Today, you can find many examples on the net when cryptocurrency assets were hacked, and all the money floated into the hands of attackers. There are more and more different tricks that scammers use to steal your money every day. However, there are a few tips to help you protect your assets.
What are the most common scams?
Every day scammers come up with new ways to steal your money. Among the most common today are:
- Fake sites;
- Fraud by email;
- Fraud in social networks;
- Fake applications;
- Extortion;
- Tech support scam and more.
Sometimes it is pretty challenging to determine where a conscientious service representative is and where a fraudster is. You must always adhere to the rules of computer literacy and check all partners.
10 tips to protect your crypto assets
We offer 10 handy tips that are as simple as possible to apply but allow you to protect your assets reliably.
- Store your assets in a cold storage wallet
At the moment, the developers have not come up with anything more reliable than cold wallets. The point is that to steal money, an attacker must have physical access to the media. It is impossible to hack it via the Internet or Bluetooth.
- Use not 1 but several wallets at once
A good solution would be to divide all your assets into several wallets. Moreover, one of them can have hot storage to use the currencies for your purposes, and the rest of the assets can be stored on several hardware wallets. So, even if you are stolen or lose the carrier, you will not lose all the money.
- Use different passwords
According to some reports, almost 70% of Americans and Europeans use the same password for all accounts. On the one hand, this is convenient because you will not forget it, but on the other hand, if an attacker hacks one of your accounts, he will quickly gain access to the rest.
- Use a secure Internet
Never use public Wi-Fi from devices that have access to your crypto assets. In this case, the attacker will not only be able to write off all your money but also gain access to personal information for further blackmail.
Many experts also advise using a VPN. It will protect your IP address, which means it will make surfing the Internet safer.
- Do not share secret information with anyone
The blockchain is designed in such a way that all transactions are decentralized. It is challenging to intercept a trade if you do not know about it. So, if you do not spread information, you have crypto assets in principle.
But most importantly, never share your private key. It is the same as handing over the keys to the apartment where the treasure is kept. It makes it as easy as possible to steal your assets.
- Avoid phishing
Phishing is a kind of online trap that aims to get your data, such as a credit card number or various passwords. It is the most common type of fraud associated with cryptocurrencies. To avoid scrambling, you must:
- Do not visit suspicious sites;
- Avoid unknown links;
- Do not fall for advertising;
- Do not disclose personal information, especially about crypto assets.
In addition, many scammers try well-known fake sites, so you need to check all links carefully.
- Use a separate device for cryptocurrencies
A good solution would be to use one computer or smartphone for personal affairs and separately for cryptocurrencies. At the same time, a limited number of people should know about the second device. The principle is that you will not lose a device you do not constantly carry next to you.
- Work only with trusted crypto organizations
If you want to work only with trusted partners, choose those with the appropriate license. Government agencies carefully monitor that there is no fraud at any level. In addition, if there are any problems, the possibility of solving them will be pretty high. The organization is afraid of losing the license, so it will try to please the client.
- Analyze advice from friends
Your acquaintances, who are also involved in cryptocurrencies, will often give you advice. Some of them may be useful, while others may not. The most dangerous advice is participation in multi-level marketing (this is a kind of analog of a financial pyramid).
Practice shows that only a person who stands at the source, namely the founder, can make money in such promotions; everyone else will lose a lot more than they will receive.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions
Today, many crypto enthusiasts and experts are ready to give helpful advice. Of course, there are many scammers among them, so you can choose a few people you can trust. In addition, you can read the information on numerous forums where real users share their experiences.
Conclusion
If you follow the above tips, you can easily protect your assets. As you can see, following them is not too difficult, but it guarantees excellent security. It is especially worth paying attention to the non-disclosure of data, in the world of cryptocurrencies this means much more than in the banking sector.