Address poisoning
Also called: address poisoning scam · dusting with look-alike addresses
Definition
Address poisoning is a scam where an attacker sends a tiny or zero-value transfer from an address that looks like one you use, hoping you later copy that fake address from your transaction history.
How address poisoning works
Attackers watch the blockchain for addresses you send funds to. They generate a look-alike address that matches the first and last few characters, then send you a tiny amount or a fake token transfer from it. Now the fake address sits in your history right next to the real one.
The next time you copy an address from your history instead of the original source, you may paste the attacker's address. Because many wallets shorten addresses to the first and last characters, the two can look identical.
Protection comes from habits: copy addresses from the original source or your address book, check more than the first and last four characters, use a withdrawal whitelist on exchanges, and ignore unexpected tiny transfers rather than interacting with them.
Example
Say you regularly send USDT to your own address 0x7a3F...91cD. After one transfer, a 0 USDT transaction arrives from 0x7a3F...91cD, but the middle characters are different. A week later you copy the top entry from your history and send 8,000 USDT. It goes to the attacker. Checking the full address, or using a saved contact, would have shown the mismatch before you confirmed.
Common mistakes
- Copying a recipient address from your recent transaction list.
- Checking only the first and last four characters of an address.
- Interacting with an unknown token that appeared in your wallet after a poisoning transfer.
Learn and practise
FAQ
Can address poisoning steal funds without my action?
No. The scam only works if you send to the fake address yourself. Your existing funds are not at risk from the dust transfer alone.
Should I hide or ignore the tiny transfer?
Ignore it and do not trade or approve the token. Some wallets let you hide spam tokens, which reduces confusion.