Just days after its highly anticipated mainnet launch, the Monad network is cautioning users about a wave of spoofed ERC-20 token transfers designed to deceive investors. While the scam tactic creates misleading transaction logs, the Monad team has confirmed that no user funds have been lost and the network itself has not been compromised.

The deceptive activity began surfacing within 48 hours of the launch, prompting Monad co-founder and CTO James Hunsaker to issue a public warning. He explained that scammers were broadcasting fabricated transactions that appeared to originate from his own wallet, a common social engineering tactic aimed at new users.

Understanding the Spoofing Tactic

Spoofing involves deploying a malicious smart contract that emits fake transfer logs. These logs are designed to look legitimate on blockchain explorers and in user wallets, creating the false impression that tokens have been sent or received. However, these events don’t involve any actual movement of assets.

As Hunsaker noted, the ERC-20 standard is simply an interface, meaning anyone can create a contract that generates these misleading notifications. The ultimate goal isn’t to directly drain a wallet but to trick users into visiting phishing websites or interacting with malicious contracts that request token approvals, which can then lead to theft.

This type of scam is a recurring issue on new Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible chains, where a surge in activity and user excitement creates fertile ground for bad actors. Despite brief alarm on social media, Monad clarified that the incident was not a network exploit.

Airdrop Hype Creates a Prime Target

Attackers are likely capitalizing on the significant hype surrounding Monad’s launch. The initial airdrop saw more than 76,000 wallets claim 3.33 billion MON tokens, worth approximately $105 million at the time. This high level of engagement made the ecosystem an attractive target for phishing campaigns.

Monad, a high-performance, EVM-compatible network built by former Jump Trading engineers, has been one of the most active launches of the year. The project has raised over $260 million from prominent investors like Paradigm and Electric Capital and went live with support from more than 280 projects.

Since its launch, the MON token price has seen a significant rise of over 50%, trading near $0.045. As activity on the network continues to grow, the Monad team is urging users to remain vigilant, rely only on verified explorers, and carefully double-check all contract interactions before approving them.