Fake Crypto Exchange: How to Spot Scams and Stay Safe

When you hear about a new fake crypto exchange, a fraudulent platform pretending to let you trade cryptocurrencies. Also known as crypto scam exchange, it looks real—clean design, fake testimonials, even fake customer support—but it’s built to steal your money, not help you trade. These sites don’t hold your coins. They don’t process trades. They just take your deposit and vanish.

Many of these scams copy names from real exchanges. IGT-CRYPTO, a fake platform using the IGT brand to trick users, is one example. Others mimic Bitstamp or BloFin, but with fake URLs or misspelled domains. You might see a pop-up offering 100x leverage or a "limited-time airdrop"—but if it’s not on CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap, it’s likely fake. fake airdrop, a false promise of free tokens to harvest wallet info or private keys is another common trap. Sites like CPO Cryptopolis and Evanesco Network’s EVA token claim to be giving away crypto, but they have zero trading volume, no team, and no real community.

Real exchanges like Bitstamp or AstroSwap have clear ownership, public team members, regulated licenses, and user reviews you can verify. Fake ones don’t. They avoid transparency. They won’t show proof of reserves. They won’t answer emails. And if you try to withdraw? Silence. Or worse—they ask for more money to "unlock" your funds.

Scammers also use fake reviews, cloned websites, and YouTube ads to make their platforms look legit. They target beginners who don’t know how to check a site’s history or verify its domain. Always search for the exchange name + "scam" before depositing. Check Reddit, Twitter, and crypto forums. If no one’s talking about it, that’s a red flag.

And don’t forget: if it sounds too good to be true, it is. No exchange gives away free Bitcoin. No platform offers 500% APY on stablecoins without massive risk. Real DeFi platforms like PancakeSwap v3 on Arbitrum have clear tokenomics and audit reports. Fake ones? Nothing. Zero documentation. No code on GitHub. Just a landing page and a wallet address.

Below, you’ll find real reviews of exchanges that actually exist—and deep dives into the scams that try to look like them. We cover everything from how to verify a platform’s license to spotting fake airdrops that drain your wallet. No fluff. Just what you need to avoid losing money to a fake crypto exchange.