diff --git a/programs/compressed-token/program/src/shared/create_pda_account.rs b/programs/compressed-token/program/src/shared/create_pda_account.rs
index f7eeb6ab12..592a0b9e1b 100644
--- a/programs/compressed-token/program/src/shared/create_pda_account.rs
+++ b/programs/compressed-token/program/src/shared/create_pda_account.rs
@@ -43,6 +43,12 @@ pub fn create_pda_account(
     // Cold Path: if account already has lamports (e.g., from attacker donation),
     // use Assign + realloc + Transfer instead of CreateAccount which would fail.
     if new_account.lamports() > 0 {
+        // Verify account is owned by system program (uninitialized).
+        // Prevents overwriting an already-initialized account.
+        if !new_account.is_owned_by(&[0u8; 32]) {
+            return Err(ProgramError::AccountAlreadyInitialized);
+        }
+
         let current_lamports = new_account.lamports();
 
         Assign {
diff --git a/programs/compressed-token/program/src/shared/initialize_ctoken_account.rs b/programs/compressed-token/program/src/shared/initialize_ctoken_account.rs
index da6afdaa2c..1a19e89a76 100644
--- a/programs/compressed-token/program/src/shared/initialize_ctoken_account.rs
+++ b/programs/compressed-token/program/src/shared/initialize_ctoken_account.rs
@@ -213,14 +213,13 @@ pub fn initialize_ctoken_account(
     // Access the token account data as mutable bytes
     let mut token_account_data = AccountInfoTrait::try_borrow_mut_data(token_account_info)?;
 
-    // Zero all base token bytes before initialization to prevent pre-set values
-    // (e.g., amount field via IDL buffer) from persisting through new_zero_copy,
-    // which only sets mint, owner, and state without zeroing other fields.
-    if token_account_data.len() < 165 {
-        msg!("Token account data too small: {}", token_account_data.len());
-        return Err(ProgramError::InvalidAccountData);
+    // Verify account data is zeroed. System-program-owned accounts from transfers
+    // have 0-length data, and resize zeros new bytes. Non-zero data indicates
+    // an unexpected state that should not be silently overwritten.
+    if token_account_data.iter().any(|&b| b != 0) {
+        msg!("Token account data is not zeroed");
+        return Err(ProgramError::AccountAlreadyInitialized);
     }
-    token_account_data[..165].fill(0);
 
     // Use new_zero_copy to initialize the token account
     // This sets mint, owner, state, account_type, and extensions