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How to take part in airdrops safely

How to protect your wallet when joining airdrops and points programs: fake sites, dangerous approvals and your seed phrase.

#airdrop#security#wallet#guide

How to take part in airdrops safely

Airdrops and points programs are among the most popular topics in crypto, and for the same reason one of scammers’ favourite hunting grounds. The good news: a few simple habits remove most of the risk.

Short video (in Turkish): the basic rules for keeping your wallet safe.

1. Never give anyone your seed phrase

The 12 or 24 words that restore your wallet are the wallet. Anyone who knows them can take your funds. No real airdrop, support team or app will ever ask for them; anyone who does is a scammer.

Fake sites can be exact copies of the real thing and can even appear at the top of search ads. Cross-check a project’s address against its official X account and docs, and bookmark it once verified. Ignore DMs and e-mails saying “your airdrop is ready, claim now”.

3. Use a separate “airdrop wallet”

Do not connect the wallet that holds your savings to experimental projects. Open a second wallet with only what you need for fees and participation. If something goes wrong, the damage stays limited.

4. Read the “approve” screen

Many thefts happen through a single signature that grants unlimited spending from your wallet. Before signing, check what you approve: if you see an “unlimited” allowance, an unknown contract or a token unrelated to what you are doing, stop.

5. Points programs come with no guarantee

In most programs the token has not been announced, and points may turn into nothing. Trading big volumes or using leverage just to earn points can cost more in fees and losses than any reward.

Find current programs on our Airdrop tracker and terms in our Glossary.

Pre-participation checklist

  1. I verified the official site address from at least two official sources (X account + docs or GitHub).
  2. I am using a separate airdrop wallet; my main wallet is not connected.
  3. The transaction I am signing has no unlimited approval; I limited the allowance to what is needed.
  4. I estimated the fees and I am not risking more than I can afford to lose.
  5. I checked that using the platform is legal where I live.

Advanced tips

  • Clean up approvals regularly: tools such as Revoke.cash show which contracts can spend from your wallet so you can revoke the ones you no longer use. Revoking does not bring back stolen funds; it only prevents new losses.
  • If your seed phrase leaked: revoking is not enough. Create a new wallet with a fresh seed phrase right away and move your assets there.
  • Hardware wallet: for larger amounts, a hardware wallet that confirms signatures on a separate device adds strong protection.
  • One project at a time: rushing into many projects with the same wallet makes it hard to find which approval caused a problem.

Sources

  1. ethereum.org: Ethereum security and scam prevention
  2. ethereum.org: Scam help & reporting
  3. Revoke.cash: view and revoke token approvals

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