💀 SURVEILLANCE

Types of Crypto Rugs: The Complete Classification

Tim Cheese
2025-07-01
5 min read

Know your enemy, family. Tim Cheese's compiled the complete classification of every rug pull method these scumbags use to steal your hard-earned cheese.

Study this like your financial life depends on it - because it does. Each type has its own signature, its own warning signs, and its own defense strategy.

Tim Cheese's Threat Level Classification

LEVEL 1
Soft Rug
Recoverable
LEVEL 2
Medium Rug
Significant Loss
LEVEL 3
Hard Rug
Major Loss
LEVEL 4
Exit Scam
Total Loss

Level 1: Soft Rugs (The Amateurs)

Slow Drain

Team gradually sells their tokens over weeks/months instead of dumping all at once.

Detection: Consistent selling pressure, declining price
TapTools Check: Monitor team wallet for regular outflows
Recovery: Possible if caught early
Pump & Dump

Artificial price pump through marketing, then team dumps at peak.

Detection: Sudden volume spikes, coordinated shilling
TapTools Check: Look for previous pump patterns
Recovery: Partial if you exit during pump

Level 1 Defense Strategy:

  • • Set stop-loss orders at 20-30% below entry
  • • Monitor team wallets daily using TapTools
  • • Watch for unusual trading volume patterns
  • • Take profits during obvious pump phases

Level 2: Medium Rugs (The Professionals)

Liquidity Migration

"We're upgrading!" - Team moves liquidity to new contract they control.

Detection: Sudden migration announcements, new contracts
TapTools Check: Verify team's history with migrations
Recovery: Difficult, requires quick action
Fake Lock Rug

Liquidity appears "locked" but team controls the lock contract.

Detection: Custom lock contracts, team-controlled keys
TapTools Check: Analyze lock contract ownership
Recovery: Unlikely once executed

Level 2 Defense Strategy:

  • • Verify all lock contracts with independent auditors
  • • Never trust "migration" announcements without proof
  • • Use TapTools to check team's migration history
  • • Exit immediately on suspicious contract changes

Level 3: Hard Rugs (The Experts)

Honeypot Trap

You can buy tokens but smart contract prevents selling. One-way ticket to poverty.

Detection: Test small sells, check contract code
TapTools Check: Look for sell transaction history
Recovery: Zero - tokens are permanently trapped
Backdoor Mint

Hidden function allows team to mint unlimited tokens, diluting your holdings to zero.

Detection: Sudden supply increases, contract audit required
TapTools Check: Monitor total supply changes
Recovery: Minimal - massive dilution damage

Level 3 Defense Strategy:

  • • Always test sell small amounts before major investment
  • • Require professional smart contract audits
  • • Monitor total supply constantly for unexpected changes
  • • Never invest in unaudited contracts

Level 4: Exit Scams (The Professionals)

Classic Liquidity Pull

Team removes ALL liquidity instantly. Token becomes worthless overnight.

Detection: Impossible to predict, happens instantly
TapTools Check: Monitor liquidity provider wallets
Recovery: Zero - complete loss
Vanishing Act

Team disappears completely - social media deleted, websites down, no communication.

Detection: Sudden silence, deleted accounts
TapTools Check: Track team wallets for movement
Recovery: Zero - they're gone forever

Level 4 Defense Strategy:

  • • Only invest in projects with locked liquidity (6+ months)
  • • Require doxxed teams with verifiable identities
  • • Use TapTools to verify team has no rug history
  • • Never invest more than 5% of portfolio in any single project

The "We Got Hacked" Scam

One of the dirtiest tricks in the rugger playbook: fake getting hacked. These scumbags empty the treasury themselves, then cry "hacker!" to avoid responsibility. It's the perfect crime - until Tim Cheese catches them.

The Classic "Hack"

Team drains liquidity/treasury, claims external attack. Posts fake "evidence" and sob stories.

Red Flags: No police report, vague technical details, immediate "moving on"
Common Excuse: "Our private keys were compromised"
Reality: Inside job 95% of the time
The Social Engineering "Hack"

"Someone tricked our dev!" Team claims social engineering attack to cover their tracks.

Story: Dev "accidentally" gave access to "hacker"
Truth: Team member was the "hacker"
Detection: Check if funds went to new or known team wallets

How They Stage Fake Hacks:

The Setup:

  • • Create "hacker" wallet weeks in advance
  • • Leave fake vulnerability breadcrumbs
  • • Time the "hack" during low activity
  • • Prepare victim narrative in advance
  • • Have "recovery plan" ready to pitch

The Execution:

  • • Transfer funds to "hacker" wallet
  • • Post dramatic announcement
  • • Share fake transaction "analysis"
  • • Play victim, gather sympathy
  • • Slowly abandon project

Tim Cheese's Fake Hack Detection:

Real hacks leave evidence. Fake hacks leave stories. Here's how to spot the difference:

  • • Real hack: Immediate police reports, forensic analysis, legal action
  • • Fake hack: Vague explanations, no authorities involved, quick "moving forward"
  • • Real hack: Detailed technical post-mortem with evidence
  • • Fake hack: Emotional appeals, blame shifting, no real details
  • • Real hack: Team fights to recover funds
  • • Fake hack: Team accepts fate suspiciously quickly

CABAL Coordination: The Ultimate Threat

The most dangerous ruggers don't work alone. They operate in coordinated groups - what we call CABALs. These networks share resources, split profits, and execute sophisticated multi-stage attacks.

CABAL Tactics:

Coordination Methods:

  • • Multiple wallets to hide connections
  • • Coordinated social media campaigns
  • • Shared influencer networks
  • • Cross-project token swaps
  • • Synchronized timing attacks

Detection Signals:

  • • Similar wallet funding patterns
  • • Shared marketing strategies
  • • Connected social media accounts
  • • Identical contract code patterns
  • • Coordinated launch timing

TapTools CABAL Analysis:

Use TapTools to trace wallet connections and identify CABAL networks:

  • • Check if team wallets have funded each other
  • • Look for shared transaction patterns across projects
  • • Identify wallets that participate in multiple "projects"
  • • Track token creation patterns from connected wallets

Tim Cheese's Rugger Classification System

The Amateur
  • • First-time rugger
  • • Obvious mistakes
  • • Poor execution
  • • Easy to detect
  • • Small-scale damage
The Professional
  • • Multiple successful rugs
  • • Sophisticated methods
  • • Good at hiding tracks
  • • Medium-scale operations
  • • Harder to detect
The CABAL Boss
  • • Coordinates multiple teams
  • • Advanced technical skills
  • • Large-scale operations
  • • Multiple attack vectors
  • • Extremely dangerous

The Bottom Line: Knowledge is Your Shield

Every rugger thinks they're unique, but they all follow the same patterns. Learn the patterns, avoid the traps.

The family has catalogued every type of rug, every CABAL tactic, every warning sign. We share this intelligence freely because an educated community is a protected community.

Tim Cheese's Rug Survival Rules:

  1. 1. Always use TapTools to check team wallet history
  2. 2. Test sell small amounts before major investment
  3. 3. Require locked liquidity for minimum 6 months
  4. 4. Never invest more than you can afford to lose
  5. 5. Trust the family's CABAL watch database

Remember: In this business, paranoia isn't a disorder - it's a survival skill. The ruggers are getting smarter, but so are we.

Stay educated, stay protected, stay in the family.

- Tim Cheese

MORE FAMILY INTELLIGENCE

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The most common way ruggers steal your money

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