How to keep yourself protected from crypto scams
With scammers rapidly developing new strategies to scam the crypto community, many young and new investors are getting scammed out of their investments. Today I am here to show you steps to ensure that your digital assets will be safe and protected from the scammers of the inter webs. So, without further or do, let’s dig in.
Table of information covered in this article
- Password protection
- Phishing
- 2 Factor Authentication
- Digital asset storage
Password protection
Did you know that the top 2 most common passwords of 2017 were 123456 and Password? Yes, even in 2017 passwords are still extremely simplistic. It is crucial to create a strong password because it aids in creating a hard to penetrate barrier between hackers and your information. You might be asking me, Gerard; what is considered a strong password? A strong password consists of at least six characters (and the more characters, the stronger the password) that are a combination of letters, numbers and symbols (@, #, $, %, etc). Passwords are typically case-sensitive, so a strong password contains letters in both uppercase and lowercase. Strong passwords also do not contain words that can be found in a dictionary or parts of the users own name.
We decided to test one of the top 2 most used passwords compared to a random, strong password and the results weren’t very surprising to us, but they may be to you.
As you can see, using a mixture of upper and lower case letters as well as special characters requires much more time to crack than the #1 password used. Always create strong and unique passwords for cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, and everything in between.
Website Phishing
This topic is longer to cover than most because it covers a HUGE slew of issues within the crypto community, so sit tight and enjoy the ride.
Always check the URL of of websites that you are visiting. Many crypto sites are hit with website phishing attacks because attackers know the potential digital assets that they can steal from users entering. Exchanges and wallet interfaces such as MyEtherWallet are known to have many copycat websites. Below is a comparison of a false URL and a legitimate URL.
As you can see, the 2 URLs appear to be very similar. But with a little eye investigation, you can see the error in the second image. Also, as you can see in image 1, there is a green lock that says “Secure”. This is an SSL certification that verifies your URL entry is safe and secure where as the second URL contains no such certification. Alright, we have one phishing method out of the way, onto the next.
Social Media Phishing
Social media phishing is a very common strategy used to lure young or unaware investors into a scam. It works by posing as a very reputable crypto enthusiast, crypto project, or project founder. The scammer creates a very similar profile name and offers some unrealistic offer as shown below.
Notice how the username appears very similar to John McAfee’s @officialmcafee username, but in this case, one of the f’s are missing and the i is replaced with an L. Here is John’s official Twitter, and from here, we will explain how you can tell the difference to keep yourself safe.
There are a couple key points to take away that will help determine whether or not the account is legitimate, so let’s dive in.
For starters, in this case, Johns official account has over 800k followers, it is next to impossible for a false account to have an incredibly high influx of followers. However, it is still possible, so this should not be your “seal the deal” step to insure safety. Secondly, notice the blue verification mark? Well, that means exactly what it states, it verifies that the account is linked to the real person, company, project, etc. Finally, if an account is claiming to send you double the Ethereum that you send them, it is simply not true. Don’t fall for it. No one would ever want to send people double their money. It serves no purpose or benefit for them. Now that doesn’t mean that projects don’t offer airdrops or giveaways, but that leads into the same issue. By following these steps above, you will be able to help insure your safety over Social Media websites. Here are some other quick tips to ensure your safety if offered a giveaway or airdrop.
- Find the projects Telegram or an official website to hear directly from them that they’re offering such options.
- Do not send your assets to anyone to get put into a giveaway. Chances are very likely that it is a scam and it’s better to NOT take the risk.
Two Factor Authentication
Two Factor Authentication, also known as 2FA, two step verification or TFA (as an acronym), is an extra layer of security that is known as “multi factor authentication” that requires not only a password and username but also something that only, and only, that user has on them, i.e. a piece of information only they should know or have immediately to hand — such as a physical token.
Google Authenticator is a very common and trustworthy authentication app that works by randomly generating a 6 digit numerical phrase that changes after a certain amount of seconds. It is very important and smart to use this while using cryptocurrency exchanges because even if a hacker breaches your password, they would need your 2FA code to gain entry, which is only on your phone.
This ensures a secondary layer of security to help ensure protection of your digital assets. Below are 2 pictured examples on how to enable 2FA on 2 very popular exchanges
Choosing a safe and secure wallet
What’s the point to use all of these tips with an unreliable, non secure wallet? Well, look no further. If you are looking for an ERC20 wallet that safely, securely, and conveniently stores your tokens, welcome our BLUE wallet into your life.
The BLUE wallet is our latest and greatest product release. Currently in beta, our wallet offers a safe and simplistic way to keep your coins safe from scams and malicious accounts. On top of that, our wallets allows you to view your portfolio value in USD, calculate your gas/tax, recover your private keys, and it is 100% DECENTRALIZED.
We are currently in our BETA stage and we would love to get feedback from the crypto community. We currently offer over 25 ERC20 tokens and we’re in the works for allowing ANY ERC20 token to be stored within the wallet.
That’s all I got for you today folks. I hope this article helped you gain knowledge on the topics covered above and remember, stay safe out there. Gerard from blue signing off.
Want to learn more about BLUE? Find out below.
Telegram:
https://t.me/joinchat/F-VY1EIO49Ql_pwBHorxvA
Official Website:
Official Wallet: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/blue-worlds-safest-simple/laphpbhjhhgigmjoflgcchgodbbclahk
Facebook:
Twitter:
