Cryptocurrency is the cherry on top every single crypto hacker wants “to eat”. Even since the release of the very first cryptocurrency in the world, scammers are conducting active warfare with the access to the digital wallets.
If you are hodler of valuable coins, do everything to increase the security of the wallet. Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of losing your savings and no one can return them.
In order not to get your crypto wallet hacked, The Coin Shark has prepared recommendations which will help to protect it from top 7 popular ways of hacking.
Method #1: IP Spoofing
You might think the the wallet address are created by evil forces 🙂 Because to remember this polysemic chaotic set of symbols is difficult. Therefore, for convenience, many people simple copy the address from a supposedly safe place and paste it into any application, in order to perform the operation.
This trick is used by hackers to create malware for tracking and replacing information. When a person copies the desired address to the clipboard, the virus replace it with the hackers address. After that, the cryptocurrency is transferred to a third-party address – on the criminal’s wallets.
Recommendation: check the inserted address from the clipboard before sending coins.
Method #2: Malware Installation
More dangerous than replacing the address is the theft of personal data from the device. Personal data includes: passwords and logins from accounts, including wallets.
Hacker virus gets on your computer through the fake and even official versions of software products. In the first case, the malware creates a copy of the original code with the virus. In the second, the virus finds a gap, in which it inserts its data package.
The dangerous virus was detected in the programm All-Radio 4.27 Portable, which during the installation downloaded the virus to the system folder «Windows Temp».
Attention! The malware works even when the device is turned off.
Another favourite hacker application is the hijacker – Adobe Flash Player. Who would have thought that a well-known application could poison PC and steal the data from it. When installing, a hacker program behave normally, so it is difficult to distinguish it from the official version. In addition, application periodically receives an update. As usual.
ESET security specialist Lukas Stefanko, has found an interesting pattern: the number of fake application is increasing as well as the rise of crypto market.
Recommendation:
- Since, such malware is hidden in programs and running in the background, an antivirus is needed, which is capable to detect a hidden threat;
- Download the programs to your PC only from official developers sites.
Method #3: Infected Expansion for browser
Modern hackers are so incredibly creative and flexible in their activity that they learned to implement the viruses not only in software products. In browser extensions, might be hiding viruses, which track all actions of PC user.
The most popular browser add-on and the best hacker creation of this year is Hola VPN Chrome. The fake version forwards to a phishing page, where hackers get the necessary information for hack the MyEtherWallet.
Despite the warnings of security experts, there are still those who fall for the trick with the compromising of popular browser extensions.
Recommendation:
- Do not download the unknown extensions into the browser;
- Use only the latest browser version.
Method #4: Fake Crypto Wallets
This is the most popular method of crypto hackers. The last, let’s say, the best scheme of hackers was the proposal to install the wallet for non-existent token SpriteCoin. The traders were buying into the beautiful stories about the viability and capacity of the coin, despite the fact that any other information about the coin is missing. They, in their innocence, downloaded the wallets along with the encryption virus.
As soon as malware is on the PC – it immediately begins encrypting the hard disk. Files of any kind, become a random set of characters. At the same time, the malware adds an encrypted extension,that blocks the recovery of encrypted data.
From this chaos, for the user of an infected PC, hackers get logins and passwords which are saved in Chrome and Firefox.
But there is the one option to decrypt the data is to pay the criminal 0.3 Monero. Of course, not everything is so simple. When a victim makes a deal with hackers, she gets a decryption key and a bonus trojan that monitors it via webcam and steal digital certificates. As a result, real wallets and bank accounts are at risk.
Another method of fraud with the digital wallets is registration on fake services. The criminals offer to register on their resource, in order to open a megabon wallet that gives coins for registration. In fact, such resources simply collect the necessary information for hacking wallets and provide nothing. Although, there are those who still give a wallet, to which hackers-developers also have access.
Recommendation:
- Do not get fooled by “great offers”, always check the information, look for reviews;
- Never accept the terms of fraudsters;
- Create a backup copy of your hard drive or just important information from it;
- Install an effective antivirus,which is able to protect the data in case of an extraordinary threat.
Method #5: Social Engineering
Namely, with the help of this method, hackers love to steal the private keys from crypto wallets or transfer cryptocurrency to their accounts. Social engineering is very specific in implementation, since it is based on psychological manipulation.
People are much easier “to hack”, than their digital devices. Therefore, your excessive trust may be no less a threat than malware.
The point is, that fraudsters redirects the victim to a fake authorization page. To that end,they send a letter to the e-mail, in which they warn about the blocking of wallet, if the recipient doesn’t pass the identification. Of course, at the end of the notification there is a link to a phishing page, where the man by innocence enters personal data and as a result loses his digital coins.
Recommendation:
- If you are lucky enough to receive a fake warning,then examine the sender’s address to pieces, or even better, every word with the help of Google;
- Send a request to your wallet technical support to make sure that they really sent the warning. Just don’t follow the link with a questionable warning.
Method #6: Angry Bots
The bots greatly simplify the life on the Internet. They benefit from social networking, ending with customer service on web-resources. However, they can also be useful for fraudsters, which is dangerous for cryptocurrency hodlers.
If you tune in to a Slack-bot,he will be the first cause of your nightmares and headaches. This is a cryptocurrency digital thief, and it should be noted, very effective.
They work as follows: they notify the trader about the threat of crypto wallet and redirect it to a phishing resource, where hackers get personal data.
Recommendation:
- Yes, bots are greatly simplify the networking. However, if you are not sure of its developer, then refrain from installing the program;
- Work only with paid bots from well-known developers.
Method #7: Dangerous SIM-cards
Remember, SIM and crypto wallet are not the best combo. By losing the SIM card, you lost the data is,at best. And if the card is intended to be taken by fraudsters, then consider that you “freely presented” your coins.
If fraudsters get access to the phone number, they can reset any account passwords, that are registered on the SIM card. That is, if your wallet is attached to a SIM, then there is a huge chance that the criminals will get to your online accounts, if they have not reached them yet.
Attaching to a SIM card is so unreliable, that even two-step verification doesn’t help.
Recommendation:
- Provide your wallet with the additional protection with applications such as Telegram or Signal. Good News, Traders! Durov messenger in the future will decline the authorization by sms. Google Authenticator has no longer uses this type of verification;
- Use 2FA-authentication.
We have shared with you the main hackers tricks and ways how to avoid them. Be extremely careful and never forget about the security of your cryptocurrency.
Subscribe to The Coin Shark news in Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coinshark/
