Staying safe on the web is now more important than ever, with more and more investors joining the Crypto industry every day. With this, however, scammers or hackers will sense an opportunity to capitalise on the ignorance of newcomers. This is not at any fault of the investor, more so that there are things to be aware of as Web3 technologies advance, especially if you are new to Crypto investing.
Criminals attempt many different ways to obtain details, attempting access to valuable coins or tokens. Phishing attacks are commonly known about the odd dodgy email is easier to identify, however, other avenues have also been exploited in the past. Sources such as Reddit, Social Media, direct messages from contacts you do not know promising 2x gains... the list goes on sadly.
If you're new to investing in Crypto, let's look at a few things that can help you ensure the safety of your assets.
AIRDROPS
A common scam attempt is to promote a token or asset through an airdrop, promoted through social media platforms. Users clicked on a link with a promise of 2x or even 4x rewards in the form of an airdrop and added a smart contract to "receive the reward", only to find their hard-earned assets gone.
Airdrops were commonly used for coins and tokens in the early stages of their main net release. These drops are usually only provided when coins require mass attention and a way to draw in investors, during the early stages of a token/coin release. Not all new investors are aware of this knowledge, and many have been tricked by this particular scam.
A good way to tell if something is a scam is to consider what's being offered. Always DYOR (Do your research) and never add smart contracts from unverified, untrusted sources.
IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE...
Don't acknowledge it. The offers themselves can seem too good to be true - and 99.9% of the time, they are.
BE WARY WHEN USING SOCIAL AND CONTENT PLATFORMS
Scammers have been using Instagram and Twitter for years now in various forms of scams. Some basic, which will require the user to click on a link and then add something called a Smart Contract to your wallet, ultimately giving control to the scammers to do what they will with your assets. As soon as you click 'Sign', or 'Confirm', in your hot wallet, your Crypto can be accessed by criminals.
Generally speaking, connecting your wallet to a site does nothing, until you sign a smart contract. However that being said, never connect your wallet to an unknown website or D'app (Decentralised application).
Popular content boards where users can message other users and post content are found often to be littered with these kinds of attacks. Be wary of messages with links, or any posts with offers that seem too good to be true. It's important to remember that not everyone you potentially contact online has honest intentions and if in doubt, get a second opinion.
KEEP YOUR INFORMATION PRIVATE
Never share any information about your wallet assets quantity or other information relating to recent gains. Keep your business to yourself. You can significantly reduce the amount of attention you receive from opportunists and would-be criminals by not broadcasting your wealth to the world.
STORAGE OF ASSETS
As an extra form of security, choosing the correct wallet is an important process that cannot be overlooked. Depending on the nature of your use for Crypto, you may use several wallets.
The majority of your assets should be kept in a cold wallet unless you are long-term staking or trading, in which case you will need a hot wallet. Cold wallets do offer the option of staking however at a lower rate.
Wallets, such as Meta mask, is a browser hot wallet which sits in your browser, and are only one or two clicks away from losing your coin. If you are using a hot wallet, make sure that the majority of your assets should be kept in a cold wallet, stored offline and not connected to a network. Assets should only be kept in hot wallets if you intend on using them, for example, trading.
Keeping the majority of your assets offline gives criminals very little incentive to attempt.
(For more information on Hot/Cold wallets, see my article on 'Keeping Crypto Secure')
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Thanks for reading! Have a great week, and stay safe!
Peace.
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