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Solana’s pump.fun made it incredibly easy to launch tokens — but this also opened the door to sophisticated scams that steal millions from traders every week.

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The Two Main Threats

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Rug Pulls

A rug pull happens when creators fake organic demand, pump the price, then dump all their tokens at once. How it works:
  1. Create token with fake hype and social media buzz
  2. Use multiple bot wallets to simulate real buying
  3. Price and market cap climb rapidly
  4. Once enough retail traders buy in, dump everything
  5. Price crashes 99% in minutes
Red flags:
  • Top holders are brand new wallets
  • Coordinated buy/sell patterns
  • Sudden massive sell-offs

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Farming Manipulation

Farming is slower and harder to spot. Scammers control the price over days or weeks to look “healthy” while gradually draining liquidity. How it works:
  1. Botnet creates controlled pump and dump cycles
  2. Price looks stable with “normal” volatility
  3. Social media campaigns attract new buyers
  4. Gradually extract liquidity as new money flows in
  5. Eventually crashes when no new buyers remain
Red flags:
  • Many fresh wallets in top 50 holders
  • Wallets with zero SOL (can’t pay fees = bots)
  • Repetitive price patterns that look too clean

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Why It’s So Hard to Detect

Speed: Solana processes thousands of transactions per second — scams happen fast Coordination: Attackers use 20-50+ wallets to hide their tracks Social Engineering: Fake communities, bought influencers, coordinated hype Looks Legit: Charts appear healthy until the rug pull happens

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The Real Cost

This isn’t just about money lost:
  • Traders lose trust in legitimate projects
  • Honest builders can’t compete with scam marketing budgets
  • Communities get burned and leave the ecosystem
  • Platforms earn a reputation for hosting scams
Without transparency tools, the scammers win and innovation suffers.
That’s why Pump Guard exists — to give traders the data they need to spot manipulation before it’s too late.