How to claim an airdrop safely, step by step

Claim days are when the most people get drained. The real site is overloaded, fake sites are everywhere, and everyone is in a hurry. This checklist keeps you on the right path.

Before claim day

• Bookmark the project's official website and documentation now, while things are calm, from a link on its own verified profile or GitHub.
• Note the official channels where the claim will be announced (blog, docs, X account, Discord announcements channel).
• Know which wallet is eligible. If it is a farming wallet, keep it that way. Do not move your vault into the process.
• Make sure the eligible wallet holds a little of the chain's native coin for gas.
• Revoke old approvals you no longer need on that wallet. See token approvals.

On claim day

• Open the claim page only from your bookmark or the official site's own navigation. Ignore links in replies, DMs, search ads and group chats.
• Compare the domain letter by letter with your bookmark. See lookalike domains.
• Check that the claim was announced on more than one official channel. A single post on a possibly hacked account is not enough.
• Connect the eligible wallet only.
• Read the wallet popup. A normal claim is a transaction to the claim contract that sends tokens to you. Reject any approval, permit or setApprovalForAll. See transaction previews.
• Check the simulation shows tokens arriving and nothing leaving except gas.
• If anything asks for your seed phrase, a fee to "unlock" the tokens, or a transfer of your existing tokens, close the tab.

After claiming

• Confirm the tokens arrived, using a block explorer if your wallet does not show them yet.
• If you plan to keep them, move them to your vault wallet.
• If you plan to sell, use an exchange interface you already trust, reached through your own bookmark.
• Revoke any approval you gave during selling once you are done.
• Note the date, amount and value at the time of the claim for your tax records. See airdrops and taxes.

Things that are always scams

• "Claim on behalf of your friends' wallets" or "speed up your claim" services.
• Support staff in DMs offering to help with a failed claim.
• A second "bonus claim" or "phase 2" announced only in replies.
• Any claim that requires sending tokens first.