Search
Results for “Fake airdrop vs Airdrop”
Fake airdrop
A fake airdrop is a scam that sends unrequested tokens or NFTs to your wallet, or advertises free tokens, to lure you to a website where you "claim" them. The claim page asks you to connect your wallet and sign, or to enter your seed phrase, and then empties the wallet.
What it means for you. Tokens that appear in your wallet uninvited can sit there harmlessly; the risk starts when you try to claim, swap or sell them through a link. Signing on a claim site can grant spending permission over your real assets. A real airdrop never needs your seed phrase.
Sources: ethereum.org: Ethereum security and scam prevention, ethereum.org: How to identify scam tokens · checked 4 October 2026
Airdrop
An airdrop is a distribution of tokens to many wallet addresses at once, usually free. Projects use airdrops to spread a new token, and a hard fork can produce one when holders of the old coin receive the new one.
What it means for you. In the US, the IRS treats airdropped crypto as taxable income once you can sell or move it, at its value then; that value becomes your cost basis. Tokens that appear unasked in your wallet can be bait, and a site asking you to connect or sign to claim them can drain it.
Sources: IRS: Frequently asked questions on virtual currency transactions, SEC: Application of the Federal Securities Laws to Certain Types of Crypto Assets (Mar. 17, 2026) · checked 4 October 2026