Crypto Wallet Recovery Phrase Theft Scam

A website offers to back up, sync, protect or link your crypto wallet. To do it, it asks you to type in your wallet's recovery phrase (also called a seed phrase), private key or keystore file and password. Whoever has the recovery phrase or private key controls the wallet and can move the funds out. These sites often wrap the request in a story about a new financial system, a wallet upgrade or a security problem, and may pretend that an automatic wallet connection failed so you enter the details by hand.

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Crypto Wallet Recovery Phrase Theft Scam example

How this scam works

  1. 1

    Step 1: You find or are sent a site that promises to keep your crypto safe, move it to a new system or fix a problem with your wallet.

  2. 2

    Step 2: The site looks like a large finance platform, with big user numbers, award badges and pop-ups saying other people just received large payouts.

  3. 3

    Step 3: You are asked to pick your wallet and connect it. The connection fails, and the site asks you to back up or link the wallet manually.

  4. 4

    Step 4: The manual option asks for your recovery phrase, private key, or keystore file and password.

  5. 5

    Step 5: What you type goes to the people running the site, not to your wallet provider, and they can use it to empty the wallet.

✓ Do this

  • Keep your recovery phrase offline and only enter it in your own wallet app when you are restoring that wallet yourself.
  • Get wallet apps only from the wallet maker's official website or the official app store.
  • If you typed your recovery phrase or private key into a website, move any remaining funds to a new wallet with a new recovery phrase from a device you trust.
  • Report the site to the hosting provider and to your national fraud reporting service.

✗ Avoid this

  • Do not type your recovery phrase, private key or keystore file into any website, form or chat.
  • Do not trust a site because a wallet connection failed and it now offers a manual backup.
  • Do not trust a site because it shows payout pop-ups, user counts or awards.

Other scams in Crypto Wallet / Exchange Impersonation

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