Every week someone in a chat I'm in buys a token they can't sell. The pattern is always the same: chart looks organic, Telegram group is buzzing, contract is "renounced" according to a screenshot someone posted. Then they try to sell and the transaction reverts. That's a honeypot, and it is one of the few scams you can reliably detect before putting money in — the evidence is on-chain and public.
Here is the checklist I actually use, and how to automate it.
1. Can you sell? Simulate, don't trust
A honeypot lets you buy but blocks the sell path — usually a hidden condition in transfer() that only the deployer's wallets pass. You cannot see this from the chart, and you can't always see it from the verified source either (obfuscation is an art form).
The reliable way is a buy/sell simulation: fork the chain state, buy the token, immediately try to sell it, and see what happens. honeypot.is does exactly this for Ethereum, BSC and Base — free, no key. If the simulated sell fails or eats 90% in "tax", you have your answer.
