One of the sneakiest ways scammers drain wallets isn’t by stealing your seed phrase — it’s by abusing token approvals.
When you use a DEX, NFT mint, or Web3 casino, you often click “Approve” in your wallet before trading. That approval gives the smart contract permission to move your tokens. If the contract is malicious, it can drain everything you approved.
Let’s break down how approval scams work, real-world examples, and how to protect yourself.
What’s a Token Approval?
In DeFi, you don’t type passwords into dApps. Instead, your wallet signs transactions.
- Approval = permission. You’re telling a smart contract: “Yes, you can move my tokens.”
- Example: When you swap USDT for PEPE on Uniswap, you approve the Uniswap contract to spend your USDT.
Legit contracts only use that approval for the trade. Scams abuse it to empty your wallet.
How Approval Scams Work
- You connect your wallet to a shady site (fake airdrop, meme coin, or rigged dApp).
- It asks for approval — maybe unlimited access to USDT, ETH, or other tokens.
- You approve without checking.
- Scammer now has the right to drain your tokens anytime.
It’s not even hacking — you literally gave them permission.
Real-World Examples
- In 2022, a fake Uniswap airdrop drained millions from wallets after users approved malicious contracts.
- Countless Solana & BNB “airdrop” scams tricked users into approving unlimited spending.
- Even legit projects sometimes ask for infinite approvals to make trading easier, but this creates risk if they ever get hacked.
How to Check Your Approvals
Luckily, you can see and manage your approvals:
- Ethereum/Polygon/Arbitrum: Etherscan Token Approval Checker
- BSC: BscScan Token Approval
- Multichain: Revoke.cash (supports multiple blockchains)
Paste your wallet address → see which contracts can move your tokens.
How to Revoke Approvals
- Go to a tool like Revoke.cash.
- Connect your wallet.
- Find suspicious or unused approvals.
- Hit Revoke (you’ll pay a small gas fee).
Revoking removes the contract’s power to spend your tokens.
Pro Tips
- Never approve unlimited spending for random dApps.
- Use a separate “degen wallet” for memes/gambling and keep your main funds separate.
- Regularly check your approvals and revoke anything you don’t recognize.
- If a project asks for infinite approvals, think twice. Safer to approve only what you need.
Stats That Matter
- In 2023, over $200M was stolen via approval scams across Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Polygon.
- Most victims were retail users aping into “free airdrops” or meme launches.
- Tools like Revoke.cash saved thousands of wallets from being drained.
Final Word
Approval scams are dangerous because they don’t feel like scams. You think you’re just clicking a normal “approve” — but you’re actually giving full control of your tokens.
The good news? You can fight back. Check your approvals often, revoke bad ones, and never approve shady dApps.
Play smart, keep your approvals clean, and you’ll stay one step ahead of scammers.
Wagmi 🚀
