Crypto is hands down the fastest growing technology and industry right now. On a daily bases you are hearing crypto news of coins pumping, coins dumping, new uses cases, dyeing uses cases, new companies, new partnerships, and so much more . This is all well and good, but one of the most sobering news topics that most people ignore are the massive amount of scams taking place. People generally ignore this subject or scroll past it quickly with the mindset that “it will never happen to me,” which is wrong. Your mind set should be “I’ll never LET that happen to me.” This is not a complex subject and there are some simple rules you need to always follow to keep your crypto safe, but in addition to that, crypto custody solutions are changing rapidly as well – which I will circle back to.
Most of you know this, but here are some quick hard and fast rules for self custody:
- Never share you keys.
- Never take screen shots or pictures of your key.
- Simply write your key phrases down on paper and secure it (maybe 2 copies).
- Don’t store your long holding crypto on exchanges.
- Don’t tell people if you self custody or store on an exchange (people having no idea is great protection).
- Where possible always have 2FA (two factor verification).
Very recently, someone on twitter reported losing a massive amount of XRP due to braking the standard rules listed above. Here is a screen shot of their tweet:
It was determined the likely cause for his hack was taking a picture or screen shot of his account. This person is one of 100’s or even 1000’s that have been hacked over the last year. It should be a wake up call to all of us, especially as we lean into this new bull market.
I want to simply state that you as a crypto holder have to always be on the lookout for the next best solution for storing your crypto safely. The solution you have now will likely not be the best in the future (or might not be the best right now). I know moving your crypto around can be intimidating, but it might be necessary for your long term security. With that being said, the elephant in the room is Ledger Nano hardware wallets.
Is no secret that Ledger Hardware Wallets has had a number of hacks on their customer information databases. This allowed your email and possibly your phone number to fall into the hands of people keen on stealing your crypto. This is why there are countless twitter post from people claiming that Ledger sent them an email/text message asking them to verify their keys to access their account – DON’T DO IT! Your email was comprised and now you are/will be getting bombarded with phishing scams. Never enter your keys unless you are actually recovering your crypto due to losing your Ledger Hardware wallet – anything else “asking” you to enter your keys is simply a scam, regardless of how official it looks.
Due to Ledgers hack, it has forced me to consider other self custody options, which in hindsight I am extremely grateful for. The moment I decide to ditch Ledger I found XUMM. This is a new self custom wallet solution made from one of the most recognized developers within the XRP community, WietseWind (XRPL Labs). I won’t do a deep dive in this article about XUMM (I will soon), but for now I would like to at least turn your attention to it. I urge you to starting doing your own research on how XUMM might be a new solutions to securely storing your crypto.
Follow XUMM on Twitter: @XummWallet
Follow XUMM Support to see FAQ’s on Twitter: @XummSupport
Follow the creators of XUMM of Twitter: @XRPLLabs
Stay informed, stay vigilant, and stay safe.
