The crypto industry is growing rapidly and bringing lots of opportunities to investors, but with these opportunities come lots of risks and scams. Investors have lost billions in crypto assets to different scams over the years, and one of such scams is phishing.
It is a scam in which victims are tricked into voluntarily giving away their private keys or other personal information. This is achieved by the attacker pretending to be a legitimate person the victim should share such info with.
The attacker then uses the provided information to steal the victim’s crypto assets. Phishing attacks mostly target wallets, cryptocurrency exchanges, and initial coin offerings. This calls for caution on the part of crypto users.
We discuss what phishing scams are in this guide and also recommend ways to avoid falling into one.
How phishing attacks work
Phishing attacks usually work through emails. The attacker sends out mass emails or messages to his targets that look like they are coming from your real crypto wallet or exchange. Such messages or emails usually have a link to a website that resembles that of the real exchange or wallet.
The message may ask you to log in and attend to something urgent, or make a fake limited time offer that entices the victim to log in and claim. In both situations, the victim may not pay attention to the website the link is leading to, and simply log in.
The attacker will then access the login information provided by the victim after clicking on the link. They can empty the victim’s wallet instantly and without any chance of recovery.
Types of Phishing Attacks
There are many phishing attacks, but the following are the most common in the crypto space.
Spear phishing attack
This is a form of attack targeted at a specific person or organization. The attacker must familiarize himself with the victim, and send them a message posing as someone they know. They’ll then add a phishing link that when opened, will lead to their falling victim.
Whaling attack
This type of attack targets top people in an organization. A message is tailored specifically for the head of a company for instance. If the attacker succeeds in getting just one open, they can do a lot of damage by accessing a lot of information not just on the person but the whole organization.
Cloning attack
In this case, the attacker clones an email or message previously sent to the victim and includes a malicious attachment. Because the victim has received such email before, they are more likely to click on the attachment without checking,
Pharming attack
The victim may enter the correct website in the web browser, but they will be redirected to a fake one where their information is collected if they try to log in.
Browser extension attack
There are crypto wallets such as Metamask that come as browser extensions. Be careful when installing them, because they can access your information and wipe your wallet clean if it is from an attacker.
How to prevent phishing attacks
Phishing attacks are real and they happen everyday. The following are some precautions you can take to reduce your chances of becoming a victim.
Be wary of emails
It doesn’t matter if you’re familiar with the sender of an email. Do not hurriedly click on attachments or links within such emails.
If in doubt, contact the sender directly to confirm that they did send the email before clicking on anything. You should be doubly careful if you don’t know the source of the email.
Don’t give out personal information
Under no circumstances should you give out personal information such as your wallet recovery phrase or private keys to anyone.
Double check web addresses
Whenever you visit your exchange or other websites, always ensure that you have the correct address. Ensure for instance you’re visiting binance.com and not binance.net.
Use a VPN
A VPN can protect you from phishing attacks on many levels. Use one when dealing with websites and other online platforms especially when using public WiFi.
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