How to verify a transaction yourself, in about two minutes
“Can I check any of this without being technical?”
Yes. Public ledgers are public. Anyone can inspect any transaction or address, free, with no account, using a website called a block explorer.
Pick the explorer yourself
Type the address into your own browser rather than clicking a link you were sent. For Ethereum use etherscan.io, for Tron tronscan.org, for Bitcoin mempool.space or blockstream.info. Choosing the site yourself is the entire security benefit; a link they provide can point anywhere.
What to look at
Paste the transaction hash or the wallet address into the search box. For a transaction, check the status is confirmed, the amount, the token, and the destination — character for character, not just the first few and last few, which is precisely the trick an address-poisoning attack relies on.
For an address, look at when it first transacted and how much it has handled. An address that first appeared last week and has received deposits from many unrelated people is a collection point, not a trading platform.
Checking the domain's age
Go to rdap.org and add /domain/ and the website name — for example rdap.org/domain/example.com. Look for the registration date. A platform soliciting deposits on a domain registered weeks ago is not an established venue, whatever its website claims about its history.
This one check is free, takes thirty seconds, and is among the most reliable single indicators there is. Legitimate regulated venues do not appear a fortnight before taking customer money.
How this gets used against people
Frauds depend on you not looking, or on looking only where they point you. Both are solved by navigating to a site you chose.
What you can check yourself
- Never use a link someone sent you to verify what that same person told you.
- Compare addresses in full. Matching first and last characters is the attack, not the check.
- Check the domain's registration date before you send anything.