How to check if a crypto airdrop is legit

Quick answer: a crypto airdrop is probably legit only if you can find it on the project's own official website or verified account, the link you were given points to exactly that domain, and nothing in it asks for your seed phrase, a private key, or crypto sent first. If any one of those fails, stop.

This is the order MintGraph uses. It takes about ten minutes.

1. Start from the official source, not from the message

Do not use the link you were sent. Open the project's website from a bookmark or from its verified X account or documentation, and look for the airdrop there. If you cannot find it, it is not confirmed.

2. Read the domain one character at a time

Look-alike domains swap letters, add hyphens or use another ending. Compare the address you were given with the one on the official site. Having HTTPS does not make a site safe: scam sites use it too.

3. Never give a seed phrase or private key

No real airdrop needs your seed phrase, private key or a one-time code. Anyone asking is a scammer, whatever the page looks like.

4. Never send crypto to "unlock" a reward

Claiming a drop may cost a normal network fee. It never needs you to send tokens first as "verification" or "gas".

5. Treat DMs and urgency as red flags

Project teams do not message you first with claim links. Countdown timers, "last chance" wording and promises of guaranteed returns are pressure tactics.

6. Check what the wallet is being asked to approve

Read every signature request. A claim should not ask for unlimited token approvals or access to everything in your wallet. Use a separate wallet for anything new.

7. Look the token or contract up on a block explorer

Search the contract on the chain's explorer. Known scam tokens are often flagged there, and a brand-new contract with no history that matches no official announcement is a warning.

8. See what independent sources say

Check whether reputable outlets or the project's own announcements cover it. One anonymous post is not a source.

How MintGraph labels what it finds

We apply one label to every claim: CONFIRMED (matched to a primary source we can link), REPORTED (a credible source said it, not confirmed), SPECULATION, PROMO (paid or referral) or RISK (signs of a drainer, phishing or impersonation). If we cannot confirm something, the note says so in plain words.

If you already connected your wallet to a suspicious site

Do not sign anything else. Move funds you can still move to a fresh wallet, revoke token approvals using a trusted approval checker, and report the page in MintGraph Forge (@mintgraphforge).

This is research and safety guidance, not financial advice. Rewards are never guaranteed.