Rug Pull Red Flags: Before-You-Buy Checklist

Contract and token

• I copied the contract address from the official source, not from a random reply or DM
• Mint authority is revoked (no one can create more tokens)
• Freeze authority is revoked (no one can freeze my tokens)
• I can sell: it is not a honeypot (check with a token scanner first)
• The token is not a copycat of a famous coin with a slightly different name

Holders and liquidity

• Liquidity is locked or burned
• The dev and top 10 wallets do not hold a huge share of the supply
• Holders are growing naturally, not one giant wallet buying
• There is enough liquidity that I can actually sell my position

Community and hype

• There is a real community talking, not just bots and rocket emojis
• Socials are older than one day and have real activity
• Nobody is promising guaranteed gains or “100x”
• I am not buying only because someone told me to hurry

Protect yourself

• I am using a separate wallet with only money I can afford to lose
• I never shared my seed phrase or private key
• I decided my exit plan (take-profit and max loss) before buying
• I double-checked every link and bot username