Brand-jacking is the simplest scam play on Ethereum: deploy a token that uses the symbol of a famous project, ride the search volume, confuse buyers who type the ticker into DEX search instead of checking the contract address. Every meme cycle, the same tickers get attacked. Some tickers (Shiba Inu, Laika) are now 100% fake on Ethereum: every contract using that symbol is a scam.
Below are the 10 most brand-jacked tickers on Ethereum based on 90 days of RektRadar scans (2026-Q1/Q2). Numbers are scam contracts with risk score 70+ out of all contracts deploying that ticker.
TL;DR ranking
| # | Ticker | Scam contracts | Total | Scam rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $WAR | 57 | 67 | 85% |
| 2 | $ASTEROID | 39 | 52 | 75% |
| 3 | $XRP | 31 | 37 | 84% |
| 4 | $Laika | 29 | 29 | 100% |
| 5 | $SLP | 29 | 31 | 94% |
| 6 | $USDT | 28 | 351 | 8% |
| 7 | $PEPE | 27 | 52 | 52% |
| 8 | $Shiba | 25 | 25 | 100% |
| 9 | $TRUMP | 19 | 47 | 40% |
| 10 | $MAGA | 14 | 17 | 82% |
1. $WAR — 57 scam contracts
$WAR has the highest absolute count in our dataset. Most of these piggyback on geopolitical news cycles, with deployers spinning up a new $WAR contract within hours of headline events. Top flags on the 57 flagged contracts: honeypot, sell_failed, buy_failed.
The full list with risk scores is at app.rektradar.io/scam/WAR.
2. $ASTEROID — 39 scam contracts
$ASTEROID surged in early 2026 around space-themed memecoin hype. Out of 52 contracts using the ticker, 39 (75%) hit the rug pull pattern: hidden_owner, name_mimics_known_token, honeypot. See $ASTEROID scam reports.
3. $XRP — 31 scam contracts (and the real XRP isn’t even on Ethereum)
XRP is a Ripple Labs token that lives on the XRP Ledger — it’s not natively on Ethereum. Yet 37 contracts using the $XRP ticker have been deployed on Ethereum, 31 of them (84%) flagged as high-risk honeypots. If you see “$XRP” on Uniswap or any Ethereum DEX, the contract is by definition not the official Ripple token. See $XRP scam reports.
4. $Laika — 100% scam rate
Every single $Laika contract on Ethereum (29/29) we have analyzed is a scam. Common traits: no liquidity history, buy_failed flags, honeypot patterns. There is no legitimate $Laika token on Ethereum mainnet — if you see one, it’s fake. See $Laika scam reports.
5. $SLP — 94% scam rate
Smooth Love Potion ($SLP) is the in-game currency of Axie Infinity on Ronin chain (and bridged to Ethereum). 29 of 31 contracts flagged as high-risk on Ethereum mainnet. Common patterns: unrestricted_mint, approve_with_transfer, flash_loan_callback. See $SLP scam reports.
6. $USDT — 28 fake Tethers
Tether’s $USDT is the most-traded stablecoin in crypto. 28 contracts on Ethereum (out of 351 total deployments using the ticker) have been flagged as honeypots impersonating it. The real $USDT contract is 0xdAC17F958D2ee523a2206206994597C13D831ec7 — if you ever interact with a different address claiming to be Tether, assume it’s a scam. See $USDT scam reports.
7. $PEPE — 27 scam contracts
The original meme-frog ticker. Real $PEPE (0x6982508145454ce325ddbe47a25d4ec3d2311933) launched in 2023. Since then, 27 of 52 contracts using the ticker (52%) have been flagged as scams. Top flags on the fakes: sell_failed, honeypot, low_liquidity. See $PEPE scam reports.
8. $Shiba — 100% scam rate
Shiba Inu’s real ticker is $SHIB, not $Shiba. The $Shiba spelling is exclusively used by impersonators — 25/25 contracts on Ethereum. Honeypot, buy_failed, and “name_mimics_known_token” are the dominant flags. See $Shiba scam reports.
9. $TRUMP — 19 scam contracts
Politically-charged tickers spike during news cycles. 19 of 47 $TRUMP contracts on Ethereum are flagged. Many copy the official Solana TRUMP token’s branding to confuse buyers. See $TRUMP scam reports.
10. $MAGA — 14 scam contracts
Same political angle as $TRUMP. 14 of 17 contracts (82%) flagged as high-risk. Top flags: no_graph_data, hidden_owner, new_wallet, approve_with_transfer. See $MAGA scam reports.
How to protect yourself from brand-jacking
- Always check the contract address, not just the ticker. Get it from the project’s official site, Twitter (verified handle), or CoinGecko.
- Beware spelling variations: $Shiba vs $SHIB, $Tether vs $USDT, $Bitcoin vs $BTC. Scammers exploit these.
- If a token’s official chain is Solana / XRP Ledger / Ronin, then any Ethereum version is by definition not the original.
- Run any new contract through an on-chain scanner before sending ETH. RektRadar covers all 10 of these tickers and 200+ more.
Methodology
Source: RektRadar’s token_analysis table, queried for the last 90 days (2026-Q1/Q2). “Scam contracts” = contracts with risk_score >= 70 across our 80+ flag detection. “Total” includes all contracts that deployed using the ticker, regardless of risk. Tickers with under 5 scam hits or generic names (“test”, “scam”, single-letter symbols) excluded from the ranking.