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Free tool · Lookalike address check

Is this the address you meant to send to?

Paste the address you trust and the address in your send box. This free tool lines them up character by character and marks every difference. If the start and the end match but the middle doesn't, stop. That is how address poisoning works, and in December 2025 it cost one trader about $50 million in USDT.

By Robert Stone, Editor ·

Private: the check runs on this page. Nothing you paste is sent anywhere or saved.

Copy it from a source you trust: the person's own message, your exchange's deposit page or your saved address book. Not from your transaction history, which is where lookalikes hide.

Copy it from the wallet or exchange screen, right before you press Send.

Only paste public addresses. Never paste a recovery phrase or private key into any website, including this one.

Try an example:
Waiting for two addresses

Paste the address you trust in box 1 and the one in your send box in box 2.

    Why you have to read the middle

    Most people check a crypto address the way they check a phone number: a glance at the first few characters and the last few. Scammers know that. They create addresses that start and end exactly like yours or a friend's, and they rely on nobody reading the 30 or so characters in between.

    Researchers who measured address poisoning on Ethereum and BNB Chain counted about 270 million attempts aimed at 17 million people over two years, with at least $83.8 million lost, in a paper presented at USENIX Security 2025. In the biggest case on record, a trader sent a $50 test payment to the right address, then copied a lookalike from their own history about 26 minutes later and sent nearly $50 million to the attacker, The Block reported.

    Address poisoning

    A scammer sends you a tiny or zero-value transfer from an address that starts and ends like one you use. It sits in your history, and next time you copy the wrong one. Our guide to address poisoning explains it step by step.

    Clipboard malware

    Malware on a computer or phone watches what you copy. When it sees a crypto address, it swaps in the attacker's, sometimes one picked to look similar. You paste, and at a glance it looks right.

    A swapped QR code or page

    A fake deposit page, a sticker over a real QR code or an altered invoice gives you the wrong address from the start. That's why box 1 should come from a second source you trust.

    Questions people ask

    What is address poisoning?

    It's a scam that plants a lookalike address in your transaction history, usually by sending you a tiny or zero-value transfer from it. The fake address starts and ends like a real one you use. If you later copy from your history, you send money to the scammer. Read what address poisoning is and how to avoid it.

    Is checking the first and last few characters enough?

    No. Those are exactly the characters a lookalike copies. Compare the whole address, or use a tool like this one that marks every difference.

    Does upper or lower case matter?

    It depends on the address. For 0x addresses on Ethereum and similar networks, the capitals are only a typo check, so the same letters in a different case are the same address. Bitcoin addresses that start with bc1 aren't case-sensitive either. For Solana, TRON and older Bitcoin addresses that start with 1 or 3, case matters, so a single changed capital makes it a different address. The tool handles this for you.

    Is sending a small test payment enough?

    It helps, but it isn't enough on its own. The $50 million victim sent a test to the right address and then copied the wrong one for the big payment. After a test, copy the address again from your trusted source, not from your history, and compare it before the main send.

    The addresses match. Does that mean I'm fine?

    A match only means the two addresses are the same. It can't tell you whether the address you trust is right, or whether the person asking for money is genuine. If someone you met online is asking you to send crypto, read our guide to fake crypto apps first.

    Does this tool save what I paste?

    No. The comparison runs entirely in your web browser. Nothing you paste is sent to us or anyone else, and nothing is stored.

    I already sent crypto to the wrong address. What now?

    Crypto payments usually can't be reversed. If you sent from an exchange, contact its support through its own website or app right away. In the US, report it to the FBI at ic3.gov. Be wary of anyone who contacts you offering to get it back for a fee. Read about crypto recovery scams and how to report a crypto scam.

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    What it checks

    Every character of the two addresses, hidden spaces and invisible characters, lookalike letters from other alphabets, and whether the start and end match while the middle doesn't.

    What it can't do

    It can't tell you who owns an address or whether the address you trust is the right one. It only tells you whether the two you pasted are the same.

    How it works

    A short script on this page compares the two addresses in your browser. It knows the common formats for Ethereum-style, Bitcoin, TRON and Solana addresses, and it compares any other format character by character.

    Sources

    This tool is for education only and is not legal or financial advice. A match does not prove an address belongs to the person you think it does. If you have lost money, report it at ic3.gov (US) and contact your exchange right away.