Prerequisites: You need a Risk API key and familiarity with the Payment Risk Assessment endpoint.
The Three Scam-Relevant Risk Factors
Payment Risk Assessment evaluates 8 independent risk dimensions. Three are directly designed to catch common payment scams:| Risk Factor | What It Catches | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
| Address Poisoning Detection | Scammer creates a lookalike address that matches the first/last 4 characters of a real contact | HIGH |
| New Wallet Detection | Recipient is a freshly created wallet with no history - common in advance-fee fraud and impersonation scams | MEDIUM–HIGH |
| Interaction History | Sender has never transacted with this recipient before - flags unfamiliar counterparties | HIGH |
How Address Poisoning Works
Address poisoning is one of the most common crypto scams. Here’s the attack:- The scammer monitors the victim’s transaction history
- They generate an address that matches the first and last 4 characters of a real recipient the victim has sent to before
- They send a small “dust” transaction from the poisoned address to the victim
- The victim later copies the address from their transaction history, unknowingly selecting the scammer’s lookalike address
- Funds are sent to the scammer instead of the intended recipient
How Payment Risk Assessment Detects It
Theaddress_poisoning_attack factor compares the recipient address against known poison address patterns associated with the sender. If the recipient’s prefix and suffix match a poisoning pattern, it returns HIGH risk.
How New Wallet Scams Work
Many scams involve directing victims to send funds to newly created wallets:- Impersonation scams - “Send funds to this new wallet for verification”
- Fake investment schemes - Scammer provides a brand-new deposit address
- Romance scams - Victim is given a fresh wallet address to “help” with
- Phishing - Fake dApp or site provides a newly generated receiving address
How Payment Risk Assessment Detects It
Thenew_wallet_recipient factor analyzes the recipient’s onchain transaction history:
| Recipient History | Risk Level | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| 0 transactions | HIGH | new_wallet_recipient |
| <3 transactions OR <7 days old | MEDIUM | new_wallet_recipient |
| ≥3 transactions AND >7 days old | LOW | established_wallet_recipient |
How First-Interaction Risk Works
Even without address poisoning or a new wallet, sending to someone you’ve never transacted with before carries inherent risk. Scams overwhelmingly involve first-time interactions - the victim has no prior relationship with the scammer’s address.How Payment Risk Assessment Detects It
Thefirst_interaction factor examines the transaction history between sender and recipient across both same-network and cross-chain indices:
| Prior Interactions | Risk Level | Factor |
|---|---|---|
| 0 (first time) | HIGH | first_interaction |
| 1–2 interactions | MEDIUM | limited_interaction_history |
| 3+ interactions | LOW | established_interaction_history |
A first interaction is not inherently malicious - everyone has a first transaction. The value is in combining it with other factors. A first interaction with an established wallet is normal. A first interaction with a brand-new wallet that matches a poisoning pattern is almost certainly a scam.
Building a Scam Prevention Flow
Step 1: Check Payment Risk Before Sending
Step 2: Extract Scam-Relevant Factors
Step 3: Display Warnings to Users
Scam Pattern Reference
| Scam Type | Triggered Factors | Combined Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Address poisoning | address_poisoning_attack | Critical |
| Impersonation / phishing | new_wallet_recipient + first_interaction | High |
| Advance-fee fraud | new_wallet_recipient + first_interaction | High |
| Compromised account | first_interaction + malicious_connection_recipient_high | High |
| Fake investment | new_wallet_recipient + first_interaction | High |
| Typo / wrong address | first_interaction (no poisoning) | Medium |
| Legitimate new contact | first_interaction + established_wallet_recipient | Low–Medium |
| Regular payment | established_interaction_history + established_wallet_recipient | Low |
Integration Recommendations
For Wallets
- Run Payment Risk Assessment on every send before the user signs
- Display scam warnings inline - not as a separate step users can skip
- For address poisoning: show a full-screen blocker, not a dismissable toast
- Cache results briefly (30 seconds) to avoid re-querying if the user adjusts the amount
For Payment Processors
- Check both directions: screen the sender when receiving, screen the recipient when sending
- Log all risk assessments for dispute resolution and fraud investigation
- Set automated hold policies for first-interaction payments above a threshold amount
For Exchanges
- Run Payment Risk Assessment on withdrawal requests before processing
- Flag
address_poisoning_attackresults for manual review - these are almost never false positives - Use
first_interaction+new_wallet_recipientto trigger additional verification (email confirmation, 2FA) on withdrawals to new addresses
What’s Next
Payment Risk Assessment
Full endpoint reference with all 8 risk dimensions explained.
Wallet Integration
Add address screening and transaction simulation to your wallet.

