Your private key is a way to cryptographically verify that you are the owner of an account and allows you to access your wallet.
Keeping your private Keys private is the number one priority of anyone who possesses cryptocurrency.
It all starts out when you are first setting up your wallet. One of the initial steps in setting up any wallet is choosing a unique Private Key. A private key is basically a long string of characters used as a password to interact with a wallet.
Your private key is the only way to access your wallet. If you were to lose your Private Key you would then also lose access to your account/wallet. With that being said there is NO REASON to ever divulge your Private Key to ANYONE!
In recent times many phishing scams have popped up in which the scammer will try to get the victim to give up their Private Key. “Many of this scammer impersonate officials from different groups as a way to gain trust.” Be smart don’t become just another statistic with an empty wallet/heart.
Keep your Private Keys private!
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If storing your Private Key on a computer. DO NOT save as a simple text file! If going this route encrypt your text file. “There are many good file encryption tools that are free. I use VeraCrypt, it is very good and uses minimal system resources.”
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If storing your Private Keys on paper as I do. “Make sure to store your Private Key in multiple locations, Floods and fires are just a few of the threats that could destroy your very important hard copy of your Private Key.
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There is NO reason to ever give out your Private Key.
I hope this helps anyone getting into Crypto. If you have any questions or would like to learn more please reach out! I’m always more than happy to share my knowledge.
I hope you have a great day
-Nathan
