Yesterday, I saw a big V in the currency circle post on Twitter saying that 50+ of his wallets had been stolen, with the total loss amounting to RMB 30-400,000.
Even big Vs have had their wallets stolen. How should we, as retail investors, take precautions?
The currency circle is a dark forest. Once you are exposed to sight, you will be targeted by prey.
In fact, I had a lot of fans asking me for help 2 years ago. How to recover the stolen wallet, I can only say that there is nothing I can do. The currency circle is a circle outside of supervision, not to mention that the chain is anonymous, so The probability of recovery is very slim, and if it is stolen, you basically have to admit defeat.
Today’s article will share with you some common ways in which most wallets are stolen.
1) Wallet authorization
This is a method that emerged 2 years ago. Thieves will obtain authorization from your wallet through various methods to transfer the assets in your wallet.
Most have several methods
① Sell U privately at a low price, or receive U at a high price. They will designate you to use a certain wallet for transactions. Do small transactions in the early stage to gain trust, but in the process they will ask you to scan a code. If you scan the code to confirm your wallet, Once authorized, he can transfer the assets in your wallet at will.
② The same method as above, but they may give you a fake wallet installation package. The wallet you install is actually completely controlled by the fraudster. You can only transfer funds into it, but you have no permission to transfer out. But if you buy a fake wallet and recharge funds into it, you will fall into their trap.
③Tugou, NFT Many people like to go to the chain to play Tugou or NFT, but sometimes they will always encounter phishing websites. If you enter the phishing website and interact with it, your wallet will be authorized, and your account assets will be It will be cleared at any time.
One characteristic of authorization theft is that it is basically a designated chain, or a designated currency/NFT is stolen, and it generally does not affect other chains. For example, if you are authorized by the BSC chain, then the assets of your ERC chain are basically safe, and you can restore the security of the wallet by canceling the authorization at a later stage.
2) Private key stolen
The private key can completely control the wallet assets, and the assets of any chain will be robbed, and the wallet will basically be unable to be used again.
The main methods are as follows:
①Trojan virus This is the most common method, especially Android phones and Windows computers. If someone sends you a strange installation package/compressed package and nothing happens after you click it, the Trojan may have invaded your computer and mobile phone and read the information in your device, including your Wallet private key/mnemonic phrase.
One of them is a private message telling you that there is an APP for viewing pornography and asking you to install a Trojan horse program.
The second is to let you roll your wool and download the APP to participate, which is a Trojan horse.
The third one is for big V and business cooperation. The Trojan is packaged into a project file. After downloading and opening, the Trojan invades.
In general, these are the methods. If anyone gives you an installation package, be careful.
②Phishing websites Phishing websites usually fish for mnemonics. Entering a fake website will allow you to connect to your wallet, but you will find that the password is always wrong all of a sudden, or it will ask you to re-enter the mnemonic directly. At this time, you enter your mnemonic If you click on your password, it will be discovered by thieves, and they can steal your funds at any time.
This website may be any project website, or it may be the website that ranks number one in your Google search. These fraudsters will use Google bidding to push their fake website to the number one ranking, allowing many unsuspecting people to click on it. Enter their phishing website to commit fraud.
③Malicious programs These programs are not direct Trojans. They can be used normally, but they may read your pasteboard or your photo album. Many friends will store mnemonic words in photo albums. If they read them, your wallet may be in danger. There are also some friends who will copy the private key, and some programs will read the contents of the pasteboard, and the data of the private key may also be recognized by them.
Most of these programs are related to the currency circle, such as VPN, currency circle applications, etc.
④Acquaintances commit crimes. This incident actually happens. Your friend knows that you have a lot of assets in your wallet, and also knows some information in your mobile phone. He may enter your mobile phone when you are not paying attention and copy your private key or mnemonic. word, transfer assets one day in the future, at this time you think you have done a good job in prevention, but you can't imagine how the wallet was stolen.
Wallets can be stolen in these ways. Of course, there are many fraud methods in the currency circle. We will continue to update them in subsequent articles.
So how to prevent wallet theft? I have summarized a few points for your reference.
1) Don’t be greedy for petty gains. There will be no pie in the sky. Anyone who accepts U at a low price or sells U at a high price will be treated as a liar.
2) To download a new wallet, you must go to the official website. If you don’t know the official website, you can also confirm the website address repeatedly through major cryptocurrency data websites. If there is a one-digit difference, they are all fake websites, let alone the so-called official website. Group download any installation package.
3) Try not to click on the installation packages sent by anyone, as they may be Trojan viruses.
4) Apple phones and MAC are more secure than Android phones and Windows. Phones have higher permissions and most Trojan viruses cannot invade. If possible, you can use the Apple plan.
5) Do not store mnemonic words or private keys in photo albums, and do not copy and paste private keys. It is best to isolate them offline, write them in a notebook, and do not show them to anyone.
6) If the amount of wallet assets is relatively large, it can be isolated. For example, if you do not install a wallet on your commonly used computers and mobile phones, you can use a separate device as a wallet. Or if you have the conditions, you can directly buy cold wallet equipment.
7) Don’t let others know how much money you have in your wallet, and try not to let others know how much money you have in your wallet.
If you have any other experiences with being stolen, or if you need to add new prevention guidelines, you can share them in the comment area.
In the next article, we will talk to you about other fraud methods in the currency circle besides wallet theft and prevention guidelines.
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