Thread by @chriscantino

1/ Crypto Security 101. Avoid getting swindled out of your coins and NFTs—and learn to proactively reduce your risk. 🧵

2/ This is a guide for both beginners and experts.

The phishing and scam attempts out there are sophisticated and convincing. And being so early in crypto, it’s legitimately hard to know what to look for. Everyone is vulnerable.

Don’t be that person who got their ETH drained.

3/ The Price Swap

When a NFT project receives a flood of buyers, scammers can subtly change their listing price at the last moment.

You might have clicked into a listing at .13, but it could be 1.3 at checkout. 😬

Don’t overpay—review the final amount before confirming.

4/ The Fake Collection

Fake OpenSea collections are a dime a dozen. Look at these fakes, where scammers add a subtle “s” or “.” to trick buyers.

Few collections are verified at launch, so make sure you get an official link from the project’s site or Discord.

5/ The DM Slide

If you engage in NFT communities, at some point you will receive a DM from a seemingly authentic account. Know that it is VERY unlikely for any project to DM you out of the blue.

Only trust accounts that you can trace back to a project’s official links.

6/ The Fake Contract

Some collectors mint NFTs directly from Etherscan contracts—it can be faster than minting from a project’s website. However, some malicious Discord users circulate fake, official looking contracts that will drain your crypto.

Verify, verify, verify.

7/ The Malicious Coindrop

Ever open your wallet and see a strange coin that appears to have dropped you free money?

Yeah, no—that’s a scam. Do not interact with mal-coins.

8/ The Fake Agent

When receiving customer support, remember there is no context that should require you to click a non-official link.

Furthermore, no legitimate agent will ever ask you to share your screen, provide your seed phrase, password, private keys, or QR code image.

9/ The Anonymous Project

If a project is not public about who its leaders are, what’s stopping them from walking away with profits or abandoning it altogether?

Sure, there are trustworthy projects with pseudonymous leaders—but be careful. vice.com/en/article/y3d…

10/ The Spammy Server

A project might look legitimate with 20k followers, but is the hype legitimate or manufactured?

Is there a multi-level invite system designed to pump the numbers? Are there bots?

Review activity on the server to determine how engaged followers really are.

11/ Let’s talk more about preventative measures.

First, buy a cold wallet. A $200 investment could save you thousands, even millions.

Always buy directly from the wallet manufacturer. NEVER buy from a third party.

https://twitter.com/chriscantino/status/1445084867616669698

12/ Spreading Out Your Holdings

Never hold all your assets on a single wallet. In the unfortunate event that you are scammed, this prevents you from losing EVERYTHING.

Make ten wallets if you have to. Make twenty. The more crypto you accrue, the more accounts you should create.

13/ Approving Transactions

This may seem obvious, but when you’re in a rush to buy, or you’re signing tons of transactions, you might be tempted to smash “approve“ before a full review.

This is a fast way to approve an unintended transaction, or overpay on gas.

14/ Educating ourselves and others on crypto security is necessary for the technology to achieve mainstream adoption.

Remember the days of buying Norton Antivirus on CD-ROMs? That’s how early we are.

Stay vigilant, report suspicious activity, and help keep our communities safe.