High riskCrypto & Investment

DeFi Yield Farming Scam

This scam promotes a DeFi 'yield farming' or liquidity-mining pool with high guaranteed returns, but connecting your wallet and approving its contract grants access that drains your tokens.

Quick verdict

Risk level
High risk
Scam type
Malicious smart contract / fake yield
Main red flag
A DeFi pool promising high guaranteed yield that asks you to approve a wallet contract.
What to do first
Do not connect your wallet or approve contracts you cannot independently verify.

How this scam works

This scam promotes a DeFi 'yield farming' or liquidity-mining pool with high guaranteed returns, but connecting your wallet and approving its contract grants access that drains your tokens.

Crypto and investment scams promise high or guaranteed returns with little risk, usually through fake platforms that display staged gains. Small test withdrawals build trust before you are pushed to invest more, then blocked from withdrawing behind endless "fees" and "taxes".

In short, the giveaway is usually simple: A DeFi pool promising high guaranteed yield that asks you to approve a wallet contract. Do not connect your wallet or approve contracts you cannot independently verify.

Scammers rotate tactics constantly, the same operation may also run the Fake Crypto Wallet Scam and the Rug Pull Scam. See the full Crypto & Investment Scams guides hub, or test a suspicious message with the scam checker.

How to spot this scam

  • High or guaranteed 'daily' yields with no real risk disclosure
  • Requests to approve unlimited token access to a contract
  • An unaudited or unverifiable project pushed via DMs or ads
  • Pressure to join before a pool 'fills up'
  • A dashboard showing rewards you cannot withdraw

What the message looks like

Example pattern, not a real report
Example pattern: 'Earn 2% daily by staking in our new liquidity pool! Connect your wallet and approve the contract to start farming rewards now.'

This is a fictional, anonymised example used to illustrate the pattern. It is not a verified real message, and any names are used only to show how the scam typically reads.

What gives it away: A DeFi pool promising high guaranteed yield that asks you to approve a wallet contract.

The scale of it

$4.6B
reported lost to investment scams in the US in 2023, the top fraud category by losses
Source: US Federal Trade Commission
$1B+
in cryptocurrency reported lost to scams between 2021 and mid-2022
Source: US Federal Trade Commission

How to protect yourself

  • Treat guaranteed high yields as a major warning sign
  • Research the project, team, and contract audits independently
  • Limit and review token approvals; revoke ones you do not recognise
  • Use a separate wallet with limited funds for anything experimental

Already responded? Do this now

  • Revoke the contract's token approvals using a trusted tool
  • Move remaining assets to a new, secure wallet
  • Stop depositing and do not pay fees to 'unlock' rewards
  • Keep records of contracts and transactions for your report

Mistakes to avoid

  • Do not approve unlimited token access to unknown contracts
  • Do not chase guaranteed daily yields
  • Do not deposit more to release blocked 'rewards'

Related scams to know

High risk Crypto & Investment

Fake Crypto Wallet Scam

The fake crypto wallet scam uses a counterfeit wallet app or browser extension that looks just like a trusted one. Downloaded from an unofficial store, an advert, or a link, it is built to capture your seed phrase or private key. Once you enter that information, the criminals behind it can drain every asset in your wallet, often within minutes and with no way to reverse the transactions. Your seed phrase is the master key to your funds, so it must never be entered into anything but a genuine wallet you trust.

Created by Scam or Safe Editorial Team
High risk Crypto & Investment

Rug Pull Scam

In a rug pull, developers heavily promote a new crypto token or project to attract investment and push the price up, then suddenly sell their holdings and abandon it, leaving investors with tokens they cannot sell.

Created by Scam or Safe Editorial Team
High risk Crypto & Investment

Crypto Airdrop Scam

This scam offers a free 'airdrop' of tokens, but to claim them you are told to connect your crypto wallet to a site or approve a transaction, which can grant access that drains your wallet.

Created by Scam or Safe Editorial Team

Common questions

How do these scams drain my wallet?
Approving a malicious contract can grant it permission to move your tokens. Once approved, the scammer can transfer your assets out.
Can DeFi really offer guaranteed daily returns?
No legitimate investment guarantees fixed high returns. Promises of steady 'daily' yield are a hallmark of crypto scams.
I connected my wallet. What now?
Revoke the contract's token approvals with a trusted tool, move remaining funds to a new wallet, and stop interacting with the project.
How can I reduce risk in DeFi?
Research and verify projects and audits, limit token approvals, use a separate low-value wallet for experiments, and avoid guaranteed-return pitches.

Last reviewed June 2026 · Written & reviewed by the

Disclaimer: This page provides educational information only to help you recognise common scam patterns. It is not legal, financial, cybersecurity, or law enforcement advice, and it does not confirm whether any specific message, company, or person is genuine or fraudulent. When in doubt, contact the official organisation directly and report concerns to your local authorities.