Scan a QR code
The picture is read on this device. It is not uploaded, and the camera turns off as soon as a code is read. You see everything the code says before anything is checked.
Why the payer matters, not only the payment
Most payment scams are about the money not being real: a screenshot, a fake token, a transfer that never confirms. This page is about the other risk, which is real money that brings trouble with it. Funds from a sanctioned address can get your own exchange account frozen. Funds from a drainer may be stolen, and the person they were stolen from can trace them to you. And an address Tether or Circle has frozen cannot send that coin at all, so a payment from it that you were shown is not a payment.
All of that is visible from the address alone, before any money moves. So the moment to check is when somebody gives you the address they will pay from, not after you have handed something over.
What this page reads
The US sanctions list
Our daily mirror of the US Treasury Specially Designated Nationals list, with the date of our copy on every answer. A designation is a legal fact, so it is reported as one and never folded into a score.
Veriql Drain Watch
Our own list of addresses reported as drainers, scams or thefts. A different claim from a sanction, reported separately so neither borrows the other’s weight.
A freeze
Read straight from Tether’s and Circle’s own contracts: USDT on Tron and Ethereum, USDC on Ethereum, Base, Polygon and Arbitrum. A frozen address cannot send that coin to anyone.
Who paid it before
On Ethereum and Tron, how many addresses that later had their USDT frozen by Tether paid this address directly, with dates and transactions. That is exposure, not guilt, and the result says so.
An exchange wallet
Strangers deposit into an exchange all day, so frozen senders are normal there. When an explorer labels the address as an exchange we say so, and do not count that exposure against it. The label never clears anything else.
What it will not claim
If any part could not be read, the result says we could not check and names the part. It never says no known risks about a check that did not run, and it never says anything about the person behind the address.
Before you hand anything over
No known risks means the address is not on the lists we read, as of the date shown. It does not mean the payment is real or that it will arrive. Wait until the money is in your own wallet and confirmed, then check the transaction itself on Is this USDT real?, which compares it with Tether’s own contract. A payer who pushes you to release first is a reason to slow down.
Anyone charging to unfreeze or recover USDT is a scammer. Only Tether or Circle can unfreeze. If a payer tells you the money is stuck and a fee will release it, that is the scam, and Veriql never offers a recovery service.
Questions people ask
How do I check who is paying me in crypto?
Ask for the address the money will come from and paste it above, or scan it from a QR code. We check four things: whether the address is on the US Treasury sanctions list, whether Veriql Drain Watch lists it as a drainer or scam, whether Tether or Circle has frozen it, and whether it has received USDT from addresses Tether later froze. It is free, and there is nothing to connect or sign.
Why does it matter who is paying me?
Because where money came from can follow it to you. Funds from a sanctioned address can get your own account frozen at an exchange, and for a US person receiving them is a sanctions violation. Funds from a drainer may be stolen, and the victim or the police may trace them to you. And an address Tether or Circle has frozen cannot send that coin at all, so a screenshot showing a payment from it is fake.
What does it mean if the payer received USDT from frozen addresses?
It is exposure, not guilt. Tether freezes addresses tied to scams and thefts, and anyone who was paid by one of them before the freeze shows up here, including people who sold them something honestly. We show how many such senders there are, how many are still frozen, and the transactions, so you can judge how close the link is. One old payment is a weak signal. Many recent ones are a reason to ask questions before you hand anything over.
Why does an exchange wallet show payments from frozen addresses?
Because strangers deposit into it all day, and some of them are later frozen. For an address an explorer labels as an exchange, such as a Binance or OKX wallet on Tronscan, we say that this exposure is normal and do not count it against the address. The label is the explorer's, not ours, and it never clears a sanctions designation, a Drain Watch listing or a freeze on the address itself.
What if the check could not finish?
Then the result says we could not check, and names which part could not be read: the sanctions list, a freeze list, or the frozen senders. It never reads as no known risks, because a check that did not run has found nothing either way. Try again in a minute. If you need an answer now, treat the unread part as unknown, not as clear.
Which chains does this check?
The sanctions list and Drain Watch cover EVM chains, Tron, Bitcoin and Solana. Freezes are read from Tether's and Circle's own contracts where those contracts can answer: USDT on Tron and Ethereum, and USDC on Ethereum, Base, Polygon and Arbitrum. Payments from frozen addresses are counted on Ethereum and Tron. On Bitcoin there is no freeze list at all, so only the lists are checked, and the result says so.
Does no known risks mean the payment is real?
No. It means this address is not on the lists we read, as of the date shown, and nothing more. A payer with a clean address can still send fake USDT, a screenshot, or a payment that never arrives. Do not hand anything over until the money is in your own wallet, and check the transaction itself on our Is this USDT real page, which compares it with Tether's own contract.
Someone says my USDT is frozen and I must pay to release it. Is that real?
No. Anyone charging to unfreeze or recover USDT is a scammer. Only Tether or Circle can unfreeze, and neither charges a fee through a third party or asks you to send more money first. This is one of the most common follow-up scams aimed at people who were just paid or just lost money, and Veriql never offers a recovery service.