A 10-minute crypto security checklist

The blockchain is rarely what breaks. People get tricked, devices get compromised, and approvals get forgotten. This checklist blocks the most common paths.

#The ten steps

1. Use a hardware wallet for anything you would hate to lose. Keep only spending money in hot wallets.
2. Write your seed phrase on paper or metal. Never in a photo, cloud note, email or password manager screenshot.
3. Nobody legitimate will ever ask for your seed phrase. Not support, not an exchange, not a "recovery service".
4. Bookmark the real sites. Search ads and look-alike domains are a top source of fake wallets and exchanges.
5. Turn on app-based 2FA or a security key. Avoid SMS codes where you can.
6. Review token approvals monthly. Old unlimited approvals let a hacked contract drain tokens later.
7. Simulate before you sign. Modern wallets show what a transaction will do. Read it. "Set approval for all" deserves a hard pause.
8. Separate wallets by purpose. One for holding, one for trying new apps, one for minting or airdrops.
9. Be suspicious of urgency. "Act in 10 minutes", "your account will be frozen", "exclusive presale" are pressure tactics.
10. Deepfakes are real. Video of a famous founder promising doubled returns is not evidence. It is a red flag.

#If something goes wrong

Move remaining funds to a fresh wallet from a clean device, revoke approvals, and report it to your local fraud authority. Be very careful with anyone offering to recover funds for a fee.

This is education and personal experience, not financial advice. Crypto and leveraged trading can lose you money fast. We may earn from sponsors shown on this page; they never edit our conclusions. How we make money.