YodeSwap scam: What happened and how to avoid fake DeFi projects
When you hear YodeSwap, a fake decentralized exchange that disappeared after tricking users into depositing crypto. Also known as YodeSwap scam, it was never a real platform—just a phishing site designed to steal funds from people chasing high yields. This isn’t an isolated case. In 2024 and 2025, dozens of fake DeFi projects like YodeSwap popped up, promising impossible returns, fake liquidity pools, and non-existent tokens. They all follow the same script: a flashy website, fake team photos, cloned whitepapers, and a sudden disappearance after collecting deposits.
These scams rely on one thing: urgency. They tell you to stake now before the pool fills up, claim your airdrop before it expires, or lock your tokens for a 500% APY. But if a project has no audit, no GitHub activity, no team with real names, and no presence on Twitter or Discord beyond promotional posts—it’s a trap. Real DeFi projects like Uniswap, a long-standing decentralized exchange on Ethereum with transparent code and public governance or SushiSwap, a community-run protocol with open-source code and verified contracts don’t vanish overnight. They publish audits, update their GitHub daily, and answer questions publicly. YodeSwap did none of that.
And it’s not just about losing money. Fake projects like YodeSwap damage trust in the whole space. People who got burned start believing all crypto is a scam, when the real issue is poor due diligence. The same people who fell for YodeSwap also got tricked by fake airdrops like CovidToken, a non-existent project used to lure victims with fake claims or HyperGraph (HGT), a token that never launched but had dozens of scam websites pretending to distribute it. These are all variations of the same game: make it look real, create FOMO, take the cash, and vanish.
You don’t need to be an expert to avoid these traps. Check the contract address on Etherscan. Look for a live team with LinkedIn profiles. Search for reviews on Reddit or CryptoSlate. If the project’s website looks like it was made in 2021 with a free template, walk away. Real projects invest in security, transparency, and community. Scams invest in hype and silence.
Below, you’ll find real reviews of exchanges that shut down, airdrops that were fake, and scams that vanished overnight. Each one teaches you how to spot the next YodeSwap before it steals your funds.