Last updated 2026-11-05

Beware of the "0 USDT" Transfer Scam

A zero-value transfer moves no money and still lands in your history, planting a lookalike address where you will copy it later. The label may read USDT, but that name comes from another chain and proves nothing, so verify the full address from a source you trust.

Who this is for

Anyone who copies a recipient address from a wallet's recent list, transaction history, or "last used" field.

How the scam works

A transfer of zero tokens is a valid transaction. The attacker sends it from an address built to resemble one you already use: the same first characters, the same last characters, a similar pattern in the middle. The amount is 0, so nothing is taken, but the row appears anyway because the transaction is real and public.

The name on that row is chosen by the token's contract, not by the network; a contract can call itself USDT or anything else, and the wallet displays the name the contract reports. USDT is a token issued on other chains, so seeing the label does not mean that asset is on Bitgold, and it does not make the row worth anything. The pattern works with any token, including one with no market at all.

The attacker then waits. When you next pay that contact, your wallet offers addresses from history, often with the newest at the top, and one careless copy sends the payment to the lookalike. The attacker did not need your key; they needed your habit.

Variants use a small dust amount instead of zero, or a token designed to sit in the list without a value. Some wallets flag the transfer; many do not.

Warning signs

• A new incoming row from an address you do not recognize, with an amount of 0 or a few units.
• The token name is one you do not hold, or one you did not expect to see on this network.
• The sending address shares its first and last characters with a contact you pay often.
• Two nearly identical addresses now sit in your recent list.
• A "refund", "supplier", or "customer" message tells you to copy the address from your history.

If it happens to you

1. Do not copy a recipient from history for that payment. Open the address from your own saved record, or from a channel you verified independently.
2. Compare the full address, character by character, before you sign.
3. Look up both addresses on the explorer so you can see that they are different accounts with different histories.
4. If you already sent funds to the lookalike, save the transaction hash and report it to your wallet vendor. A confirmed transfer cannot be reversed, and no recovery service can undo it.
5. If you interacted with the token contract, review and revoke any approval you granted.

Hiding the row is not a fix

Some wallets can hide small rows on screen. Hiding changes nothing on chain, and the address stays available to anyone who looks it up.

Next steps

• Be Aware of Phishing Addresses — the address-poisoning family this transfer belongs to.
• Fake Token Scam — tokens whose name, supply, and value are manufactured.
• Theft Prevention — what to do when a payment has already gone to the wrong address.

Self-check

• Do I read the full address before a transfer, not only the first and last characters?
• Can I name the source I use to confirm a recipient address?
• Would I notice a 0-value incoming row in my history?
• Do I know that a token's name is set by its contract, not by the network?