How to Revoke a Token Approval After Claiming a Scam Airdrop

01 October 2026

If you have claimed a scam airdrop and approved a malicious token contract to spend your tokens, you need to revoke that approval immediately. The approval gives the scammer permission to transfer tokens from your wallet without any further action from you. Revoking it removes that permission. You can do this through a block explorer like Etherscan, a token approval checker tool, or directly within your wallet interface.

What a token approval actually does

When you interact with a smart contract - for example, to claim an airdrop - the contract often asks for approval to spend a specific token on your behalf. This is standard for legitimate operations like swapping or staking. The approval sets a limit: the contract can transfer up to that many tokens from your wallet.

A scam airdrop will request approval for a high or unlimited amount. Once granted, the scammer can drain those tokens at any time. The approval remains active until you revoke it, even if you have already moved your tokens out of the wallet. If you later deposit the same token back into that wallet, the approval still applies.

How to check which approvals your wallet has

Before revoking, you need to know which contracts have approval to spend which tokens. Several free tools can show this:

• Etherscan Token Approval Checker - Enter your wallet address on Etherscan, then navigate to the "Token Approvals" section under the "More" menu. It lists every approval by token and contract.
• Revoke.cash - A dedicated site that connects to your wallet and displays all active approvals across multiple networks. It also provides a one-click revoke function.
• Wallet built-in tools - Some wallets like MetaMask now include an approval management feature under "Settings" or "Security & Privacy."

Connect your wallet to one of these tools. Look for any approval you do not recognise, especially one tied to the contract you interacted with during the airdrops/claim-airdrop-vs-automatic-distribution/">airdrop claim.

How to Revoke an Approval

The method depends on the tool you choose, but the core process is the same.

Using Etherscan

1. Go to Etherscan and enter your wallet address.
2. Click the "More" dropdown, then select "Token Approvals."
3. The page shows a list of approved contracts and their spending limits.
4. Find the suspicious approval. Click "Revoke" next to it.
5. Your wallet will prompt you to confirm a transaction. This transaction calls the token contract's approve function with a limit of zero.
6. Confirm the transaction and pay the gas fee. Once mined, the approval is removed.

Using Revoke.cash

1. Open Revoke.cash and connect your wallet.
2. Select the network where the scam airdrop occurred.
3. The site shows all approvals for that network.
4. Click "Revoke" on the unwanted approval.
5. Confirm the transaction in your wallet. Pay the gas fee.
6. After confirmation, the approval disappears from the list.

Directly in your wallet

Some wallets let you set a new approval of zero for a specific contract.

• In MetaMask, go to the activity tab for the token, find the approval transaction, and select "Revoke."
• Other wallets may offer a similar option under token settings.

What if you cannot revoke?

A few scenarios can block revocation:

• The token contract itself is malicious - Some scam tokens have a hidden function that prevents revoking. In that case, you cannot revoke through normal means. The safest action is to stop using that wallet address entirely and move any remaining legitimate assets to a new wallet.
• You have no ETH for gas - Revoking requires a transaction, which needs ETH (or the network's native token) for gas. If your wallet is empty, you will need to send a small amount from another wallet to cover the fee.
• The approval is on a different network - Check which network the airdrop was on. Approvals are network-specific. Revoke on the same network where the approval was given.

Preventing the problem next time

Using a burner wallet for airdrop claims is the most effective way to avoid this situation. Keep your main wallet separate, and only use it for transactions you fully trust. Before claiming any airdrop, verify the contract address against the project's official documentation. Never approve an unlimited spending limit for an unverified contract.

If you have already claimed a scam airdrop, revoke the approval as soon as possible. Every minute the approval remains active is a minute the scammer can drain your wallet.

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