On EVM chains, a scam token hides in contract code — you need a sell simulation to catch it. On Solana the trap is simpler and nastier: it lives in the token's authorities.
The two authorities that matter
Every SPL mint can carry two switches left over from creation:
- Freeze authority — whoever holds it can freeze your token account. Frozen tokens don't move: you can't sell, can't transfer, can't do anything. Buys keep working for everyone else, so the chart looks alive while early buyers are already locked in. This is the Solana equivalent of a honeypot, and it needs zero clever code.
- Mint authority — whoever holds it can print more supply at any moment, straight into your exit liquidity.
Legitimate memecoins revoke both at launch, and it's verifiable on-chain in seconds. A "community token" whose creator quietly kept freeze authority is not a community token.
Token-2022 added more switches worth checking: balance-mutable and closable account extensions (an authority can edit or force-close holder accounts), transfer fees (a hidden tax on every hop) and transfer hooks (arbitrary code that runs on each transfer).
How to check — three options, all free
1. GoPlus API directly (keyless, CORS-open):
curl "https://api.gopluslabs.io/api/v1/solana/token_security?contract_addresses=<MINT>"
Look at freezable.status, mintable.status, balance_mutable_authority, closable, transfer_fee, transfer_hook, plus holders for concentration and dex for real liquidity.
2. In the browser: I wired exactly those checks into a static page — paste a mint, get a verdict with the flags spelled out: Solana token checker. Runs 100% client-side on public APIs; nothing is stored, no wallet connection.
3. In Telegram: @RugLens_bot does the same scan inline in any chat (plus EVM chains with a live sell simulation, and TON jettons).
The gotcha with minutes-old mints
Public indexers lag a fresh mint by several minutes: metadata shows up instantly, holders and liquidity don't. A naive checker renders that as an all-green "0 issues found" — which is exactly backwards. If holder and liquidity data don't exist yet, the only honest verdict is too new to verify, i.e. risky by default. Wait a few minutes and re-check; a token that can't be verified yet is a token you don't need to be first into.
The 10-second checklist
- Freeze authority revoked? If not — out.
- Mint authority revoked? If not — out, unless there's a documented reason (stablecoins legitimately keep both; that's what whitelists are for).
- Token-2022 extensions: any balance-mutable / closable / transfer-hook flags on a random memecoin — out.
- Top-10 holders share and real DEX liquidity — three wallets holding 95% with $800 of liquidity is a rug with extra steps.
None of this tells you a token will go up. It only tells you whether the exit door exists. On Solana, that's the question most people skip.
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