6 Ways Secure Your Crypto Investments From Scams

Despite the fact that Bitcoin is exceedingly volatile and its status as a legal tender is unknown, Pakistanis, and Indians are investing extensively in it. People frequent fraudulent websites that employ cryptocurrency due of its decentralized character, according to several research. Scam websites defraud people out of their hard-earned money. Cryptocurrency scams increased by 81% globally in 2021, organized by rug pulls, with victims losing over $2.8 billion.

There are phishing websites meant to steal personal information by proposing false airdrops, Ponzi schemes, and other bogus investment plans, and crypto scams are not restricted to rug pulls. In the instance of a popular rug pull, a scammer will organize an initial coin offering (ICO) to entice investors, exactly like a legitimate IPO. More pulses have occurred in the Decentralized Finance (DeFI) ecosystem, in which developers drained the liquidity pool of funds, drove the coin’s value to zero, and left the victims with sawdust in their wallets.

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Ways to keep your account secure

Due to the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies and the rising pool of investors investing in them on a daily basis, securing one crypto account has become more crucial than ever due to hacker activity. Knowing how to keep your accounts secure will protect you not just against harmful assaults, but also from losing your money. The following sections will show you how to secure your accounts:

1. Use two-ways authorization to your crypto wallet

Using two-way authorization adds an extra degree of security to your crypto wallets, as a direct connection to the account will not grant access unless a second authentication is provided. There are reliable programs that can assist you in setting up two-factor authentication, such as Duo Security or Google Authenticator. App-based 2FA authentication is more effective than SMS-based 2FA authorization. If SMS-based authentication is required, make sure that an SMS is delivered to your device with each new login; this is only in case someone other than you has access to your device’s password or your crypto wallet account has been compromised.

You should not rely entirely on the SMS or OTP verification delivered to your smartphone to safeguard your crypto, as your phone data can be hacked and cloned to other devices. It’s also crucial to save sensitive wallet information, such as seed phrase recovery, in a secure offline location. Individuals must ensure that their email accounts, particularly the associated forgot-my-password backup email accounts, are secure.

2. Diversify your assets

Instead of placing all your eggs in one basket, spread your money out. Let’s imagine you have $100 in your bank account. It’s best to divide it in half, like 50/50. This is so that you don’t lose everything if hackers get access to one of your accounts. It’s the same as having multiple bank accounts to spread out your funds and avoid undue attention that could jeopardize the security of an online transaction. We take these precautions to avoid being put at danger if our bank account information is stolen. And, according to Edul Patel, the CEO and co-founder of Mudrex, any crypto transaction requires the same prudence as a bank account online transaction to prevent being defrauded.

3. Keep your devices safe

Always do a vulnerability scan on your devices and keep all security features up to date. To improve device security, utilize up-to-date and powerful antivirus software as well as firewalls. Regularly scan your device for suspicious activity with the National Cyber Security Alliance antispyware. However, according to the National Cyber Security Alliance, all crypto-based operations should be performed on a single device, and employees should keep their work devices as private as possible by using dedicated IPs and non-public servers to encrypt activities, locations, and names.

4. Utilize hardware wallet

This is one of, if not the most secure, ways to keep cryptocurrency safe. It’s known as Cold Storage. It works similarly to a real wallet in that it stores your cash, but it is digital and therefore more secure than physical wallets. They’re made to work without an internet connection, using dedicated storage in computers, pen drives, or hard disks. They are backed by cyber security professionals to keep your critical information offline, ensuring that only you have access to your cryptos. To get access to it, you’ll need to create a set of secret keys that you’ll need to keep offline and secure. According to experts, the wallet is safe with 4-8 characters and will immediately wipe itself if it fails after many attempts to prevent theft. However, if you forget both the seed keys and the drive, you won’t be able to recover the password. Users prefer hot storage, where they store their cryptos immediately in online wallets, for these reasons.

5. Make use of a password manager

Passwords should be complex and tough to guess and crack. To boost password strength, choose a 16-character password that includes symbols, numbers, and the alphabet. However, we may be prone to using passwords that are simple to remember, but which are occasionally insufficiently strong and hence vulnerable to hackers. We don’t have to worry about forgetting or forgetting passwords with password managers like Dashlane and 1password because they are securely saved in the managers and will always remind us if we forget.

6. Have control over your wallet

Each wallet has its own set of keys, which are revealed to the user each time a new wallet is established. To avoid being accessible by hackers and giving them access to your wallet, it is often recommended to key those keys offline.

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5 safety tips you must observe investing in crypto

Gaurav Dahake, the founder and CEO of Bitbns, said that when investing in crypto, the following guidelines should be followed.

1. Keep your login information private and don’t give it out to anyone.
2. Even if they are huge crypto exchanges, be wary of too good to be true promises to entice you into any crypto investment.
3. It’s best to keep login keys and seed phrases on your computer.
4. Conduct extensive research on the Tokens in which you wish to invest and use multiple authorizations on your wallets.
5. Before investing through a platform, make sure to look into the kind of security features that are offered to you.

Before investing, be aware of certain frequent red signs.

• Enticing offers that can hardly be true
• Scammers in the guise of influencers
• Typographical errors in link
• Fake promises

Best steps to take to avoid being scammed

1. Do not take info at face value

Investigate any information given to you and determine the degree of truth in anything said about any investment. Also, be wary of tempting offers that appear to be too good to be true.

2. Make sure you’re clicking on the right link

Hackers and cybercriminals are relentless in their quest to devour their victims, and they’ve figured out how to lead you to sites that could put bugs into your devices and extract sensitive information. Also, the site could be a ruse disguised as an investment opportunity, luring you to invest. They will demand certain fees once you have accumulated a specific amount and are prepared to withdraw. They are about to carry out these crimes because the links they send out are nearly identical to the original link, which is why people must be aware of the correct links to websites before clicking on them.

3. Take a look at what others have said about the investment

There’s a good probability that people have tried or invested in that particular investment previously. So, pay attention to what they have to say in the reviews and read as many as you can to determine if the investment is legitimate and what the drawbacks are. Examine factors like customer service and how the organization assists its clients in achieving success.

4. Be educated before investing

It is usually recommended that investors conduct thorough study on the crypto type in which they choose to invest. They should be aware of the investment’s risk elements, volatility, and how it is influenced by market sentiment in trading.

Note: Investing in bitcoin has risk, and readers should conduct their own research. Any such investment is not recommended by TechMag.