Chapter 5 — Upgrade your Security on Discords
What is Discords?
As I mentioned before Discords is the must have community tool to use when it comes to Crypto, Web 3.0 and NFTs. But why is that?
- each project is there with its own server and different rules
- all important informations are communicated there
- you are able to get whitelists for mints by participating in activities to earn them(basically its a reduced price and option to invest into the project first)
The possibilities in structuring the Servers, various ways of communication and bot integration made Discords the go-to tool when it comes to building communities. If you want to take NFTs and Crypto serious you have to get into Discords and spend time in there in order to keep up to date.
Security is vital
Discords can be a dangerous place because there are endless possibilities for hackers and scammers to get your money and data. I am gonna give a few examples now.
- hacked project servers where scammers will post a fake mint link: you will log in and mint a NFT and the attackers will access your wallet and drain it.
- hackers will collect data from you via DM
- hackers will send a form which has malware and infects your computer or phone
- hackers will take over your discords profile and use it to scam even more people or worst case: even take over your own project discords server when you are a moderator or founder there
- fake trades: they gonna try to trade NFTs with you by using fake links where they will drain your wallet or simply don’t pay you your money
As you can see: there are many possibilities of scamming you in Discords and we have to take all measures possible to protect ourselves. So here are some Tipps to get your defence up.
Use an Alias
You see my name “GhostDog”? I created this name when I started with NFTs and especially when I entered Discords. From the start I met people who taught me what to do and they forced me to get an alias. Reason being: don’t expose your real name in discords. People don’t need to know your real name.
Turn off DMs for Servers
Just turn off DMs in your privacy settings so no one can just send you messages with links. If someone wants to interact with you in private they will first need to send you a friend request. Heres how to do it:
Set up 2FA Verification
You gotta protect your Discords Profile like your wallet. Reason being you most likely have friends and projects you are part of and if hackers use your profile they can scam many people. Your reputation can be destroyed since people could loose a lot of money because you didn’t protect your profile well. On top of that Hackers could get private data from you and sell it.
Also: use a SECURE password. Don’t play around with your accounts safety. Here is how to set up 2FA:
Owners “rugging” a project
Unfortunately not all NFT projects have good intentions. The term “rug” describes owners or members of a project taking your money for a mint and don’t deliver what they promised. After mint they will delete the Discords Server and Twitter account: bye bye… you lost your money
There are some so called Red Flags you can see to avoid being rugged but still there is always a risk so be careful:
- is the team doxxed? this means: does the team expose their real names, photo, LinkedIn? there are also services providing a document
- do they have a background that fits the project? any proof? how many projects did they have in the past? were they succesfull?
- are the founders available in the discords?
- does the project have a website, twitter account and other social media accounts? when were they created?
- do they deliver their roadmap?
- how is the community in the Discords?
You basically have to research on the team and the project in order to decide if it’s legit or not. Also speak with other experienced people in the space. I have a few trusted people I can always ask to have a look at a project if I am unsure.
👻 Stay safe Fam 👻
Hope you enjoyed this little guide. Please join our private Telegram Channel for more HERE
