Keep cyber threats at bay - protect your Bitcoins from these common attacks

One would think that Bitcoin is unbeatable since it lives on blockchains that use cryptographic technologies based on complex mathematical codes to safeguard data and prevent external use. Still, hackers around the world took advantage of some of the cryptocurrencies’ vulnerabilities, which occur in various hard forks, smart contracts, and transaction verification. 

Unfortunately, in addition to these intricate features that take time to manage, some crypto users are not digitally educated enough to fight common attacks when they learn how to buy Bitcoin online. Whether they send their Bitcoins to scammers who pretend to double them or trust unofficial websites to handle their portfolios, investors are risking all their funds due to a lack of knowledge.

Phishing scams, fake advertisements and Ponzi schemes are still widely leveraged even in the crypto industry, so you must learn how to identify scams and protect your wallet.

SEO optimization as a hacking technique

You would never guess that attackers know anything about SEO, but they actually take advantage of the algorithm to rank their fake crypto applications or websites higher in the search results, so you would believe that the source is reliable and safe. This leads you to download malicious apps or files through which hackers access your portfolio or wallet, and the rest is history.

To protect yourself from such scams, it’s best to verify the source from multiple perspectives before downloading something from it, even if it ranks as the highest result. Check forums and social media to see if the app is genuine and look for signs of a website’s integrity, such as grammar mistakes or messy design.

Copy and paste? Not the best idea

Wallet addresses and private keys are information that should never be shared with anyone and kept as secret as possible, even from the internet. However, the practice of copying and pasting the content, which usually consists of never-ending numbers of letters, might not be the best idea because pasteboard hijacking exists.

The technique involves acquiring and modifying the copied data from clipboards, which is done to get the seed phrases that offer access to wallets from which hackers rain funds. It has been found that fake Telegraph apps have been used for this scam many times, which resulted in tokens mistakenly sent straight to the hacker.

Liquidity scams of high-yield and low-risk

Another Bitcoin scam to be wary of is the high yield and low risk one, in which the scammer can be traced somewhere during the transaction process. Investors should pay more attention to their transaction fees and descriptions because hackers can blend in and steal funds in time and with minimal involvement.

Additionally, investors can approach professional companies that leverage tools for retrieving stolen Bitcoin since they use top-notch technologies to track the Bitcoin and their hackers. These services have improved considerably lately, mainly since hackers also target organizations besides regular users.

Fake crypto wallets on the rise

Crypto wallets are considerably important for an investor because they're the only way to store Bitcoin in a safe place, whether it’s online or offline. However, hackers have entered the realm of wallets, too, since there are numerous fake products that users may find difficult to spot as dangerous. At their core, these wallets have some type of malware included that can infect any software or hardware when downloaded and make use of passwords and private keys.

There are a few essential factors to consider when choosing a crypto wallet, such as the HTTPS link or the design of the website, as these signs can truly show its trustability level. However, if you’re not convinced, it’s best to check out forums and social media to see if anyone else has ever used the same crypto wallet.

Ways to protect your Bitcoins

Besides being knowledgeable of the latest crypto hacks, it’s recommended to adopt a series of practices that can help minimize their chances of being the victim of such an attack, such as constantly checking email domains when receiving one to ensure they’re not phishing attempts.

You can also install advanced anti-phishing software that can keep your computer or smartphone safe by continuously updating its security features. Of course, these services must be provided by reputable companies, like in the case of crypto exchanges and wallets, so you must research extensively to find what’s best for you.

Some safety services also provide IP and login alters that notify you when unauthorized attempts are happening because most are difficult to point out as regular users, so leveraging AI and automation is best in this case.

However, you can also set some API key restrictions on your account in regard to specific functions so you can ensure that hacking your account is not that easy, such as setting up a certain withdrawal limit or allowing access.

Can the blockchain get hacked?

Unfortunately, besides Bitcoin, its blockchain can also be the target of hackers, even if this practice is not that common due to its complexity. Generally, there are three ways in which blockchains can be affected by hackers:

• 51% attacks happen when hackers can control half or more of the mining process on the network, leading to the creation of an additional version of the blockchain, allowing double-spending;
• Creation errors are triggered by security glitches that hackers take advantage of through smart contract vulnerabilities in which they can steal money without being observed;
• Weak security measures on exchanges are frequent, and hackers can analyze blockchains and ecosystems based on their security levels, allowing them to pursue an attack and make it successful;

How do you safeguard your Bitcoins?

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency ever created, and it’s also supposed to be one of the strongest and safest on the market. However, after some years on the internet, we found that Bitcoin can be risky since many hackers are finding blockchain issues and taking advantage of them without users noticing. SEO, pasteboard hijacking and liquidity scams are common ways in which perpetrators get access to people’s wallets or systems and are able to steal their Bitcoins without much of a fuss. So, to counteract the risks, users must learn more about the newest types of attacks and safeguard their accounts.