Digital assets are resistant to censorship by design and give private key holders complete control over their crypto. The only caveat is that investors are solely responsible for protecting and safely storing their own funds.
As a web3 onboarding and education project with the aim to empower young African creatives with blockchain education and skill set acquisition, it’s important to remind you of the safety practices you need follow while transitioning into web3.
Hackers and scammers are becoming more of a concern every day as they get smarter by the minute, and so security is arguably the biggest challenge most folks face in this space. They are constantly seeking new ways to take advantage of people in order to gain information, money, assets, identity, and many more.
There are recurring stories over the internet where many people receive phishy emails or a ridiculous DMs saying they have just won 0.0027 ETH! Now all they need to do is provide their seed phrase or connect their wallets. Unfortunately, these stories are becoming more and more common as hacker and scammers are inventing new ways to get at victims.
Taking your web3 security seriously is crucial to not getting scammed. So, let’s learn about some methods you can use to protect yourself while exploring the budding world of Web3 applications.
Tips On How Best To Stay Safe In Web3
Be Mindful Of Where You Connect Your Wallet:
As web 3 is still in its infancy, there are a lot yet to be figured out. For those trying to explore Web 3, the first security measure you should take note of is to be very careful not to connect your primary wallet to just any decentralized application.
There might be a need to connect your wallet to some decentralized platforms, but if you have to connect your wallet to an application or platform, make sure that it’s legit to avoid losing your funds.
Avoid Suspicious Links Shared on Telegram or Discord:
Although Telegram and Discord can be used to chat and connect with like-minded individuals, you can’t be entirely certain about what people’s true intentions on those networks are. Just like you must have been advised to not click on random links shared on the Internet, the same rule applies to the links shared on both Discord and Telegram.
Be careful when clicking on links to open DApps because links can easily be redirected. Make sure that the particular link you are accessing is the one shared by the particular DApp on their social pages.
Share Personal Information Safely:
The act of sharing too much information online can make you vulnerable to various scamming attacks. At all times, make sure you never share personal and sensitive information like financial and transactional data linked to your primary wallet in chats and communities unless you know exactly what it is needed for and how it will be used.
In addition to that, never share your private keys and your seed phrase. Your seed phrase is used to recover your wallet if you ever lose access to your account.
Verify The Identity Of People You Communicate With:
Arguably, it might not be totally easy to control who can reach out to you online. Most times people don’t reveal the motives for connecting with you but those motives might not be entirely innocent. With that been said, should anyone reach out to you online, do well to verify whether the person they purport to be is actually who they are.
These days scammers open accounts impersonating others to swindle innocent users. A proven way to verify if whomever you are talking to is who they claim to be is to reach out to the actual person via other social channels. By doing this, you can be sure to know if you are in communication with an actual person or an impersonator.
Use Different Credentials For Different Sites:
Making use of one credential across different social platforms or web pages is never a good idea. You can consider using a password manager as good password managers can help to create strong passwords and unique passwords. Doing this will help you prevent getting hacked on more than one acount, all your other accounts will be safe.
And there you have it! You should be well fortified enough to successfully transcend into the web3 space.
Although Web 3 is still at its nascent state, it sure looks like it could be heading to a perfect adoption and implementation within the next decade. However, before everyday users and newbies can navigate this new iteration of the internet “decentralized Internet”, security issues will need to be fixed. Otherwise, web3 may not come to fruition.
So remember, while there are plenty of lucrative opportunities in the web3 space there are also countless scammers and cybercriminals looking to steal your digital assets. Be safe, follow these simple steps and make sure you always conduct your own diligent research before doing anything with your money.
Contact us
