Rug Pull Crypto: How to Spot and Avoid Crypto Scams

When you hear rug pull crypto, a scam where developers abandon a project and steal investors’ funds. Also known as crypto exit scam, it’s one of the most common ways people lose money in crypto—not because the market crashed, but because someone lied from day one. Unlike failed projects that just fizzled out, a rug pull is theft. The team builds hype, tricks people into buying tokens, then pulls the plug—locking liquidity, deleting social media, and disappearing with millions.

These scams don’t happen in a vacuum. They rely on fake crypto project, a token with no real use, no team, and zero trading volume to lure in new investors. Look at BFICGOLD or NFTP—both had flashy websites, promises of huge returns, and zero actual code or community. They weren’t investments. They were traps. And they’re still out there, disguised as "next big airdrop" or "exclusive DeFi opportunity."

What makes rug pulls so dangerous is how they mimic real projects. They use legit-looking whitepapers, paid influencers, and even fake audit reports. But real projects don’t hide their team. They don’t lock liquidity for 100 years. They don’t vanish after hitting a price target. If a token has no trading volume, no GitHub activity, and a team with zero online history—it’s not a gamble. It’s a guarantee you’ll lose money.

And it’s not just new tokens. Even established-looking exchanges like Serenity or MaskEX can be fronts for these scams. If a platform has no regulation, no app, and users can’t withdraw funds, it’s not a bug—it’s the design. These aren’t risky platforms. They’re exit scams waiting to happen.

Here’s what you need to watch for: a team that won’t show their faces, a token with no real utility, liquidity locked in a way you can’t verify, and hype that feels too loud. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. And if you’re being pushed to buy fast before it "sells out," that’s the rug being pulled right in front of you.

The posts below show you exactly how these scams play out—from fake airdrops on Heco Chain to ghost tokens with $0 trading volume. You’ll see real examples of projects that vanished, exchanges that stole funds, and the red flags that were ignored. No fluff. No theory. Just what happened, how it was done, and how to avoid it next time.