I’ve noticed that many crypto newcomers make the same mistake: they see a familiar ticker like USDT or BNB and immediately rush to start trading without checking the most basic things. Then they’re surprised when the money doesn’t arrive or gets lost altogether. The problem is that in the cryptocurrency space, the same ticker can belong to completely different projects, and not all of them are legitimate.

By the way, tickers were introduced back in the 19th century to speed up trading on stock exchanges. Crypto is the same in that regard—BTC is for Bitcoin, ETH is for Ethereum, and BNB is for Binance Coin. But unlike traditional markets, things here are more complicated. Several projects can lay claim to the same ticker, and sometimes that overlap is just a coincidence, while other times it’s outright fraud.

How can you find a token’s contract address and avoid getting scammed? Start with the most basic thing—its contract address. This is a unique identifier of a smart contract stored on the blockchain. For example, if you want to deposit BNB via the Ethereum network, you need the contract address of this token specifically on that network. This information is easy to find in the deposits section on any platform, in community forums, or in blockchain explorers.

One important detail: some tokens are built directly into the blockchain—they’re called native tokens. Take BNB as an example. If you deposit it through BNB Chain, there won’t be a contract address, because everything is already programmed into the network itself. But if you deposit BNB via Ethereum, you’ll need the contract address. How do you find the token contract address for the network you need? Check the information on your exchange’s deposit page or in reputable blockchain explorers.

Next, study the project itself. Look at the website, read the whitepaper, review the tokenomics, and check the social media. Red flags to watch for: most tokens are held in just a few wallets, the whitepaper is unclear or ambiguous, the team is completely anonymous with no history, social media is full of fraud accusations, and the source code is hidden or unavailable.

Practical tip: before depositing or withdrawing a large amount, send a small test transaction. It’ll take a few minutes, but it can save you a lot of money. Check the token contract address and make sure it matches what’s listed on the platform. And be sure to check network compatibility—one and the same token can exist on different blockchains, but they are completely different entities.

Here’s a real example. I saw a counterfeit USDT in a blockchain explorer. At first glance, everything looks like real USDT: the name, the logo, the ticker. But once you look at the numbers, everything becomes clear. The total supply is 20 billion, there are only 2,161 holders, and the market capitalization is zero. That’s an obvious fake. Meanwhile, the real USDT has more than 4 million holders, 185 million transactions, and 36 billion in circulation. The numbers make sense.

If you’re using cross-network bridges (Token Bridge), remember that not all platforms support them. Before sending via a bridge, double-check the contract address and make sure the target platform accepts it. It’s best to first transfer the bridged tokens to your personal wallet, and then send a standard blockchain transaction.

As of May 2023, CoinMarketCap listed about 24,000 cryptocurrencies, and new ones appear every week. Some of them are real projects, and some are blatant scams. In DeFi, the situation is even crazier, because almost anyone can deploy a token there. Centralized exchanges, at least, verify projects before listing, but even then you need to be careful.

Most important of all—always do your own research before trading, depositing, or withdrawing funds. Spend 10 minutes verifying the contract address, look at the project’s statistics, and search for information in reputable sources. This can save you a lot of money. If you already made a mistake and the funds went to the wrong place, there are ways to recover, but it’s better not to let these situations happen in the first place. Stay vigilant, and crypto will be safer.