Document Forgery in Crypto: Scams, Fake Platforms, and How to Spot Them

When you hear document forgery, the act of creating or altering official-looking documents to deceive. Also known as fake paperwork, it’s not just about forged signatures on bank forms—it’s how scammers build entire crypto empires out of lies. In crypto, document forgery takes many forms: fake whitepapers with made-up team photos, counterfeit exchange websites that copy real logos, and airdrop pages that look like they’re run by CoinMarketCap but aren’t. These aren’t just sloppy fakes—they’re carefully crafted traps designed to look real until it’s too late.

Look at what’s happened with fake airdrops, promises of free tokens that require you to connect your wallet or pay a fee. Projects like SWAPP Protocol never had an airdrop—but dozens of sites claimed otherwise, using copied logos and fake countdown timers. Then there’s crypto exchange fraud, platforms that mimic real exchanges but vanish after users deposit funds. Altsbit and Blockfinex weren’t just poorly run—they were built on false claims of security and volume. Even OFAC sanctions, U.S. government actions targeting criminal crypto networks reveal how deeply forged identities and fake companies fuel theft. North Korean hackers used fake IT worker profiles to launder $2.1 billion. Myanmar scammers ran entire fraud rings from fake offices with forged business licenses. These aren’t random acts—they’re systemic document forgery on a global scale.

And it’s not just about the big names. Tiny tokens like Videocoin by Drakula, WaterMinder, and Sταking look like real projects because they copy real names, use professional-looking websites, and even post fake GitHub commits. They don’t need to be perfect—they just need to look real long enough for someone to send crypto. The real danger isn’t the tech—it’s the trust. People don’t lose money because they didn’t understand blockchain. They lose it because they believed a document that wasn’t real.

What you’ll find below isn’t a list of every scam—it’s a collection of real cases where document forgery led to real losses. From fake airdrops that stole thousands to exchanges that vanished overnight, these stories show how forgery works, who it targets, and how to spot it before it’s too late.