What to do when your wallet has been hacked?

Compromised account could be one of the worst Web3 user's nightmare, we are truly sorry for what you are going through.

It's completely understandable to feel overwhelmed and upset right now. However, there's still a chance to save some of your funds if we act quickly. Let's focus on recovering what we can for now. So, the burning question is:

What to do immediately when your wallet has been hacked/ scammed?

If your wallet is compromised, immediately transfer out all of the remaining tokens, and stop using that wallet. The detailed steps are below:

If all of your tokens have been transferred out, you can skip this section

  1. (Optional) If you believe the hack was due to breach on your device. Consider downloading Coin98 Super Wallet/ Coin98 Extension on another device to do the steps below.

  2. In Coin98 Super Wallet/ Coin98 extension, create a new multichain wallet. Kindly refer to the guide in these links: Coin98 Super App | Coin98 Extension

  3. Save the seedphrase of this new wallet to a safe place. Never share it with anyone.

  4. Transfer remaining funds from the compromised account to the newly created account. If you believe there is a sweeper script in the compromised account (Token immediately be sent out at the moment they arrive in the wallet), don't send any additional tokens to pay for gas.

  5. Once the tokens are successfully sent to the new wallet, stop using the old wallet.

After securing your remaining funds. There's still a task to do, we first need to reassess the cause of this accident and take preventive measures to prevent this from happening in the future.

First, why did this happen?

The rapid growth and profitability of the cryptocurrency industry have made it a prime target for hackers. No matter how secured your app or your phone, you are just one simple mistake away from being hacked. Kindly check whether:

  1. Your computer/ mobile has malicious software which is able to extract private data such as your password(s) file, keyboard input, or clipboard

  2. You have visited a phishing website that stole your information

  3. You gave your seed phrase to someone, a website, or a scam app

  4. You approved unlimited access to your fund for a scam site/ scam smart contract

  5. You approved unlimited access for a site/ smart contract, which later was exploited.

Second, how to prevent it from happening in the future?

  1. Always double-check any software before installing it on your device. Pro tip: Many people choose to keep a separate phone specifically for cryptocurrency activities. This "crypto phone" is used solely for managing crypto and isn't involved in any other tasks.

  2. Never share your seedphrase with anyone, ever!

  3. Double-check any dApps before interacting with them.

  4. You can revoke wallet access after completing transactions using our Wallet Approval tool.

FAQs

  1. Can Coin98 block the transactions from that wallet for me?

    • Since Coin98 is a non-custodial wallet, we don't have control over individual user wallets and cannot directly block transactions.

  2. Can the transactions be reversed?

    • Unfortunately, once a transaction is confirmed on the blockchain network, it cannot be reversed or undone.

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