The simplest test is whether reported volume is consistent with on-chain activity and order book depth. If a token shows $500M in daily volume but the order book has less than $50K within 2% of mid, something is off.

For CEX-listed tokens, compare reported volume across aggregators against the depth your market maker is providing. If volume dwarfs depth, the excess is likely artificial. Forgd's Market Maker Monitoring dashboard makes this easy — it shows your market maker's contribution to global depth and volume, so discrepancies surface quickly.