile and on-chain transactions cannot be reversed. You can lose money, including all of it. Nothing here is financial advice.