You must have heard of the launch of an airdrop and experienced how people troop en masse to benefit from it. You have likely received some airdrop at some point in your journey in the cryptosphere. While some airdrops are truly legit, many are scam schemes designed to steal people’s data, rug them, or just waste their time. In this article, we will briefly delve into the things you need to know about airdrops and how to avoid being a victim of fake airdrops. Remember, as we’re approaching the bull run, many scam schemes will emerge and you need to be aware of the ways of maximising your profits while avoiding malicious platforms.

What is an Airdrop?

An airdrop is a marketing strategy where a blockchain-based project takes a certain amount of its crypto assets and sends it to participants who meet certain criteria. From the term “airdrop,” the crypto assets are typically dropped into the user’s crypto wallet.

Although there are several types of airdrops, it is an intersection of blockchain and guerilla marketing aimed at increasing awareness of a project or encouraging widespread adoption of a product. Because airdrops typically mean free money, many bad actors utilise them to target unsuspecting individuals.

Types of Airdrops

There are various types of airdrops and they differ depending on the expected end result. Some airdrops are launched to attract new users, while others are for making long-term users feel well taken care of. Let’s explore the various types of airdrops in the crypto sphere:

1) Standard airdrops: In this type, users only need to sign up or submit their wallet addresses to qualify. The caveat here is to get in quickly because there may be a limited amount of the token to be airdropped.

2) Holder airdrops: A project may decide to reward users who have held or accumulated the platform’s native tokens for a particular period. Here, snapshots are usually taken on a specified date or during a specified time span.

3) Exclusive airdrops: Sometimes, airdrops don’t consider the wallet size of users for airdrop qualification. Exclusive airdrops reward users who have been with the platform for a long time with a level of engagement or record of participating in non-token activities. A famous example is Uniswap’s airdrop of 400 UNI tokens to each of its long-time users, regardless of holding status.

4) Bounty airdrops: Some projects require participants to carry out a few tasks after which they will be rewarded with an airdrop. Typically, companies launch airdrops for users who sign up in their newsletters, follow them on social media, like and retweet certain posts, or simply log into a live forum.

5) Raffle airdrops: Sometimes, projects announce airdrops and receive overwhelming amounts of entries. In such cases, they may choose to use a lottery mechanism to pick winners at random.

How Do They Work?

Projects launch airdrops by creating a public campaign through social sites, especially Twitter and Discord. As the campaign gains traction, the project team compiles a list of potential airdrop recipients after which the selected recipients get their tokens through a smart contract or self-executing program that automates the transaction.

Airdrops use two major mechanisms to shortlist winners:

1) Usage: Some airdrops only require the users to submit their wallet addresses after which the crypto asset will be dropped into their wallets. Other airdrops favour people who have used their platform for a longer timeframe or those who already possess a minimum amount of a token. For instance, if you have traded over 100 $ADA, you qualify.

2) Date: Other airdrops use snapshots, which are regarded as the time the project determines who qualifies for the airdrop. Projects might also choose a starting date, for example, usage one year before the snapshot.

How to Avoid Fake Airdrops

There is really no one-size-fits-all method of avoiding airdrop scams because bad actors are always innovating fresh ways of deceiving people. However, there are things that you can check to quickly sieve off the fake ones. Remember, never reveal your private keys under any circumstances.

A fake crypto airdrop usually has a large monetary value, either dropped into a wallet without notice or to be “claimed” by users inputting wallet information into a third-party site. Sometimes, bad actors collect information under the guise of airdrops to gain access to wallets, stealing funds and private keys.

Always do your own research on an airdrop source before engaging with them. If you notice a new crypto in your wallet, it is generally advisable to not interact with it if you don’t know where it came from. Malicious airdrops can take over your wallet if you interact with their smart contract to transfer them out or sell them on a marketplace.