Top 5 Crypto Wallet Security Tips for Trust Wallet Users

Keeping your funds safe is paramount for all crypto users and investors.

Crypto wallet security is one of the most important aspects of holding and investing in cryptocurrency.

In this guide, we’ll give you our top five crypto wallet safety tips to keep your stacks safe, plus some bonus ones you can implement to really add that extra level of security.

Why Crypto Wallet Safety Matters

Cryptocurrency is sought-after loot for cybercriminals.

The difficulty of linking crypto transactions to real-world identities combined with the irreversibility of blockchain transactions makes digital currencies a popular target for hackers.

In the little of over twelve years of cryptocurrency history, billions of dollars worth of crypto have been stolen by hackers.

What does that mean for you?

It means you should implement a series of crypto wallet safety measures to ensure your crypto is secure.

Downloading and using a secure wallet, like Trust Wallet, is the first step to safeguarding your cryptoassets. The next step is to follow crypto wallet security best practices to make sure no one tricks you into giving them or a piece of malware access to your wallet.

Crypto Wallet Security — 5 Must-Read Tips for Trust Wallet Users

1. Back up your wallet

The first and arguably most important wallet security measure that all crypto wallet users must adhere to is backing up the wallet.

Backing up a crypto wallet typically involves writing down a 12 to 24-word seed or recovery phrase. That is also the case with Trust Wallet!

Some wallets require you to note down a username and password, while others require you to save a file and use it to regain access to your wallet in combination with a password.

Whichever wallet recovery measure your wallet has in place, make sure you back up your wallet!

2. Securely store your recovery phrase

Backing up your wallet, for example, using your recovery phrase, is a great start. But now, you have to make sure you store your recovery phrase securely.

First of all, you should never store your recovery phrase online, in a photo gallery, or other apps that have access to your photos, such as Instagram.

While you may be tempted to store your recovery phrase in a note-taking app or in your email, those are sure-fire ways to lose your crypto should any of these applications be compromised.

Secondly, when you have written your recovery phrase down on a piece of paper, you shouldn’t just leave it in a random desk drawer somewhere.

Instead, make sure you store your recovery phrase in a secure spot — ideally a safe if you have one — to ensure it doesn’t get easily damaged, thrown out by the cleaner, or lost.

If you want to go the extra mile, you could engrave your recovery phrase on a metal plate so that it cannot be easily damaged or mistaken for a worthless piece of paper.

3. Never share your recovery phrase

Once you have backed up your wallet and securely stored your recovery phrase offline, it’s imperative that you never share your recovery phrase with anyone — not even the Trust Wallet team. No legitimate employee of a crypto trading website, crypto wallet, support team, or technician will ever ask you for your recovery phrases, nor will we ever need them. If anyone asks you for them, it is 100% a scam.

If hackers obtain your recovery phrase, they can create a copy of your wallet and withdraw your funds without your knowledge.

To protect yourself from hackers and other nefarious actors, you need to be aware of the most common ways they try to trick you into giving them access to your wallet.

For example, hackers may contact you via a Telegram DM, on social media, or via email, claiming they are from Trust Wallet support, offering to help once you have provided them with your wallet recovery phrase. Or that you need to “verify” your wallet in which the recovery phrase is required to do so. This is, of course, false and 100% a scam.

Trust Wallet will never DM or email you asking you for your recovery phrase!

The fake company profiles hackers create can look very real, and newcomers who are not aware of this social engineering method can easily fall for it.

4. Make sure you only interact with the “real” Trust Wallet

In an attempt to scam Trust Wallet users out of their funds, cybercriminals have created fake Trust Wallet apps, websites, and social media profiles.

These impersonators will either try to gain access to your funds through phishing techniques or by talking you into handing over your recovery phrase.

It’s, therefore, imperative that you only interact with the “real” Trust Wallet.

5. Avoid downloading malicious files or clicking on links in phishing emails

Finally, you need to avoid clicking on links or downloading files from unknown senders to protect yourself against crypto-stealing malware and phishing attempts.

If you accidentally or unknowingly click on a malicious link, a hacker could remotely steal your crypto account login details or private keys. It’s essential not to click on any links or files sent from unknown senders.

What’s more, it’s smart to download anti-virus and anti-malware software on your devices to ensure that you catch any attempts of malicious software targeting your wallet.

Stay Vigilant Because “Nothing Is 100% Secure”

In a recent blog post, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao stated that despite all the wallet security measures put in place by crypto companies, “nothing is 100% secure.”

And he’s right.

Crypto malware, social engineering attempts, and accidentally losing access to one’s coins are threats that will, unfortunately, continue to persist for crypto users.

In addition to our top wallet security tips, you are also advised to:

1. Never transact using unsecured public Wi-Fi. If you are working from a coffee shop or have to log into hotel Wi-Fi to send a bitcoin transaction, make sure you switch on a VPN to encrypt your traffic. If you don’t use a VPN, hackers have the ability to view all your traffic, including what usernames and passwords you are typing into your crypto exchange account.

2. Only use a “clean” device when transacting in cryptocurrency. Run an anti-virus and anti-malware check when you are using a new device or one you haven’t used in a while to process crypto transactions.

3. Keep up with software updates. While iOS updates, for example, can be somewhat annoying, they patch security vulnerabilities making your smartphone more secure. Additionally, mobile wallets regularly update their software to remain compatible with the latest operating system upgrade, so you want to update your OS to ensure your mobile wallet continues to run smoothly.

4. Stop using SMS verification. If you are securing your exchange account with SMS verification, stop right now. SIM swapping has become a highly popular (and effective) way to steal cryptocurrency. Therefore, it’s advisable to use authentication apps like Authy and Google Authentication for Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) on exchanges instead.

5. Physically secure your devices. Ensure your phone screen is locked with a password that cannot be easily guessed. The same goes for your laptop if you are using a desktop wallet to store, send, or receive crypto.

While you need to stay vigilant when securing your crypto wallet from threats, by downloading Trust Wallet, you can already rest assured knowing that you are storing your crypto in one of the safest crypto wallets in the world.

Download Trust Wallet now to securely store 160,000+ digital currencies and assets.