Crypto wallets are built on a major promising technology called Blockchain Technology. The sphere of cryptocurrency revolves around this technology. This technology was embraced because of the fulfilment of the promised security in assets. This posed a better advantage over traditional banking.
However, there seems to be a form of compromise in the promise as a result of negligence and rampancy in phishing scams. So, how can you secure your crypto wallet? Chill n’ grab your favourite drink because you are about to get your crypto wallet secured.
A type of secured crypto wallet
Let’s talk about an old friend, John.
He is a newbie in the world of cryptocurrency. He was excited and intrigued about buying a token and getting it doubled, maybe tripled, in a few days. He knew about the transparency of transactions using blockchain technology in the crypto world.
As a newbie ready to explore as much as he can, he couldn’t have been blamed, and if your onions are cut right, there is a lot of mistakes to be made. He dabbled right into it without taking the necessary precautions to secure his crypto wallet.
Through their years of futility, many cyber hackers have proved that the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies is virtually impenetrable.
However, the dangerous ones discovered a cunning technique to take advantage of unsuspecting traders rather than admit loss. They then fall for scams since they know little about securing cryptocurrency wallets.
You are reading this because you want to stay wise and can be confident that you will foil the deception of crypto wallet frauds.
Let’s get back to John’s story.
He created a wallet on the Solana network. He received his own unique set of seed phrases for complete access to the wallet. He didn’t care about them and didn’t try to protect them.
Anyway, John bought a token worth $50. One fateful day, it so happened that the data in his phone got cleared, so he lost access to every application and website. He had to start again as his phone did not recognize him.
He was completely clueless about the weight of what had just happened until he tried to log in to his crypto wallet, and it requested his seed phrases.
This new development was frustrating for John, but he decided to open another. You can’t guess what happened next? What happened, you ask? Well, within four days after losing his first crypto wallet, the worth of the token he bought had increased to $26,000, which wasn’t the end. After two months, the worth increased yet again to $200,000.
This got him depressed for days as he could have been swimming in a lot of money. He was then forced to pursue a piece of knowledge on how to get the most secure crypto wallet.
The good news is you do not have to be like John to know what to do. So breathe deep, and do not despair. Everything you need to secure your crypto wallet is contained in this article.
Table of Contents
What is a Crypto Wallet?
A crypto wallet is a hardware or software application powered by blockchain technology that stores and secures access to your cryptocurrencies. By storing your private keys in a cryptocurrency wallet, you may send and receive cryptocurrency to and from anywhere globally, manage your digital assets in one secure location and access decentralized finance apps (dapps).
10 Ways to Secure Your Crypto Wallet
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Guard Your Seed Phrase from the Digital World
Instruction says; “Write on a piece of paper…”
Life in the digital world is good, but it has a dark side. The dark side allows threats to the privacy of your personal information. Mr. Remi Afon, the President of the Cybersecurity Experts Association of Nigeria, warned that 2022 is expected to witness an escalation in cyberattacks and cybercrime from what was witnessed in 2021.
Well, 2021 came off with bad happenings for many private organizations, government agencies, and individuals, as many witnessed massive cyberattacks.
Your seed phrase is as important as the assets in your wallet, so you must not expose it to the digital world. Here are the things to keep in mind in ensuring the most secure wallet:
- Do not store them on your password manager
- Do not store them on Dropbox or Google Drive
- Do not store them on a USB drive
- Engrave your seed phrases on Metals.
Let’s briefly discuss metal engraving. One of the best and most reliable methods of permanently retaining information has been engraving. The most common method of storing a sentence is to write it down on paper.
However, exposure to fire or water limits the use of paper. In addition, this is not the ideal method for keeping your wallet secure. Your best alternative for getting the safest wallet is to keep your seed words on steel, so do that.
Countless online shops sell steels you may personalize with your favourite messages, such as your seed phrases. But, you shouldn’t keep them in a safe too obvious after engraving. The idea is to find inventive places to hide them, making sure it’s somewhere you can remember.
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Secure Your Accounts With Two-Factor Authentication
2FA AUTHENTICATION
Two-factor authentication is a method of identifying yourself with a device or service. A subset of multi-factor authentication is two-factor authentication, also referred to as 2FA. It is a technique for adding additional security measures to the conventional authentication methods of simply a username and password.
For example, 2FA needs you to submit an additional “token” that you can get via SMS or Google authentication when logging into your account. If you don’t input the right combination, you’ll get an error notice and be unable to access your wallet.
Do not use SMS authentication since hackers can modify and gain access to it. In addition, they can circumvent your 2FA by obtaining a replica SIM card from your phone provider.
Instead, use only the Google Authenticator app, which is the safest option. Going the extra mile will benefit you in protecting your cryptocurrency wallet and avoiding the crypto wallet scam.
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Get a Separate Device for Transactions
Do you recall John? One thing he did as a result of the experience was to purchase a different laptop for his trades and transactions. He had learned from his mistakes and wouldn’t fall victim to his past again.
You ought to have a primary mobile device to conduct all other activities besides your transactions. Then, you get a new one just for transactions. This is to secure your crypto wallet if the main device gets compromised due to many exposures—a proven way to secure your crypto wallet.
Read Also: Understanding the Fundamentals of Crypto Assets: A Comprehensive Guide
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Stay Invisible With a VPN
Stay InvisIble With VPN
VPN allows you to flaunt your presence on the internet without being discovered. With a strong VPN, you are there on the internet, and at the same time, you are not. It keeps zero information about you or anything to identify you.
You can easily move to and fro the internet without your data staying registered to be noticed by hackers. Never use public WiFi without a VPN. Don’t sell yourself cheaply to internet scams and fall victim to the crypto wallet scams.
Hey, you are not alone! You can subscribe to our newsletter to get related cryptocurrency posts from time to time. Now, how has the journey been?
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Install Firewall Software
This is how you may have your loins girded online. It shields you against crypto wallet scams. They are the administrative officer of your computer that prevents unauthorized access into or out of a computer network.
Windows computers, especially those running versions 8 and 10, have fantastic built-in firewalls. There are plenty of firewall programs for Mac users to choose from.
A fantastic Mac firewall program is called Little Snitch. Keep yourself safe and secure; don’t let your guard down even for a moment. Always remember that creating the best secure crypto wallet is the goal.
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Set Limits on Your Smart Contract Spending
If the contract is malevolent or has a back door, unlimited smart contract spending on one of your tokens, say BNB, can empty your whole BNB balance.
This bad outcome of a cryptocurrency wallet scam is something you don’t want, as some smart contracts permit a protocol to spend a limitless amount of money.
The wisest course of action is to be in charge of the permissions you grant and avoid giving a stranger a blank check. Secure your crypto wallet by setting limitations using the custom spending limit features.
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Keep Your Funds Off Central Exchanges
John has a lot of wounds from the cryptocurrency world. He is extremely tenacious and driven to succeed, like many Nigerians. He chose to continue where he left off after picking up.
Sadly, he didn’t pick up enough knowledge to keep battling. He maintained his money on the main exchange platform, intending to shift it later to his wallets. He was not lucky, and the platform had been compromised.
He had to start over after losing his money once more. He did, however, learn the hard way. They say that once bitten, twice shy.
Again, you must avoid following John’s path of experience. Hackers target major exchanges. Additionally, they can freeze your accounts and annoy you with their KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure. Finally, they will sell you coins and send them to your wallet immediately.
Read Also: Top 10 Interesting Myths About Cryptocurrency
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Beware of Fake Sites
Avoid Fake Websites
Hackers on the opposing side keep up with technological advancements. They, therefore, created malicious crypto wallet frauds to access the impenetrable wallets. It is possible to duplicate websites, exchanges, protocols, and even wallets to look exactly like the original.
Make a bookmark for the site in your browser once you’ve found it. The website should then contain links to all of the other pages connected to it. In addition, the website should have links to the official telegram, Twitter, and other social media accounts.
Avoid clicking on links that seem sketchy since they may be highly dangerous. Before clicking, secure your cryptocurrency wallet and verify the source. Search for the most reliable cryptocurrency apps that will not give you problems.
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Use a Hardware Wallet
Your private keys are kept on these actual hardware devices. You must physically confirm all transactions with your wallet before they occur. Because they can’t physically verify the transactions, hackers are constrained if they succeed.
To secure your cryptocurrency wallet, use a hardware wallet.
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Use a Burner wallet
Burner wallets are transient wallets you can easily access and use your cryptocurrency. When you are prepared to make payments that require connections with your wallet, you must fund your burner wallet with whatever you are willing to spend or plan to spend.
Employing a burner wallet reduces the likelihood that your holdings will be compromised because you are only holding a predetermined amount. Doing this puts your burning wallet’s contents in jeopardy, not your entire fortune.
Conclusion
Is crypto wallet safe? You can now answer this question. Blockchain has allowed us to have impenetrable wallets, safe and guarded against crypto wallet scams.
But carelessness and insensitivity to the wiles of internet fraudsters can render your wallets vulnerable to crypto wallet scams.
You have the keys, and now you don’t have to go through what John did. Secure your crypto wallet by going through the ten ways to do them.
Learn and earn without being the victim of crypto wallet scams. With all of these, you have the most secure crypto wallet.
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About Author
- I am David, a blockchain writer, and enthusiast. I am a content creator for blockchain and emerging tech. I work as a freelance content/copywriter and content strategist for blockchain, Web3, and NFT brands.
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