DeFi platforms bake risk scoring into swaps, using real‑time contract scans to stop honeypots, rug pulls and spoofed tokens before funds vanish.
The Web3 ecosystem is facing a sharp rise in scams and malicious tokens. In 2024, the FBI reported a record $9.3 billion stolen in the United States alone. Sophisticated tactics such as smart-contract exploits and bogus token airdrops are tripping up even veteran traders.
For example, “honeypot” tokens lure buyers with promises of huge returns but block withdrawals once funds are in. Another menace is token impersonation: criminals mint look-alike coins — for instance, spoofing stablecoins like Tether (USDT) — and send them from fake addresses, a method the FBI says can lead to “address-poisoning” scams.
With roughly 43 percent of new crypto scams tied to rug pulls and one-third to honeypots, Web3 users face a minefield of hidden threats.
To blunt these risks, projects are building security into their protocols instead of leaving it to end-users. A case in point is the new partnership between blockchain security suite Web3 Antivirus (W3A) and DeFi aggregator 1inch. The collaboration deepens the “security-first” ethos of 1inch’s platform, enhancing its automated token and transaction scanner running in real time behind the scenes.
Web3 Antivirus’s engine inspects every contract and address a 1inch user touches, scoring them for risk and flagging anomalies before a swap is signed. If a user selects a dubious token, an instant warning appears, steering them away from impostors.
The integration is highlighted by its speed and non-intrusiveness. W3A says its SDK and API plug into a decentralized exchange (DEX) or wallet in under two hours, and 1inch integrates full-time threat checks without altering its interface or adding lag.
Because the security layer spans all EVM-compatible chains on 1inch — Ethereum, Base, Unichain and more — users get the same protection wherever they trade. The protection runs quietly under the hood, adding safety to the user flow without slowing anything down.
By integrating Web3 Antivirus’s risk-scoring API, 1inch essentially runs an automated watchtower for malicious activity, including:
Because the scanner runs each time a user is about to sign, many scams never leave the starting gate. As 1inch noted in a security briefing, providing such real-time insights empowers users to halt malicious actions and “navigate the complexities of Web3 safely”.
The 1inch-W3A deal illustrates a broader trend: DeFi platforms and wallets are treating threat detection as core infrastructure. W3A offers the same tools to any exchange, wallet or DApp via APIs and SDKs, plus a Scam Pulse dashboard that tracks the latest phishing campaigns and malicious tokens in real time. Early warnings arrive days before scams go viral, giving platforms a head start.
For businesses, this layer protects both balance sheets and reputations, while automated screening of sanctioned addresses helps satisfy regulators. W3A says its checks have already run on tens of millions of wallets through fintech and DeFi partners, evidence that demand for embedded security is growing fast.
Proactive token risk detection is moving from nice-to-have to table stakes for Web3. Instead of relying on user vigilance or post-mortem investigations, projects are baking threat intel directly into the user journey. The 1inch partnership shows how effective that shift can be — scam detection that’s silent, instant and automatic.
Find out more about Web3 Antivirus
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