What To Do If You’ve Fallen Victim To A Crypto Scam
Realising you have fallen for a crypto scam is one of the worst things that could ever happen to you when dealing with cryptocurrency online. However, this realisation does not have to be the beginning of a spiral of despair. In this article, we'll discuss what steps you should take next.
Steps You Can Take Now
Once you’ve realised that you have fallen for a scam, there are a few steps that you can immediately take to minimise the damage. By acting on these steps quickly, you can be sure you are doing everything in your power to keep yourself and your data safe.
1. Talk to People Who Can Help. The first thing you should do once you realise you’ve fallen victim to a scam is to reach out to people who can help you. A crypto lawyer can identify where the coins have been moved to and make sure exchanges are on alert to freeze any accounts the scammers may be using. By taking proactive action and reaching out to those who might be able to help, you are giving yourself the best chance at limiting harm to your coins.
2. Protect Your Information. One of the most valuable resources you have is information, and when you fall for a scam online, you can be sure that your information is immediately at risk. There are a few ways to mitigate this risk, but the most effective at this point is to change all of your passwords online and invest in some handy cyber security tools such as a proper antivirus and a VPN. With the help of these tools, you can prevent more data from leaking.
What You Can Learn
Finally, learn from the experience. What’s done is done, but by taking the time to reflect on what happened, you can learn how to protect yourself going forward. Experience is the greatest teacher of all.
How to Recognise A Future Scam
Most importantly, you need to make sure you learn the signs of a crypto scam in the future. Here are some common red flags:
- The exchange website you are trying to log into has an unusual looking URL. For instance, if you are trying to login to Coinbase.com, but the URL is C0inbase.com or coinbase.net, you have probably been fooled into going to a phishing site run by hackers.
- Someone asks you for your private key or recovery phrase. If anyone asks for this, they are absolutely trying to steal from you.
- Your exchange emails you from an unusual looking email address such as accounts@c0inbase.com - see #1 above.
- You receive an email from an exchange or crypto company with lots of typos and poor English.
These are just some common red flags, but there are many. If you are at all unsure, it is best to proceed with caution. And again, if you find you have been scammed, reach out to a crypto lawyer immediately.
