Crypto safety center

Most crypto losses come from scams and simple mistakes, not from someone breaking the blockchain. These guides explain how each attack works, step by step, with real dated cases from the FBI, FTC and other regulators, and what to do if it already happened.

Think you've been hacked or scammed?

Stop sending money, don't share your seed phrase with anyone offering help, and follow the steps in order. Open the emergency checklist.

Interactive safety checklists

Tick through them before you act. Your progress is saved only on this device, and each one prints.

Wallet or account compromised

Emergency steps, in order, for the first hour.

Before sending crypto

Address, network, amount and pressure checks.

Before connecting a wallet

Stop drainers before you sign anything.

Before buying a new token

Rug pulls, honeypots and pump-and-dumps.

Before using a DEX

Fake tokens, slippage and approvals.

Storing a recovery phrase

Write, test, store and pass it on safely.

Check something now

Scam checkerTick the warning signs in a message, offer or request.

Scams that persuade you to pay

Most crypto losses happen because someone talks the owner into sending the money.

Pig butchering: crypto romance and investment scamsA friendly stranger, a fake trading app, and "fees" to withdraw. The costliest crypto scam.Crypto scams: how to spot themAn overview of every common scam and the red flags they share.Fake crypto trading sites: how to check oneHow to check whether an exchange or trading app is real.Bitcoin ATM scamsFake bank, government and tech-support callers who make you feed cash into a kiosk.Bitcoin ATMs: how they work, fees and scamsA Bitcoin ATM (or crypto kiosk) is a machine that lets you buy bitcoin with cash and send it to a wallet address you scan.Crypto giveaway and fake airdrop scams"Send 1, get 2," deepfake celebrities and fake token claims.Crypto recovery scamsFake lawyers and "investigators" who target people who already lost money.Crypto pump-and-dump schemesHype, fake volume and insiders selling to latecomers.What is a rug pull?When a token's creators drain the money and disappear.What is a crypto airdrop?How real airdrops work, and how to tell them from bait.

Attacks on your wallet and accounts

Tricks that get your signature, your address or your phone number.

Phishing and wallet drainersFake sites, malicious approvals and permit signatures, and how to revoke them.Address poisoning: the lookalike address scamLookalike addresses planted in your history, waiting for you to copy one.SIM swap attacksHow your phone number gets hijacked, and why to drop SMS codes.Smart contract exploits and bridge hacksWhy DeFi apps and bridges get drained, and how to limit your exposure.

Keeping crypto safe

Where to hold it, how to back it up, and how your family can reach it.

What is a seed phrase?The 12 or 24 words that control your wallet, and how they get stolen.Crypto wallet backups: long-term storage and inheritancePaper or metal, how many copies, passphrases and planning for heirs.What is a hardware wallet?A device that keeps your keys offline and signs on its own screen.Hot vs. cold wallets, and what cold storage meansOnline convenience versus offline safety, and how to split your holdings.Custodial vs. non-custodial walletsWho really holds your keys, and what happens if they fail.Multisig wallets explainedSeveral keys to move funds, so one lost or stolen key isn't a disaster.Exchange security and proof of reservesLocking down your account, and what proof of reserves can't show.How to put crypto in a trust and pass it onTrusts, wills and making sure your family can reach your crypto.How to buy Bitcoin safelyA careful first purchase, step by step.

Mistakes and how to avoid them

Crypto payments rarely come back. A minute of checking prevents most errors.

Before you send crypto: the safety checklistThe interactive checklist to run before any transfer.Sent crypto to the wrong network?Whether it can be recovered, and what to do first.What happens when you send crypto?From tap to confirmed, and why it can't be undone.

The scale of the problem

From the FBI's 2025 Internet Crime Report, published April 2026. Many losses are never reported.

$11.4 billion

Crypto-related fraud losses reported to the FBI in 2025, out of $20.9 billion for all internet crime.

$7.2 billion

Lost to cryptocurrency investment fraud, which includes pig-butchering scams, in 2025.

$389 million

Lost through crypto ATMs and kiosks in 2025, up 58% in a year.

Report fraud (US)

Reporting is free. Anyone who charges you to file a report or "recover" funds is running a scam.

FBI Internet Crime Complaint Centeric3.gov: any crypto theft or scam Federal Trade Commissionreportfraud.ftc.gov: scams and fraud SEC tips and complaintssec.gov/tcr: investment fraud and manipulation CFTC complaintscftc.gov/complaint: commodities and crypto fraud

The rule that never changes

Legitimate support will never ask for your seed phrase or private key: not an exchange, a wallet maker, a lawyer, the police or the FBI. This site will never ask for it either.