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Check the whole address, not just the ends
Address poisoning counts on you glancing at the first and last few characters of an address and calling it good.
Written by John AlewineReviewed by the Crypto Guidance team
Published ยท Updated
Address poisoning works like this. An attacker sends you a tiny transaction from an address that looks almost identical to one you have used before. Later, you copy that address from your history to send funds, and the money goes to the attacker.
One line on my Security checklist covers it: I verify the full destination address before sending any transaction. The full address, not just the ends.
What to do
- Copy the address from the real source: the person you are paying or the exchange deposit page. Not from your transaction history.
- Compare the full address character by character before you click send.
- For a new address, send a small test amount first.
Where AI fits
If you ask an AI chatbot how to send crypto, it can explain the steps. It cannot see your wallet history, and it cannot tell a look-alike address from the real one. That check is yours.
Look-alike addresses work on the same trick as look-alike sites in phishing. The rest of the habits are on the Security page. If you want a second set of eyes while you work through it, consulting is one-on-one, and the seed stays in your hands.