Top 10 tips to keeping your cryptocurrency safe.

It’s always important to remind ourselves of the fundamentals of crypto security. Today, we take a look at the top 10 tips on how to keep yourself from losing your assets or getting scammed.

1. NEVER give your wallet’s seed phrase, password or private keys to anyone. No legitimate project or business would ever require these details. Much like your bank card’s pin number; they are for your eyes only!
   
   
2. Keep your seed phrase safe. When creating a defi wallet, write down your seed phrase (never store It digitally in text nor screenshot) & keep it in a safe place where you and only you can access it.
   • Create your own cypher to encrypt your seed phrase & store the key separately
   • Make two copies in case one copy is lost or damaged
   • Store in a fireproof wallet or on metal plates
   • Use a safety security box
     
     
3. Use a cold wallet (ledger). Use a ledger or other storage device to hold your cryptocurrencies that have no connection to the internet.
   
   
4. Disconnect your wallet after use. When using your wallet; be it for connecting to Defi exchanges, NFT marketplaces, or any other web3 injected sites, you will be prompted to connect your wallet to the site before use. Most sites do not automatically disconnect your wallet after use; therefore, it is imperative to disconnect your own wallet. Leaving your wallet connected leaves you susceptible to potential vulnerabilities within the site.
   
   
5. Fake Tech Support. NEVER trust anyone claiming to be from technical support. The internet is awash with fake tech support accounts that target unsuspecting crypto holders looking for help online for crypto-related technical issues. If you have a technical issue, contact the provider directly using the contact information on their official website.
   
   
6. Clone Exchanges. Watch out for clone exchanges. Before connecting to an exchange or other web3 site, make sure it has the correct URL. Clone exchanges are identical to their legitimate counterparts but often have a single character of the URL different to the original. Connecting to a clone exchange can give scammers access to the funds in your wallet. Note, just because the exchange you are searching for might appear at the top of a search engine, this does not mean it can be trusted. Often scammers using clones will pay to push their clone site up the search engine results to appear credible.
   
   
7. Dusting attacks. Often you will find cryptocurrencies in your wallet that you do not recall purchasing. This is not a friendly gift; often, scammers will airdrop worthless tokens to victims’ wallets in the hope that people interact with the tokens. Interacting with such tokens allows the scammers to build a profile of your wallet and gain crucial information, making you more susceptible to a scam. So, if you don’t recognise a cryptocurrency in your wallet… just ignore it!
   
   
8. Clone social media accounts. Often legitimate projects have their social media accounts impersonated. They aren’t always easy to spot & sometimes have even more followers than the page they are imitating. These scam pages often post fake competitions, often ones that seem too good to be true, designed to steal your crypto. Make sure you are following the official social media page for a project by only following links provided by the coin’s coinmarketcap.com page.
   
   
9. Remain anonymous. Whilst you might be proud of your crypto portfolio, you should never share how much you hold with others, be it online or in the real world. Putting your identity next to a wallet increases your chances of falling foul to criminals looking to steal your hard-earned gains.
   
   
10. Secure device, secure internet connection. Ensure your device is password protected and has the latest anti-virus software updates. Make sure you use a secure internet connection when using your wallet to connect to any sites or make a transaction. Always avoid using public Wi-Fi.
    
    

For those of you wanting to dig into a bit more detail, here’s a video version from the StrikeX Lounge: