Topic: Share Your Bitcoin Hack Stories: Help Us Educate and Protect! (Read 384 times)

Posi, you know, sometimes I used to think I started on the wrong path to cryptocurrency after some bad experiences, but yeah, I just have to realize that there is no smoke without a fire, despite those past experiences. Although some airdrops paid off well, like, luckily, $100, $50, $80, or more, I don't think there are any airdrops that can pay up to those amounts now, although I have given up on it for a long time now, so I am not certain, but like you said, it has switched to Testnest, which I don't know how Testnest works, but I remember doing something like Launchpad where I connected my wallet to claim some free airdrop coins too, which was even worthless and my wallet was hacked.


From your account registration date, I believe you are a well-experienced crypto user, and you have seen so many altcoins bloom and dump, and some people also became millionaires because of it, but sincerely, that's all luck, and I have also bought so many altcoins but was not lucky. I really don't like to hold altcoins like Bitcoin because I know it can pump and dump, and after it has dumped, it might likely pump again. I bought a lot of meme coins, but they are still in my wallet, looking worthless. So, I think Bitcoin will not just be a thing of luck while investing in it; I believe it's an investment that will surely bring profit in the future, not like altcoins that you are not just sure of. I don't totally hate altcoins, brother, but even while I have been investing in altcoins, I already miss a lot of opportunities, like Shiba Inu, Pepe,Gom, etc. What more could I miss before I decide to start buying altcoins again?

Even a little is rough. Do all losses hurt, even minor ones? Actually, it makes you wiser. Its a crypto rite of passage, strangely. Though, your method of "testing" wallets with smaller amounts is excellent. Similar to dipping your toes in the water before jumping in to make sure its not scorching hot. This works well in the crazy world of dapps and airdrops. Bitcoin is different from dapps, so you're right. It may give you peace of mind, but keep vigilant. Who knows whats next in crypto? There may be new Bitcoin vulnerabilities in the future

I was lucky enough to never getting hacked when i was new to bitcoin, and reading this forum helped me a lot to stay safe from being hacked or scammed, here many users shared their experiences about getting hacked or getting scammed and i learned from their mistakes.
here's what i have learned so far:
1. Avoid clicking on links which are from non trusted sources.
2. do not store your crypto on exchanges for long time.
3. do not connect metamask with websites you don't trust.
4. do not store you passwords or seed phrases online and backup them on regular basis.
5. buy a cold wallet if you can afford.
6. do not share any private information online with anyone.

I once fell victim to hacking, not with Bitcoin, but rather with an altcoin that had its own blockchain network. I realized this was a significant mistake on my part and provided me with a valuable lesson. The mistake I made was storing a substantial balance in a wallet on a Windows VPS.

It was a coin I mined using a VPS, and I stored it in a wallet for an extended period. What I did was change VPS every month and import my wallet from one VPS to another. It's worth noting that the VPS I created only lasted for a month, so it seems I exposed my private key too frequently. I was shocked to see my wallet balance suddenly depleted, and although it didn't make me anxious for long, I immediately took action and evaluated all the mistakes I had made.

I began implementing security measures for my cryptocurrency wallets, both Bitcoin and altcoins.
- Keeping a small balance of BTC on exchange wallets
- Backing up private keys on a secure physical device
- Activating biometric and two-factor authentication systems for smartphone wallets
- Reducing wallet activity when unnecessary
- Avoiding risky links with antivirus software
- And so on

Airdrops are profitable if you don't have to do anything like holding a coin to get a token airdrop or to buy a coin then use it for on chain transaction fee because you need to make on chain transactions as one of conditions to be eligible for airdrops.

If you have to spend something, it contains risk, even you are talking about airdrops.

People have years in cryptocurrency market actually experienced risk of altcoins. They know risk and they say advice to newbies who usually ignore their advice because in eyes of newbies, altcoins are more potential, more profitable. They don't see risk, only see opportunities in altcoins.

Airdrops are still profitable but have switched to a newer form that people often call testnet or retroactive...but spam airdrops are just trash. Airdrop is just a form of earning free altcoins and I think it has nothing to do with investing in altcoins because not all altcoins launch airdrops for users.

Focusing only on bitcoin is not a bad idea because you will avoid the risks that the altcoin market brings. But you will also miss out on the opportunity to gain big profits from investing in altcoins.

That has often been the case and it's sad for those who become victims to these crooks. I'm not a fan of chasing freebies online because I believe they don't actually exist without a hook to fish gullible minds. As for links, I try as much as I can to view new and suspecting links on who.is site. At least, this guarantees me an overview of what site I'm trying to assess.

You did well by clearing this part and setting the record straight. Newbies in this industry often mistake and interchange them.

My Bitcoin has never been hacked, maybe it's because I have a separate wallet where I store only Bitcoin and no shitcoins no matter how valuable..

But then, my shitcoins wallet have been hacked on several occasions, and those hacks are always through either I mistakenly type enter my private keys in a fake site and they phish it and use it to gain access into my wallet, or I connect to a fake dapp site trying to claim an airdrop and then the scammers empty my wallet , though I am particularly happy though for the several occasions this has happened, the highest they have ever stolen from me is $3.4 dollars worth of bnb coin, the rest are always very tiny amount of money, and still is because I don't use wallets where I keep big money for such experiments, if I am unsure, I will always test a service or an airdrop with a wallet containing a very small amount of funds to confirm they are legit, before I connect my wallet containing big fund if there need be ...

But like ive mentioned, I don't do such with wallets containing my Bitcoin since Bitcoin blockchain does not support dapps in the first place .

Despite the fact that airdrops were just full of scams back then, at least there were a few I benefited from, like the first Doge coin I received in my wallet through an airdrop I earned it, but nowadays, airdrops are just fucked. I doubt if there are even any real and legit airdrops out there. It's been more than two years now since I looked at airdrops because I know they're now full of scams. I have also abandoned all my ERC wallets (although I have the private keys) because, for a long time now, I have not looked at altcoins. Bitcoin has always been my priority and will be until I have accumulated enough of it.

I agree with what you said, also I don't see too many people having crypto assets hacked but if we talk about investment losses there are millions of stories to be told. I believe there is no one who has never invested in scam projects or has never lost money when participating in this market, especially early investors. Because in the period 2013 - 2017, most of the projects at that time were ponzi, very few serious projects. Luckily, I have never been hacked, but the investment and trading losses were a lot.

No hacks for me. But scam, yes, I experienced it.
Hacks for me are really easy to identify since I'm into technology and let's say I'm the person who is techy, so I am aware more on what I am doing online and it helps me to protect my Bitcoins or any other funds.
Knowledge is always your partner to avoid hacks.

Before and after joining this forum, I have never experienced any hack before. Although it is not by my smartness but I was just lucky I was not vulnerable to all those type of attacks before joining the forum. After joining the forum, I have learnt a lot from the forum and also have being extra careful with my dealings online which can prompt that, thanks to the forum for the guide we receive without having to pay a penny for it.


This is a very common hacking technique, it is well known to some people as “Clipboard Hijacker Malware”, the cyber criminals will change the wallet address you’ve copied in your clipboard to theirs without you noticing especially if you’re the type that don’t double check your wallet address online while using them.

To be free and safe from such malware, you just have to install and keep updating your anti-virus and anti-malware softwares to the latest version to help fight against such malware's which can make you lose your funds easily.

This is very common, I have heard stories of it happening, but not actually on crypto but on online businesses that involve transferring money from one country to another. It is during the payment that the changes will be made in a way you won't dictate easily.

To avoid falling victim to that, one should double-check what he or she pasted on their browser before sending as you have already advised. No one is bigger than to fall guilty of such acts. Double-check before you press the send button is very necessary once it's an online transaction that involves money.

Use small wallets for airdrops because you already knew how risky it is if you use your main wallet to interact with unknown smart contracts for claiming airdrops.

If it is retroactive airdrop which is based on your previous on-chain transactions, interactions, you can move your coins to a new wallet before claiming airdrop for your initial wallet which is already empty after the fund transfer. If you unlucky interact with a malicious smart contract, you will only lose small amount of token, not lose all.

You can use some websites to revoke smart contract access too.

https://app.unrekt.net/
https://etherscan.io/tokenapprovalchecker
https://revoke.cash/

Tips on how to revoke token approval

The first time I lost my asset was after I connected my wallet to some site where I needed to claim some airdrop tokens. Since it's a multi-wallet, I had more than one coin in it, but after I connected my wallet and claimed that coin, I lost all my valuable crypto assets. Although there aren't many people paying attention to any sort of airdrop because it just worth it this time around, my advice is that crypto users should never connect their wallets to any site online because it can only result in their security being leaked. Also, some investors have lost their assets because they lack good security knowledge; they staked their coins on some platforms, with the hope of a high APY and ended up losing their assets. It is better to hold your bitcoin in your wallet than to invest it.

Storing in a Hardware Wallet is more secure, but you can't expect 100% security.
There will be some loopholes that can be utilized by hackers to try to penetrate it.
So you need to be careful even if you use a Hardware wallet, especially using a Hardware Wallet that you use all the time.

What happened to @julerz12 was entirely his fault and he was using an Electrum wallet on a device that may have been infected with malware.
But now he seems to have learned from his mistakes and is using more secure storage and paying attention to the devices he uses.

I've read all the comments above and usually, forum members do not get hacked, others might experience hacking but it was since they are a newbie.  The same on my side, I never get hacked and I'm lucky that I'm a part of this community where I am always aware of the possible hacks and how to avoid them in the future.  Those people who have been hacked might be because they're new to this crypto world.

As long as you are technically knowledgable I think you are far from that hack, scam, or even fraud.

I don’t understand why you guys are calling it a bitcoin hack. Let’s get that clear, there has never been a bitcoin hack in history, crypto exchanges and bitcoin wallets are the ones that are 100% not secure from hacks. The bitcoin network in itself is secure and cannot be manipulated. Your wallet security will determine the safety of your coins.


That’s a bit paranoid. How many people would want to result to such drastic measures to secure their bitcoins. For those who may not find using an old computer attractive, another option would be to use Electrum wallet on an air gapped computer.

I don't know if this is an appropriate reply but when it comes to hacking, only a few people are victims of it but if you added scams on your list, I'm sure it will be flooded with replies about how they ended up losing their money on scams. As for me, I had a tough experience with bitcoin investment in my early years in the crypto industry, because I invested in a Ponzi scam cloud mining investment which was the trend back then. This is one of the reasons why you shouldn't believe in passive investment especially if you don't have any idea about the company and you also don't have any evidence about the components they are using on their mining facility.

Since my history or story in cryptocurrency and mostly in Bitcoin I have not be hacked in Bitcoin before or been scammed through bitcoin, it's not that I'm very careful for scammer's but i always be careful and also follow some protocols. Sometimes we feel that we have been hacked whereas we are the major thing that contribute almost eighty five percent of the our problem, because someone of us document or store our seed phrase online or email and when someone penetrate through our email it will be very easy to see our seeds phrase to penetrate into our wallets, before a wallet is been hacked their is atoms of seed phrase exposure.