Downloading a Scam Version of Wallet

This is actually somewhat rare but it does indeed occur and must of course be avoided. Hackers have been known to create fake wallet sites and use Google Ads to show those websites at the top of Google search results. The fake site has a hacked version of wallet that lets a user create a wallet and add funds just like the real thing, but then sends the user’s funds to the hacker’s wallet. So always double check the website address when downloading.

Exposing Your Seed Phrase

DO NOT store your seed phrase digitally, i.e. on your computer or your phone. All it takes is for a hacker to get access to your file system or to your cloud backup and your seed phrase is revealed. Write down the seed phase on paper and store it in safe place.

Malware and Keyloggers

It is also very important to make sure your computer is protected against viruses, malware and keyloggers. It is crucial to use antivirus software and anti-malware software like Malwarebytes to keep your computer clean at all times. Some/many serious crypto investors will even have one computer dedicated entirely and solely to crypto trading, and use another computer for all these other risky uses.

Scam Transactions

Another trick some scam sites use is to first get you to connect to their site and then ask you to sign one or more transactions that allows them to spend your coins. Yes, all legitimate distributed exchanges (DEXes) ask you to do this as well. But just realize that each of these requests by default asks you to authorize the site to spend an unlimited amount of coins or tokens from your wallet. Some scam sites use this to drain your wallet and send your tokens or coins to their own wallets.

Fake/Scam Airdrop Promotions on Discord or Telegram

When you find a new DeFi project that you might be interested in investing into, you will often join the project’s Discord or Telegram channels to get more information. These can be a great source of information, but they also expose you to a flood of potential scam offers unless you are careful. I can GUARANTEE that day after day, you will open up your Discord app and will see a bunch of DMs promoting some “airdrop” or “token giveaway” or some other promotion, asking you to connect your wallet to some site to claim your free rewards. The DM promotion and fake website will have a domain similar to, but not the same as, the domain of your project. THESE DMs AND PROMOTIONS ARE ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS A SCAM!