How Account Ownership Works on Solana
On Solana, every account has an owner program responsible for managing that account’s data and assets. Most wallet accounts are owned by the System Program, which handles basic operations like sending SOL.
The owner program is the only entity authorised to modify the account or transfer tokens. While your wallet controls signing transactions using your private key, actual changes happen only through instructions processed by the owner program.
Some advanced apps transfer ownership to other programs for added functionality. However, scammers abuse this by tricking users into changing ownership to malicious programs, giving attackers control over the account’s funds.
You can check ownership using explorers like solscan.io; if the owner isn’t the System Program for a wallet, that’s a warning sign.
Common Scams That Trigger the Warning
Bit-Flip Attacks
Attackers trick you into signing a transaction that changes your account’s owner to a malicious program. Once ownership is transferred, the attacker can withdraw any tokens sent to that account.
To check:
Go to solscan.io
Look up the account
Check the Owner field — if it’s not the System Program, the account may be compromised.
Compromised Recovery Phrases
Some fake recovery phrases unlock wallets that look like they contain funds but are pre-programmed to automatically transfer tokens to the attacker’s address.
If you import one of these:
It looks like you control the wallet
But the attacker can drain any new tokens you deposit
The attacker keeps control regardless
Always use recovery phrases you generate yourself.
What To Do If You See This Warning
Stop using the flagged account immediately
Check ownership on Solscan or another explorer
Transfer your funds to a new wallet with your own securely generated recovery phrase
Never reuse compromised keys or recovery phrases
