How to Spot a Crypto Pump-and-Dump Before It Happens

What Is a Pump-and-Dump?

A pump-and-dump (P&D) is a coordinated scam involving:

• Buying a low-cap cryptocurrency (or launching a worthless token)
• Hyping it using fake news, social media influencers, and bots
• Dumping it after a price surge, leaving retail investors holding worthless assets

Result:
Early insiders profit, while late buyers suffer 90%+ losses.

Don’t Fall Victim to These Pump Fakes

1. Sudden Social Media Hype (From Nowhere)

• “100x moonshot” calls in Telegram and Discord
• Paid influencers with no real analysis
• Bot activity spamming Twitter/X with identical messages

2. Low Liquidity + Suspicious Volume Spikes

• Only a few wallets holding 90–95% of supply (Etherscan / BscScan)
• Wash trading on low-trust exchanges inflating volume

3. Anonymous Team + Zero Real Utility

• No doxxed founders (LinkedIn bios are fake)
• Buzzword-filled whitepapers: “Revolutionary Blockchain AI Metaverse DAO”

4. Aggressive FOMO Tactics

• “Last chance before takeoff!”
• Fake countdown clocks
• Emotional baiting to spark FOMO buying

5. Price Action Matches Classic P&D Pattern

• Sudden vertical green candles (no steady growth)
• Sharp crashes after peak—whales exit while you HODL the bag

6. Exchange Listings on Untrusted Platforms

• Only listed on unknown CEXs (not Binance, Coinbase, or Kraken)
• “Exclusive presale” with no exit path (you can buy, but can’t sell)

How to Avoid Getting Trapped

 Check if the coin is listed on CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap
 Verify if liquidity is locked on Uniswap or SushiSwap
 Avoid projects heavily pushed by influencers—you might be the exit liquidity

Pro Tip:
Don’t panic if caught—wait for the dump, not a “recovery.”

What to Do If You’re Already In

• Exit quickly on any price spike
• Stop averaging down—it’s a trap
• Report scams to regulators like the SEC

Conclusion

Pump-and-dump scams follow a script: hype, spike, crash. Learn the signals and you’ll never be the one holding the bag.