Cryptocurrencies face worries due to their increasing popularity. But 5 tips to secure your cryptocurrency and protect your crypto assets.
Hackers steal massive digital wealth yearly. The constantly changing crypto ecosystem requires caution.
The five guidelines listed below will help you stay safe and protect your digital assets from various threats.
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Read More: How to do Spot Trading on Binance: A Step-by-Step Guide
How Can I Secure My Cryptocurrency Holdings?
Being constantly alert is crucial to detecting scams. Precautions must be taken to protect crypto assets. Here are ways to safeguard cryptocurrencies, which are listed below.
1. Secure Your Seed Phrase
The key to your wallet and cryptocurrency assets is your seed phrase, also called your recovery phrase. You can use a series of characters, from 12 to 24, called the wallet master key. This key transfers your wallet between devices or, it restores access if you lose it.Here are a few tips for safeguarding your seed phrase.
Store Your Seed Phrase Offline
Do not store your seed phrase in cloud storage or local folders as soon as you receive it. Keeping the phrase online leaves it at risk of possible hacking. Offline storage is the most secure method.
Purchasing a hardware wallet that can create and store your seed phrase offline is one way to accomplish this. Keeping a physical backup of your seed phrase in a safe or vault is a second option. A metal plate with the seed word engraved on it is a safer option than a paper backup.
Split Your Seed Phrase
To further strengthen the security of your seed phrase, you can divide it into several pieces and keep them in separate, safe places. Store copies of your seed phrase in multiple physical locations, like safe deposit boxes, bank vaults or people you trust. All of the parts of your seed phrase should ideally be kept private and only known to you.
2. Beware of Social Media Account Spoofing
With scammers developing fake profiles that closely match well-known exchanges or celebrities, social media sites have turned into homes for cryptocurrency scams. The real Vitalik Buterin reminds users about the thousands of fake profiles that pretend to be him below.
These criminals pretend to be or spoof well-known accounts in an attempt to trick and scam users. To safeguard yourself from social media account spoofing, follow these guidelines.
Check for verification signs:
On profiles, look for verification symbols or blue checkmarks. But be careful that these might be purchased or faked.
Check the handle:
Usually, the handles are an indicator for fake profiles. As much resemblance to the original names as possible will be attempted by clever scammers. For instance, “@Vita1ikButerin” rather than “@VitalikButerin.”
Scroll:
Try looking over some of the older postings by scrolling through the profile. This should help you determine the genuineness of the profile.
3. Avoid Public WiFi
Public WiFi networks lack security. They’re open to hacks and attacks. Using these hotspots is risky when viewing crypto wallets or making transactions. Doing this could lead to loss of funds.
A number of cyberthreats can target public WiFi networks, including:
Evil twin attacks:
Dangerous hotspots are set up by hackers under trustworthy names (like “Guest WiFi Hotel”) in order to steal your data when you login.
Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks:
Hackers may be able to obtain private data, such as login passwords by stealing data being sent between a WiFi router and a user’s device.
Password cracking attacks:
Scammers try various kinds of username and password combinations using software to get access to a router’s administrative interface.
When accessing cryptocurrency accounts or doing transactions, stay away from public WiFi networks.
4. Watch out for Fraudulent Livestream Videos
Scammers are using Twitch and YouTube as a means of spreading cryptocurrency fraud. Usually, scammers broadcast fake livestreams promoting fake giveaways using footage that has been stolen. Some scammers employ hacked YouTube accounts with huge followings. They convince people to send cryptocurrency to particular addresses. They make these attempts occasionally, using their hijacked channels.
You might see, for example, a video featuring Jack Dorsey, Cathie Wood and Elon Musk talking about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. But scammers could use an authentic video to promote a fake giveaway and their own channel that they have hijacked.
Before participating in any live stream, especially one that involves the giving away of bitcoin, be sure you have done your research. The giveaways will almost always ask you to send money before you can get anything back. But if you do so, you will lose your money.
Examine the channel’s genuineness by taking into consideration factors like the quantity of videos, the existence of verification badges and the channel’s launch date. However, take care and double-check all available information, since hacked accounts may at first seem authentic and potentially have millions of members. Additionally, you can look through the participants’ official social media accounts that are in the video. You should be able to locate some information from several trustworthy sources if the promotion is authentic.
5. Beware of AI Deepfake Scams
Artificial intelligence can create fake videos that look real. This is done by deepfake technology. Deepfake tech uses AI to generate fabricated video contentIt creates an effect that people are speaking and doing things they have never done by combining already-existing photos and videos. As one might expect, scammers have begun to use deepfake to create incredibly complex frauds.
Hackers might appear to be experts or take on a different identity by using deepfake. Hackers frequently use fake competitions or investment opportunities, along with deadlines, to confuse their victims and to make them rush.
What steps can you take therefore to guard against these deepfake scams?
Pay attention to the face:
Ultimately, the content is created through deepfake by putting together many photos. Keep an eye out for lip syncs and blinking patterns.
Inconsistent audio:
Unusual fluctuations or sounds that seem robotic could be signs of a deepfake. Pay particular attention to any differences in the audio quality.
Questions:
Always ask a lot of questions that only the genuine person can answer while communicating with a suspected deepfake. Check that you have some background knowledge so that you can regularly cross-reference it to get confirmation.
Wrap-Up About Tips to Secure Your Cryptocurrency
It is your duty to safeguard your cryptocurrency holdings. We’ve outlined five recommendations in this article in order to keep your funds secure. Secure your seed phrase, Beware of social media account spoofing, Avoid public WiFi, Be wary of fake livestream videos and Beware of deepfakes.
Scammers develop confusing schemes as they get more experienced and get skilled over time. Ultimately, the most powerful allies you have are information and awareness. Remain alert, be secure and safeguard your digital assets.
