A pump and dump is identified, in my opinion, first by a rapid and massive, almost suspicious, rise in the price of a token, without a direct reason.

+200%, +300% in a few hours or in a day, while the token was completely calm.

No announcement from the team, no listing, no major event. Nothing that really justifies the increase.

With a volume that becomes explosive, that's already a clear first signal of suspicion.

A pump and dump, especially when coordinated, often follows a simple logic in three phases. First, accumulation. The actors behind the movement buy discreetly, at low prices, without attracting attention.

Then comes the pump. The price rises quickly, very quickly. This speed is not a coincidence: it is there to create pressure. It pushes you to think that if you don't enter now, you will miss the opportunity.

In some cases, it is even these actors who initiate the movement, chaining quick purchases to explode the volume and trigger the increase or through coordinated aggressive marketing. The market then follows.

And that's where the trap closes.

The initiators start to take their profits. Sometimes brutally, sometimes gradually.

The volume remains high, sometimes even very high, but the price no longer reacts in the same way. The acceleration decreases. It starts to stagnate, or even decreases slightly.

This is one of the most powerful signals.

Because it means one simple thing: there is still a lot of activity, but it is no longer buyers who dominate. It is sellers who distribute. And the result is:

the Crash!

Example: $STO , $SIREN
and $RAVE (probably ongoing...)