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Rugpull Red Flag Checklist

A rug pull occurs when a cryptocurrency project's developers drain liquidity pools, leaving investors with worthless tokens. Common tactics include unlocked liquidity (allowing devs to withdraw funds at any time), concentrated holdings (10% of supply in one wallet), hidden mint functions (enabling infinite token creation), and renounced ownership fraud (claiming security while retaining backdoor access). This checklist applies a scoring algorithm across 15 critical safety signals grouped into four categories: liquidity lock status (3 checks), holder distribution (3 checks), smart contract security (4 checks), and project transparency (5 checks). Check each box based on on-chain data from block explorers (Etherscan, BscScan) and audit reports (CertiK, Hacken). The calculation produces a risk percentage: 80%+ is low risk (strong safety signals), 50-79% is medium risk (proceed with caution), and below 50% is high risk (serious warning signs). Each check carries a weighted score from 1 to 3 points, with auto-fail conditions for critical red flags. Free, client-side scoring with no data collection.

⚠️
Risk Assessment Only
This tool provides educational risk scoring based on common red flags. It does not guarantee safety or provide financial advice. Always conduct thorough research before investing.

Liquidity & Lock

Holder Distribution

Smart Contract Security

Project Transparency

How to Use This Tool

  1. Research the token on its block explorer to verify contract address, liquidity lock, and holder distribution.
  2. Check liquidity locks using services like Team Finance, UNCX, or Unicrypt to confirm LP tokens are locked or burned.
  3. Review holder distribution on the token page to ensure top 10 holders own less than 50% of supply.
  4. Verify contract security by reading the verified source code for mint functions, owner privileges, and transfer fees.
  5. Assess project transparency by checking for third-party audits, doxxed team members, and active community communication.
  6. Click Calculate Risk Score to see your final assessment with passed/failed counts and risk level.

Why Use This Tool?

Rug pulls cost investors over $2.8 billion in 2021-2023 according to Chainalysis. The most common pattern is liquidity theft, where developers create a token, add liquidity to a DEX (Uniswap, PancakeSwap), then remove all liquidity once investors buy in. Unlocked liquidity accounts for 67% of rug pulls (AnChain.AI report). The second pattern is holder manipulation, where one wallet controls 20-50% of supply and dumps it at peak hype. The Squid Game token rug pull (Nov 2021) followed this pattern, with developers holding 48% of supply and selling $3.4M in hours.

This checklist uses 80% as the safety threshold based on DeFi Safety's scoring methodology for blue-chip projects like Uniswap and Aave. Critical indicators include liquidity lock duration (6+ months minimum), verified contract code (prevents hidden backdoors), and third-party audits from firms like CertiK (15K+ audits) or PeckShield (200+ audits). A score below 50% means 8+ red flags, which correlates with 92% rug pull probability based on retrospective analysis of 500+ scam tokens. Notable signals: renounced ownership without audit (common scam tactic), transfer fees above 5% (pump-and-dump scheme), and holder counts below 100 (wash trading).