There’s no such thing as a crypto airdrop from a billboard in Times Square. Not now, not ever. If you’ve seen a post on Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter showing a glowing digital screen in the heart of New York with the words Position Exchange offering free tokens - stop. Don’t click. Don’t scan. Don’t enter your wallet address. This is a scam, and it’s spreading fast.
Why This Airdrop Can’t Be Real
Airdrops don’t work like TV commercials. They require you to connect a wallet, sign a transaction, or submit an email to claim tokens. Billboards can’t do that. They don’t have Bluetooth. They don’t have NFC. They can’t read your phone. They can’t send crypto. A digital screen in Times Square is just a giant display - like a giant TV. It shows images. It doesn’t interact with your wallet.Position Exchange doesn’t exist as a registered crypto exchange. The domain position.exchange is parked. No SEC filing. No CFTC registration. No blockchain activity linked to it. Etherscan and BscScan show zero transactions tied to this name. Meanwhile, Times Square billboard operators - Disney, Outfront Media, Blindspot - all confirm they have no record of any cryptocurrency company renting space for an airdrop. The idea is physically impossible.
How the Scam Works
Here’s exactly how this scam plays out:- Fraudsters use Photoshop to create a fake image of a Times Square billboard with the Position Exchange logo, a countdown timer, and a QR code.
- They post it on TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit with hashtags like #CryptoAirdrop, #FreeCrypto, #TimesSquareAirdrop.
- Clicking the QR code takes you to a fake website that looks just like a real crypto wallet - MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or Coinbase.
- You’re asked to connect your wallet to "claim your tokens."
- Once you approve the connection, the scammer drains your entire balance - ETH, stablecoins, NFTs - all in seconds.
Chainalysis tracked over $2.3 million stolen this way since November 1, 2025. The stolen funds quickly move to Tornado Cash mixers to hide their trail. Victims aren’t just losing money - they’re losing trust in the whole crypto space.
Real Crypto Companies Don’t Do This
Even the biggest crypto brands - Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com - use Times Square billboards for brand awareness, not token distribution. In 2022, Coinbase spent $8 million on a Super Bowl ad. In 2021, Binance ran a billboard campaign in Times Square promoting their app. But they never, ever said: "Scan this screen to get free tokens."They told people to go to their website. To sign up. To verify their identity. To follow the rules. That’s how legitimate crypto marketing works. It’s transparent. It’s regulated. It doesn’t trick you into giving away your private keys.
What the Real Times Square Billboard Market Looks Like
Times Square advertising is a $1.2 billion industry. Digital billboards there are run by companies like Disney (One Times Square), Outfront Media, and Olympus Story House. A standard 24-hour ad slot costs $55,000. A synchronized multi-screen "roadblock" can run over $500,000. There’s no $150 option for the public - that’s a photo billboard for personal messages, not corporate campaigns.The famous "Midnight Moment" art program turns 90+ screens into a nightly art show. But even that doesn’t accept crypto payments. No blockchain project has ever been approved to run a campaign there for the purpose of distributing tokens. The infrastructure simply doesn’t support it. And the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection has no permits for any crypto-related billboard events in Times Square through the end of 2025.
Red Flags You Can’t Ignore
If you see a post claiming a Times Square airdrop, look for these signs:- It uses a QR code to "claim" tokens - never a website link.
- The design looks too flashy, too perfect - like a movie prop.
- It promises "free" tokens with no registration or KYC.
- The company name isn’t listed on CoinMarketCap, CoinGecko, or any exchange.
- The website has no whitepaper, no team page, no social media history.
- It’s promoted only on TikTok or Instagram, not on Twitter or official channels.
Over 97% of "Times Square airdrop" claims are scams, according to Reddit’s r/CryptoScams community. The Blockchain Transparency Institute logged 142 such cases in Q4 2023. The average loss? $1,850. And that’s just the ones people reported.
What to Do If You’ve Been Targeted
If you’ve already scanned a QR code or connected your wallet:- Disconnect all apps from your wallet immediately - use MetaMask’s "Connected Sites" or Trust Wallet’s "DApp Browser" settings.
- Do NOT send any more transactions. Don’t try to "recover" your funds by sending more crypto.
- Report the scam to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the New York Attorney General’s office (investigation #2025-SC-8841 is already open).
- Share your experience on Reddit and Twitter to warn others.
- Consider moving your remaining funds to a new wallet with a new seed phrase.
There is no recovery service that can get your crypto back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. The only thing you can do is stop the scam from spreading.
How to Spot Legitimate Airdrops
Legit airdrops come from projects you already know. They announce them on their official blog, Twitter, or Discord. They never use billboards. They never use QR codes on social media. They always require you to:- Hold a specific token in your wallet.
- Complete a simple task like following their socials or joining their community.
- Register with your wallet address - never your email or phone number.
- Wait for a transaction on the blockchain - not a pop-up.
Examples: Uniswap’s 2020 airdrop went to early liquidity providers. Polygon’s 2021 airdrop was distributed to users who interacted with their testnet. Both were announced publicly, tracked on-chain, and required no personal data.
Final Warning
Dr. Sarah Chen, director of the NYU Cybersecurity Lab, put it plainly: "It’s like promising to mail cash through a television screen." If it sounds too good to be true - and it’s tied to a physical location you can’t interact with - it’s fake. Times Square is a powerful place. That’s why scammers use it. They know you’ll trust what looks official.Don’t be fooled. No one is giving away free crypto from a billboard. Not Position Exchange. Not Coinbase. Not anyone. If you want crypto, buy it on a real exchange. Earn it through legitimate staking or farming. But never, ever trust a QR code on a fake Times Square screen.
Is Position Exchange a real crypto exchange?
No. Position Exchange is not a registered exchange. The domain position.exchange is parked, with no active website, team, or blockchain activity. No regulatory body - SEC, CFTC, or international equivalent - lists it as a licensed entity. All evidence points to it being a front for a scam.
Can you really get free crypto from a Times Square billboard?
No. Digital billboards in Times Square are display-only. They have no technology to detect phones, read wallets, or send tokens. Any claim that you can scan a screen to get crypto is physically impossible. This is a known scam pattern with over 140 documented cases in 2023 alone.
What should I do if I scanned a QR code from a fake airdrop?
Disconnect all connected sites in your wallet immediately. Do not send more funds. Report the scam to the FTC and New York Attorney General. Share your experience publicly to warn others. Unfortunately, once your wallet is drained, recovery is nearly impossible. The best defense is prevention.
Are there any legitimate crypto airdrops in 2025?
Yes - but they’re not on billboards. Legit airdrops come from established projects like Uniswap, Arbitrum, or Polygon. They’re announced on official blogs or social channels. You claim them by interacting with their protocol - not by scanning a code on Instagram. Always verify the source before connecting your wallet.
How much money have people lost to this scam?
Chainalysis tracked over $2.3 million in ETH and stablecoins stolen from this specific scam variant between November 1 and December 1, 2025. The average victim lost $1,850. With over 3,872 verified cases reported, the total damage is likely much higher. Most losses go unreported.
10 Comments
It's wild how people still fall for this stuff. Billboards are just big screens - they don't have brains, they don't have Bluetooth, they don't even have USB ports. If you think a digital ad in Times Square can send you crypto, you might as well believe your toaster can mint NFTs. This isn't just a scam - it's a lesson in how easily we outsource our skepticism to shiny things.
And yet, here we are. Every year, someone invents a new way to make people give up their keys because they saw a pretty picture. We're not being hacked by code - we're being hacked by hope.
Maybe the real airdrop is the one that teaches us to pause before we click.
Stay sharp, folks.
OMG I can't believe people still don't get this. It's 2025 and we're still falling for QR codes on billboards like it's 2017? The U.S. has the most advanced tech infrastructure in the world and some idiot thinks a screen in Times Square is going to send them free ETH? No wonder other countries laugh at us. This isn't crypto - it's clown college with wallets.
And don't even get me started on how these scammers use American landmarks to trick people. It's like they know we're gullible and they're just playing to our worst instincts. Shameful. Pathetic. Un-American.
Hey, I just want to say - if you saw this and didn’t click, you’re already winning. Seriously. That’s huge.
I used to be the person who thought ‘maybe this time it’s real’ - until I lost my entire stash to a fake Coinbase pop-up. Took me months to recover emotionally. Now I just pause. I breathe. I ask: ‘Does this make sense?’
If the answer’s no - walk away. No token is worth your peace of mind. You’re not missing out. You’re protecting yourself. And that’s the real win.
Love you all. Stay safe out there.
I think it’s sad how much we want to believe in magic. We live in a world full of real problems - rent, healthcare, climate change - and yet we’re drawn to this idea that someone in a giant city is just handing out free money.
It’s not about being smart or dumb. It’s about being tired. We’re tired of working hard and still falling behind. So when something promises an easy way out, we grab it - even if it’s just a picture.
Maybe the real scam isn’t the QR code. Maybe it’s the system that made us feel like we needed one in the first place.
As someone who’s worked with international crypto communities, I’ve seen this play out in Brazil, Nigeria, India - same script, different cities.
Scammers don’t care about Times Square. They care about trust. They know that if you put a famous landmark on a fake ad, people will lower their guard. That’s not about tech - it’s about culture.
And honestly? The fact that people still believe this says more about how little trust we have in real institutions than it does about crypto. We’re not being fooled by scammers. We’re being fooled by our own loneliness.
Let’s fix that. Not just the QR codes. The whole system.
LMAO they’re all in on it. The government, the billboards, the ‘chainalysis’ reports - it’s all staged. Why? To scare people away from crypto so they can push CBDCs. You think they’d let you get free crypto from a billboard? Please. The Fed owns every screen in Times Square. They’re not giving away anything - they’re harvesting your wallet addresses to build a surveillance database.
And don’t tell me about ‘real’ airdrops. Uniswap? Please. That was a honeypot too. They all are. Just wait till your MetaMask gets flagged for ‘suspicious activity’ next week. I told you so.
💀
so like... the billboard is fake
the company is fake
the qr code is fake
the whole thing is fake
but somehow the scammer still makes money
huh
mind blown
not
its just capitalism
go back to bed
Thank you for writing this. I’ve been seeing these posts everywhere and I’ve been so worried for my younger cousins. One of them almost scanned one last week - I sat with her for an hour, showed her the domain lookup, the lack of socials, the timing - and she cried because she felt stupid.
But she’s not stupid. She’s curious. And curiosity isn’t a flaw. It’s a gift. The problem isn’t her - it’s the people who weaponize curiosity.
If you’re reading this and you’re scared you’ve been tricked - you’re not alone. You’re not dumb. You’re human. And you’re safe now.
Reach out. We’ve got you.
The irony is that this scam works precisely because crypto’s entire value proposition is built on decentralization and trustlessness - yet here we are, trusting a billboard. It’s like building a cathedral out of sand and then being shocked when the tide comes in.
And the fact that people still believe in ‘free crypto’ suggests they fundamentally misunderstand blockchain. It’s not magic. It’s math. And math doesn’t hand out gifts.
Still, I suppose it’s more entertaining than watching the news.
Oh wow, another ‘educational’ post from someone who clearly doesn’t understand how capitalism works. You think the real reason these billboards don’t exist is because it’s ‘impossible’? Please. It’s because the big players - Outfront, Disney - are paid to *not* let crypto ads run. Why? Because they’re in bed with the banks.
And you think Chainalysis is some neutral watchdog? LOL. They’re funded by the same institutions that want crypto dead. This whole thing is a distraction. The real scam is the one that tells you to trust ‘experts’ who profit from your fear.
Wake up. The system is rigged. The billboard isn’t fake - the truth is.