Security and scams
Last reviewed November 1, 2026
Most crypto losses don't come from a hacked blockchain. They come from someone clicking the wrong link at the wrong moment.
Crypto transfers cannot be reversed, which is exactly why scammers like them. The tactics change; the script does not: pressure to act now, promises of big returns, and a request to install, sign or reveal something.
In the US, investment fraud involving crypto is one of the largest categories of loss reported to the FBI each year. Most of it starts on social media or messaging apps.
Phishing and fake sites
Fake sites copy real exchanges and wallets, sometimes appearing as ads at the top of search results. Reach your accounts only through your own bookmarks. Before signing anything in a wallet, read what you're approving: an unlimited token approval lets the contract take those tokens whenever it likes.
Fake support
Ask for help on social media and "support" will often message you within minutes. Real companies do not DM first, and they never ask for your seed phrase or for remote access to your computer.
Investment and romance fraud
The pattern: a contact from a dating app or a group chat shows you their gains on a trading platform. You deposit, the dashboard shows profits, and when you try to withdraw there are suddenly "fees" or "taxes" to pay. The platform is fake and the money is gone. Investigators call it pig butchering.
Wallet drainers
Drainers are malicious sites and contracts that empty a wallet once you sign a single request. They spread through fake airdrops, hacked social accounts and look-alike mint pages. Revoke approvals you no longer use and don't interact with strange tokens that appear in your wallet.
If you've been scammed
Move what's left to a fresh wallet, revoke approvals, change passwords and report it: to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) in the US, or to the police fraud reporting service in the UK. Ignore anyone offering to recover your money for a fee; recovery scams are the second wave of the same fraud.