Canonical: https://builtonarc.app/guides/spotting-lookalikes

# Spotting Arc lookalikes and fake tokens

Updated 2026-09-01. There is no Arc token for sale. The patterns behind the impersonation sites we have flagged, and how to check a contract address yourself.

The single most useful fact for staying safe around Arc is this: **there is no Arc token to buy**. Fees on the chain are paid in USDC. Circle has not announced a network token. Every "ARC presale", "ARC airdrop claim" and "ARC staking portal" we have looked at has been an impersonation.

## The patterns we keep seeing

**The claim page.** A clean landing page with Circle's visual language, a countdown, and a wallet connect button that asks for a token approval. The approval is the attack; the countdown is there to stop you thinking.

**The near-miss domain.** A domain that reads correctly at a glance — an extra hyphen, a swapped letter, a different suffix. Always reach official properties from a link you already trust, never from search ads or a post.

**The borrowed announcement.** A real Circle announcement, reposted verbatim, with one line added that points somewhere else. The true part is doing the work of making the false part credible.

**The fake directory listing.** Sites that copy an ecosystem page wholesale and swap a handful of links. If a listing's outbound link does not match the project's own published domain, treat the listing as hostile.

## How to check a contract yourself

1. Get the address from the project's own documentation, reached through its own domain — not from a chat message, a reply, or a listing site including this one.
2. Check the address on a block explorer for Arc. Verified source is a starting point, not a guarantee.
3. Compare the deployer against what the project publishes. A brand-new deployer for an established company is a question worth asking.
4. Look at whether anyone is actually using it. A "live" product with no meaningful activity is usually not live.
5. Simulate or read the approval you are being asked to sign. Unlimited approvals to unfamiliar contracts are how most of this money is lost.

Our entries publish contract addresses where we have them, with a copy control, precisely so you can do this — but verify against the project's own docs regardless.

## What we do about it

When we confirm impersonation, we flag the entry. Two flags render in red after the name: **unverified claim**, where a project states an Arc relationship we cannot source, and **lookalike**, where a property imitates an official one. A third, **under review**, renders neutral: it means we have an open question, not a conclusion.

Flags carry the same evidence standard as statuses — a note, a source, a date — and a project can publish a response next to the flag on its own page. Flags cannot be removed by payment. No advertising unit is ever placed next to a flag notice.

If you find something, report it. Speed matters more than polish here.

## Questions

**Is there an official Arc airdrop?**

We have observed no official Arc airdrop. Gas on Arc is paid in USDC and no network token has been announced, so an airdrop claim page is a strong signal of impersonation.

**What does the lookalike flag mean on an entry?**

It means the entry presents itself as an official Arc property or closely imitates one without evidence of any relationship. It renders in red after the name.

**How do I report a lookalike?**

Use the report page with the URL and anything you observed. We check it and, when confirmed, flag the entry with the source and the date.