Crypto Giveaway Scams: The "Send 1, Get 2 Back" Trick

Crypto giveaway scams promise to double whatever you send. See why the “send 1, get 2 back” math never works, the red flags to spot, and what to do if you sent.

How the “send 1, get 2 back” trick works

The FTC describes the setup in one line: “A scammer pretends to be a celebrity who can multiply any cryptocurrency you send them.” The celebrity might be a tech billionaire, the founder of a blockchain project or the CEO of an exchange. The promise is always the same: send crypto to an address, and double comes back.

It is not a new trick, and it still works. In 2021 the FTC reported that people had sent more than $2 million in cryptocurrency to Elon Musk impersonators over just six months. The packaging has improved since then. Today you are more likely to meet it in one of these forms:

• Hijacked livestreams. A popular video channel is taken over and renamed to look official, then plays an edited or AI-generated video of a famous figure next to a QR code.
• Hacked or lookalike accounts. A post from a real-looking account announces that “for the next hour” every deposit will be doubled.
• Reply bots. Under a genuine post from a real founder, fake accounts with the same name and photo reply with the giveaway link.
• Event pages. A lookalike website celebrates an anniversary or product launch, complete with a “live” feed of payouts.

Deepfakes make the video more convincing, not the offer more real. The FBI’s 2025 report counted 22,364 complaints involving artificial intelligence, including deepfake videos, with nearly $893 million in reported losses.

The math that exposes every giveaway

Start from the giver’s side. Suppose 500 people each send 0.2 ETH to a genuine doubling offer. The address collects 100 ETH and owes 200 ETH back, so an honest giver would lose 100 ETH.

The more people join, the bigger the loss. A doubling offer only makes money for the person running it if nothing is ever sent back.

Now your side:

Example: You send 0.5 ETH, worth $1,250 at a hypothetical $2,500 per ETH, plus a $1.50 network fee. You are promised 1 ETH ($2,500) in return.

The second and third rows are where losses compound. Once you have sent once, the chat or a “support agent” explains that your deposit was too small, too early or needs a fee to release. Each step is designed to make the first payment feel recoverable.

Red flags to check before you send anything

The first item on that list outweighs everything else. The FTC is blunt about payment requests: “Only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency.” A promotion that needs your crypto first is not a promotion.

The supporting signs help when the pressure is on. Countdown timers and “last slots” banners stop you from checking. Chats scroll with messages from accounts claiming they just received double, and those are simple to fake.

Real companies announce promotions on their own website, so type the address yourself and look for it there. If the offer isn’t listed, it isn’t theirs. For the wider pattern of fake accounts posing as real people, see impersonation scams on social media and Telegram.

Some giveaways skip the “send first” step and ask you to “connect your wallet to claim” instead. That route leads to signature requests that empty the wallet; our guides on fake crypto airdrops and crypto drainers explain how to recognize them.

How to check a giveaway address in two minutes

You don’t need to trust the chat. Paste the address into a block explorer and read its history:

• Age. A giveaway address created in the last day or two, with no history before the “event,” is a strong warning sign.
• Direction of money. Look for dozens of incoming transfers from different wallets in a short burst. A real doubling offer would show a matching stream of outgoing payments back to those same senders at twice the size.
• Where funds go. Scam addresses tend to forward their balance to a few other addresses within minutes, instead of paying anyone back.

Even a history that looks tidy proves little, because money moving between wallets the scammer controls can look like payouts. Treat the check as a way to confirm a scam, never to clear one.

Common mistakes that turn a glance into a loss

• Sending a “small test.” It is lost like any other amount, and it tells the scammer you will respond to the next request.
• Trusting badges and follower counts. A hacked account keeps its verification mark and audience, and a hijacked channel keeps its subscribers. None of that belongs to the offer.
• Scanning a QR code from a video. The code hides the address, so you skip the one check you could have made.
• Believing the deadline. “Only 10 minutes left” exists to stop you from typing the company’s website address yourself.

What to do if you already sent crypto to a giveaway

1. Don’t send more. No minimum, fee or “verification” payment will release anything. Every follow-up request is part of the scam.
2. Save the evidence. Record the receiving address, your transaction hash, the channel or account name, the video or post link, and screenshots of the chat.
3. Tell the exchange you sent from. The FTC advises reporting to the exchange used to send the money; it may flag the receiving address.
4. Revoke any approvals. If you connected a wallet to a giveaway site, review and revoke token approvals from a device you trust.
5. Report it. Report the stream or account on the platform. In the US, file with the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, use Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk, which replaced Action Fraud; in Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101. Our guide on how to report a crypto scam covers other countries.
6. Expect a follow-up scam. People who post about their loss are targeted by fake “recovery” services that charge upfront and deliver nothing.

The bottom line

No one who can double your crypto needs you to send it first. The “send 1, get 2 back” promise only balances for the scammer when nothing returns, so any request to send before you receive ends the decision. For the full set of warning signs across scam types, see how to spot a crypto scam.

This content is for education only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money. Examples use hypothetical numbers. See our disclaimer and editorial policy.