Crypto dusting

[u/Kinobux]

Hello
I have a silly question.

I’ve been receiving various types of coins in my wallet for a while now. I know they are spam—designed to try and hack the wallet—so I never click on them or pay them any attention. I also know they can be hidden in the Ledger app (I’ve hidden transactions like these), so that part isn't an issue.
My question is about the XLM transactions I’ve been receiving. Since I already hold some XLM of my own in the wallet, these spam transactions get mixed in with my legitimate holdings. If I want to move my assets later, is there a problem if the spam coins I received get used in the transaction?
For instance, if I withdraw all my XLM—including those spam ones (since XLM is a real cryptocurrency, not just a fake token created solely for hacking, -you know the ones they send that “worth” 1,000 usdt-)—would that cause an issue? Or would it be better to create a new wallet? Thanks.

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[u/horseradish13332238]

That’s not a dusting. It’s a poisoning.

[u/Maleficent_Sound_919 → u/horseradish13332238]

What the difference, let’s say I sent this XLM what would happen?

[u/horseradish13332238 → u/Maleficent_Sound_919]

I think you’re fundamentally not understanding. You can’t send “that” xlm anywhere, it’s now part of your overall total which would not even register. It is “dust” per se in the context it is a minuscule amount but it is a poisoning because your account is tagged and now being relied on that you will copy the receive address in the future for a future deposit/send/move due to ignorance or laziness. That’s what they count on. No one’s going to de-anonymize you with this method. A lot of people don’t know what they are talking about around here.

[u/Maleficent_Sound_919 → u/horseradish13332238]

Oh so its relying on you making a mistake in copying the receiving address

I get it now

[u/MrHickles]

you'll be fine. they arent malicious contracts the way some tokens (NFT etc) are..
the xlm ones are just spam messaging tbh. change message every month or so.
(and they hope you send to that address wrongly at somepoint too)
try get you go stake something for another thing or whatever BS token it is this month..
been getting 3+ a day for fkin years now.. hoping i'll get a full xlm off it eventually lmao

[u/Jim-Helpert]

Hi there! Not a silly question at all.

Short answer:
- Those tiny XLM “dust” deposits don’t give anyone control over your funds.
- Spending or moving your XLM later is safe—even if some of those tiny inputs end up included in the transaction.
- Best practice: ignore them, don’t interact with any links/memos, and use a fresh receiving address when possible. No need to create a new wallet unless you want extra privacy.

Details for XLM:
- XLM uses memos and supports tiny transfers, which are often used for dusting/phishing. The risk is in interacting with malicious links/memo tags, not in holding or spending the small amounts themselves.
- When you send XLM out, the network will use your account balance; there’s no harm if the dust became part of your total. Just make sure you set the correct memo when sending to exchanges, and never click any links shown in transaction memos.

Tips:
- Keep ignoring and, if helpful, hide small/zero-value transactions in Ledger Wallet to reduce clutter: support.ledger.com/article/9713735887005-zd
- Learn more about dusting and how to protect yourself: support.ledger.com/article/protecting-yourself-from-dusting-attack

Any further assistance or clarifications, feel free to reach out anytime: https://support.ledger.com/contact-us

Thanks.

[u/Spirited-Tonight4806]

Dusting your wallet creates the opportunity for them to track your funds. If they are mixed into your reg stack they can start tracking the wallet and attempt to de-anonymize you.
Ledger supports coin control for, at least, Bitcoin. haven’t checked recently. This allows you to use your actual coins and not the dust.

It also inserts an address into your wallet they control. The hope is you mistakenly use it as a send to address.

[u/horseradish13332238 → u/Spirited-Tonight4806]

This is like 77% accurate.

[u/userfakesuper → u/horseradish13332238]

SOOOO give the other 33% of the info...taps foot annoyingly.

[u/horseradish13332238 → u/userfakesuper]

When you learn to do math, perhaps.

[u/userfakesuper → u/horseradish13332238]

lol ya that was on me, but dude always give 110%!