I had seen something related, but I hadn't delved into the subject. Until I felt like a millionaire for a millisecond.
Yes, when I opened my wallet I found 4 million USDT. "Fake" USDT.
If you don't know USDT (Tether) is the world’s largest stablecoin by market cap. With its 1:1 peg to the US dollar and the convenience of cross-border transfers. Sadly it has become one of the most favored tools for scammers.
Below I break down the most prevalent USDT scams.
The 7 Most Common USDT Scams
1. Address Poisoning Attacks
This is currently the most frequent and most damaging USDT scam. Scammers deploy bots to monitor large USDT transactions on the blockchain. Once a target is identified, they use vanity address generators to mass-produce phishing addresses whose first and last few characters are identical to the victim’s frequently-used receiving address. Then, using the smart contract TransferFrom function, they send a 0 USDT transaction to the victim, planting that trap address in the victim’s transaction history. Later, when the victim sends USDT again and habitually copies an address from their history, the funds are transferred into the scammer’s wallet.
In 2025, a trader lost 50 million USDT this way — one of the most expensive “copy-paste” mistakes in crypto history. The same year, prosecutors in Guichi, China, prosecuted a "vanity address attack" case in which the defendant illegally obtained more than 3.5 million USDT from victims by matching the tail characters of addresses.
2. Flash USDT (Fake Flash Loans)
Scammers claim they can use “flash loan software” to generate temporary USDT balances. These fake coins can be moved between wallets and shown on block explorers, but allegedly disappear automatically after about 16 days. In reality, these so-called tools are outright scams — victims who pay between US$50 and US$500 for the software either receive a useless interface showing fake balances or have Trojan programs installed that steal their private keys and drain all their assets.
3. High-Imitation USDT Tokens (Token Impersonation)
This is the one that make me feel millionaire for a milisecond. Scammers deploy fake contracts on non-Ethereum main chains using the exact same name and symbol as the official USDT. By exploiting the fact that wallet apps truncate the displayed address, the token appears identical to the real one. Victims only discover that “token verification failed” when they try to deposit it at an exchange. The FBI issued a specific warning about this in 2024, noting that criminals send fake tokens to build trust or to trick victims into transferring funds to scammer-controlled addresses.
4. Pig Butchering
Pig butchering is a hybrid “long-term romance + investment fraud” scheme. Scammers approach victims on Tinder, Facebook groups, or even second-hand furniture groups, spend weeks or months building emotional trust (“fattening the pig”), and then introduce a fake cryptocurrency investment platform (“slaughtering the pig”).
5. Ponzi Schemes
Using bait like “1.3%–2.6% daily interest,” these schemes pay early investors with money from new investors and eventually collapse when the capital flow breaks. In May 2026, the DSJ exchange Ponzi scheme collapsed, involving over US$150 million. Active since 2025, it laundered more than US$92 million in the week before its implosion. Investigator ZachXBT worked with Tether, Binance, OKX, and U.S. law enforcement to successfully freeze more than US$41.5 million.
In Cuba one of the biggest crypto Ponzi schemes was TrustInvesting.
6. Offline “Cash-for-USDT” Money Laundering Traps
Criminal gangs recruit “runners” on encrypted messaging apps like Telegram, instructing them to collect cash from victims in person and then convert it to USDT for transfer overseas. Many participants mistakenly believe that “just running an errand” does not constitute a crime; in reality, it constitutes the crime of concealing or disguising criminal proceeds.
7. Authorization Phishing
Here enter the offers like “free USDT airdrops,” “refund compensation in USDT,” or “cheap USDT for sale,” that trick you into scanning QR codes or signing malicious smart contracts. Once signed, the attacker gains unlimited permission to transfer USDT out of the victim’s wallet and can drain all assets instantly.
Psychological Manipulation Techniques Used by Scammers
What makes these scams so effective is the precise grasp of human nature:
- Building trust: scammers first establish a relationship through daily-life conversations on social platforms before steering the topic toward investment.
- Small early returns: they let victims earn small profits at first, creating the feeling of “easy money” and tempting them to invest much more.
- Creating urgency: lines like “limited-time offer” or “don’t miss out,” they pressure victims into making decisions before thinking them through.
- Emotional manipulation: victims of pig-butchering scams suffer not only financial loss but also the double blow of emotional betrayal; many are therefore reluctant to report the crime.
How to Protect Yourself from Scams
First of all, no one is invulnerable. But we can take steps to decrease the risk of being scammed.
| Protection Level | Specific Measure |
|---|---|
| Before sending | Completely verify every character of the receiving address; never judge by just the first and last few digits. |
| Receiving tokens | Verify on Coinmarketcap/Etherscan/Tronscan that the contract address matches the official one. |
| Trading channels | Always use licensed exchanges like Binance or OKX or officials and community probed DEXs or P2P markets |
| Authorization operations | Reject any request that asks you to scan a QR code to authorize or to sign a smart contract. |
| Abnormal pricing | The USDT exchange rate normally stays around 1:1. Quotes below 0.95 or above 1.05 are very likely fake. |
| Wallet choice | Use updated wallets that have address-poisoning detection features |
| Safety habits | Never copy an address directly from your transaction history; re-obtain and double-check the address for every transfer. |
| Legal awareness | Be highly suspicious of “high-paying part-time jobs” such as doorstep USDT exchange or cash pickups; don’t risk criminal liability for small gains. |
What to Do If You Fall Victim
- Stop losses immediately: halt all further transfers and never believe follow-up scams that claim you need to “pay to withdraw.”
- Preserve evidence: screenshot all chat logs, transfer records, contract addresses, and transaction hashes.
- Notify platforms: immediately inform the exchange or wallet service provider and request that the involved accounts be frozen.
- Report to authorities: call or visit the police; in the US, you can also file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
- Beware of recovery scams: hackers or lawyers who claim they can “recover your losses” are often running secondary scams. Never pay them any money.
Remember to always be attentive, there are many people wanting to take advantage of our absent-mindedness. If you have any experience or extra advice you are welcome to leave it in the comments.