Securing a crypto wallet is one of the things many cryptocurrency holders have done with negligence during their early days in the crypto verse and the aftermath taught them the importance of why a crypto wallet must be secured properly.
I wasn't a saint either, my first crypto wallet seed phrase was written in a note and my phone notepad. I misplaced my phone then and had to activate my wallet on the new phone, it was then I realized that I have misplaced the seed phrase. I searched everywhere for it but didn't find it.
A few months later, one of the coins I got during an airdrop pumped and I missed out on making some money from it. I was pained and realized the importance of securing our crypto properly. I learned a simple lesson the hard way.
Securing your crypto is a wide topic and it doesn't end with just keeping our seed phrase properly. A lot of people have lost their cryptocurrency even without giving out their seed phrase to fraudsters, the thing is that technology has advanced enough to an extent that criminal acts against financial institutions and individuals in the crypto verse can be carried out easily with the victim just taking one simple but wrong step.
Keeping your cryptocurrency secure can be done in several ways and all should be known because it takes more than one mistake to put your crypto assets in danger.
Properly securing your Seed Phrase.
The seed phrase are words generated randomly to help protect your crypto from an unauthorized person. Your seed phrase is very important and getting into the hands of the wrong person can make your crypto vanish in the twinkle of an eye.
It serves as your key and it is the only tool you can use to recover your crypto wallet.
Every crypto holder must secure their seed phrase properly whether online or offline and I recommend securing one's seed phrase offline because it keeps you safe from a cyber attack that can make criminals access your data online. These days we hear lots of hacking stories and offline record of your seed phrase is the best as long as you wouldn't misplace the phrases where they were recorded.
Storing online (on email or other sites) requires you to use a strong password, which is very important.
As a crypto holder, keeping your seed phrase safe is the surest way of securing your cryptocurrency.
Using Hardware crypto wallet.
Storing your cryptocurrency with a hardware wallet is another great way to secure your crypto. Online software wallets aren't bad but it requires more safety precautions than a hardware wallet.
It is just like storing offline, your crypto only appears online when the hardware wallet is connected or activated. The hardware wallet keeps your crypto asset away from the reach of fraudsters.
Avoid phishing links.
A lot of people have lost lots of their crypto assets by unknowingly clicking on phishing links that can come in different forms such as links in email, links on social platforms, and others.
To keep your crypto secured, it is important to know the sources of links before using them or you should probably just ignore them. I do delete the links immediately after I received them to avoid irreversible mistakes.
These days, our smartphones even remind us that a link can't be trusted which should be a wake up call even if we are carried away with what we are doing.
Beware of fake airdrops and giveaways.
In 2021, a friend lost his crypto while participating in a giveaway. He was contacted as one of the winners and somehow, they accessed his wallet.
We later discovered that he ignorantly revealed his seed phrase while carried away with the huge rewards they promised.
Not all giveaways are real and it is sometimes difficult to know until you get into it. Giveaways demanding your seed phrase usually end up in tears, when you reach a stage that demands private codes or keys, you should know that path is the one to loss and the best thing is to back out immediately.
I have a different wallet for airdrops in case things goes wrong or I am caught off guard. I don't leave any crypto in that particular wallet but the best option is to stay away from airdrops or giveaways asking for too much.
Don't leave your crypto on exchange.
Leaving your crypto on an exchange gives you the privilege to buy, trade, and sell with ease but we can't overlook the flaws attached as well.
The most recent is the FXT hack, lots of people lost their crypto and that's one of the problems with leaving your money on a crypto exchange. Everything can disappear because you aren't in charge of your coin safety.
Leaving some of your cryptos is okay when you are into regular trades but it is not the safest option to use an exchange as your wallet to store your cryptocurrency.
Securing your crypto isn't something that you should leave someone to do for you, it would be best to make it your duty.
I have seen people say shit about cryptocurrency all because of the nature of its security and I always say they are wrong. Giving out your crypto wallet details is just like giving your debit card information to the wrong person, your bank account can also be hacked if you are careless with them which makes banking as vulnerable as a crypto wallet when not secured properly.