Position Exchange Times Square Billboard Airdrop: Scam Alert and What to Watch For

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:

1. 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.
2. They post it on TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit with hashtags like #CryptoAirdrop, #FreeCrypto, #TimesSquareAirdrop.
3. Clicking the QR code takes you to a fake website that looks just like a real crypto wallet - MetaMask, Trust Wallet, or Coinbase.
4. You’re asked to connect your wallet to "claim your tokens."
5. 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:

1. Disconnect all apps from your wallet immediately - use MetaMask’s "Connected Sites" or Trust Wallet’s "DApp Browser" settings.
2. Do NOT send any more transactions. Don’t try to "recover" your funds by sending more crypto.
3. 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).
4. Share your experience on Reddit and Twitter to warn others.
5. 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.