The tokens or coins are created out of thin air literally just a box that you put a number in and that's how many coins you have. This can only be done at creation however and it will normally be a locked amount but some contracts allow for infinite coin creation. So the scammer in the scenario would have to be a developer or whale with a already significant stake in the coin and wants to see the price increase to cash out. Unlike Bitcoin, tokens built on the ethereum blockchain are not mined they are just created through the software itself.

The tokens or coins are created out of thin air literally just a box that you put a number in and that's how many coins you have. This can only be done at creation however and it will normally be a locked amount but some contracts allow for infinite coin creation. So the scammer in the scenario would have to be a developer or well with a already significant stake in the coin and wants to see the price increase to cash out. Unlike Bitcoin, tokens built on the ethereum blockchain are not mined they are just created through the software itself.