Five stages, described. The holder keeps the tokens and the responsibility.
This site sells nothing and never asks you to connect a wallet. No step below names a company, and this page names nowhere to buy.
A wallet app writes its holder a recovery phrase of 12 or 24 words. That phrase is the account: anyone holding it holds the tokens, and it belongs on paper.
What you should see. The phrase once, on one screen, then a check of some of the words. Then
an address that starts with 0x.
Stop if any website asks you to type your recovery phrase. No honest site asks. Every person who asks for it wants to take your money.
This example uses Ethereum. Each chain has its own numbers. A wallet reaches Ethereum using the numbers below, and it needs some ETH on it for network fees. The fee changes with how busy the network is.
| Network | Ethereum |
| Chain ID | 1 |
| RPC endpoint | https://rpc.mevblocker.io |
| Fee currency | ETH |
| Explorer | Blockscout |
What you should see. Ethereum in the wallet's network list, and a balance above zero.
Stop if an "add network" screen asks you to approve a payment. To add a network costs nothing.
Any person can make a token and call it SPY. Only the address proves which one is real. This site checks the symbol and name of every address on each build, and where an issuer publishes an on-chain source it checks that too.
One SPY token on Ethereum, from xStocks
What you should see. The address shown to you matches this list. Compare the first six and the last four characters.
Stop if the name and logo match but the address does not. Only the address is proof.
The trade happens at a venue this site does not name, between a wallet and a swap contract. Three things decide whether it went right:
The trap. An approval asking for an unlimited amount or a full balance is the common way people lose everything in a wallet. Rejecting costs a small fee. To approve everything can cost the wallet.
Every balance on this chain is public. An address looked up on the Blockscout explorer - the chain itself, not an app screen.
What you should see. The explorer page for your address lists the token and a balance.
Stop if a page that looks like an explorer asks you to connect a wallet. An explorer only reads.
The other way is to let a company hold the tokens for you, inside its app. Three steps, no wallet. See the app route