Keep NFT Wallet Safe

How To Keep Your NFT Wallet Safe From Hackers

What does it take to keep your NFT wallet safe? We compiled a collector’s guide with tips on keeping your crypto wallets safe and avoiding scams when transferring NFTs. 

Whether you are just getting started with crypto and buying into your first project or having experience, these tips will help you stay safe from scams on the blockchain. 

When interacting with the blockchain and cryptocurrency, safety requires knowing what to avoid and what to be aware of; At the same time, it’s not the most exciting topic; keeping your NFTs safe can save you from fraud, identity theft, and loss of funds. 

You’ll want to be proactive in these three areas to keep your NFT wallet safe from hackers because these are the moments when you are most vulnerable. 

During these moments: 

  • NFT Wallet Selection: Pick the most secure NFT wallet itself; know the difference in wallet types to boost your security layers. 
  • User Authentication: Take steps to prevent password or seed phrase loss: 
  • Marketplace Transactions: Be cautious when exchanging NFTs because smart contracts require approving access to your wallets to do transactions (selling, buying, and trading) work. 

15 Best Ways To Keep Your NFT Wallet Safe & Protected 

We wanted to provide valuable tips like verifying the contract address on an OpenSea collection before a purchase could save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. 

And disconnecting your meta mask wallet from old sites, you do not use could prevent a scammer from getting into your digital nft wallet. 

Let’s dive in: 

  1. Setup a new specific email address with a strong password
  2. Use upper and lower cases letters when creating passwords
  3. Write passwords or seed phrases on paper in a secure location
  4. Keep a copy of the seed phrase with a close family member 
  5. Consider creating two wallets: Safe wallet and Burner wallet 
  6. Never share your secret recovery phase 
  7. Never reuse passwords and use a password manager
  8. Make sure your wallet app or extension is the official one 
  9. Use a crypto hardware wallet – Ledger or Trezor 
  10. Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
  11. Avoid cold emails and downloading files from strangers 
  12. Do not transfer or sell random NFTs airdropped 
  13. Double-check, Triple-check authenticity 
  14. Do not click on links from DMs (Twitter, Discord, etc.) 
  15. Be cautious of fake or unverified collections 

Pick a Safe Crypto Wallet Type 

NFT-Wallet-Type

It’s often a challenge around convenience vs. security when interacting with NFTs on the blockchain. It’s simple to use your phone application to sell or trade NFTs; however, sometimes, it’s better to go with a more secure option that’s offline. 

It depends on whether you have a hot wallet or a cold wallet holding your NFTs. 

Let’s go in-depth on the different types of wallets you can expect: 

What is a hot wallet? 

A hot wallet leverages private user keys for storing NFTs and cryptocurrency entirely online. It’s also known as a custodial crypto wallet and usually a mobile app or browser extension. Often a native wallet provided by an exchange is a hot wallet because it connects directly to the internet. 

Examples of this type of crypto wallet: 

  • MetaMask 
  • Coinbase 
  • Jaxx
  • My Ether Wallet

What is a cold wallet? 

A cold wallet, also known as cold storage, stores NFTs and cryptocurrency entirely offline. It’s also called a non-custodial crypto wallet. 

Since cryptocurrency becomes lost due to hackers, scammers, or missing credentials, it’s essential to have a second crypto wallet. Unfortunately, cold Wallets only connect to the internet for transferring and then disconnected immediately afterward. 

Examples of this type of crypto wallet: 

  • Offline 
  • Paper Wallet 
  • Hardware 

Which User Authentication Should You Use To Keep Your Digital Wallet Safe?

There are two user authentication methods for popular online smart wallets holding crypto and NFTs. Picking which wallet you use to collect your NFTs can determine how safe you’ll be when interacting with the blockchain and in this crypto environment. 

Let’s explain the difference between user authentication for NFTs wallets: 

1. Password-based authentication wallets 

Password-based authentication into a digital wallet remains the most vulnerable unless you activate Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

option. The majority of digital wallets do not offer this option, or if they do, it’s not by default and requires the user to set it for every new device they have. 

Wallets like these are the following: 

  • NIFTY – does not offer Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) option. 
  • SORARE – offers Two-Factor Authentication (2FA); however, it manages users’ wallets on their behalf. 

If you’re using passwords for your digital wallet to hold your NFTs, make sure to leverage special symbols or a password randomizer to help create your password. Password manager tools such as 1Password are considered the best for managing multiple passwords across devices. 

2. Signature-based authentication wallets 

Signature-based authentication into a digital wallet is when the marketplace sends a ‘challenge string’ to the user to be signed by a wallet. MetaMask leverages this method of user authentication, and it’s reliable. 

Wallets like these are the following: 

  • OpenSea 
  • Rarible 
  • Foundation
  • Cryptopunks 
  • Superrare 

Using Signature-based authentication is preferred when keeping your nfts safe and preventing scammers from accessing your wallet because passwords are more straightforward to guess. In addition, the limited number of characters for a password and misuse of the same password across platforms make it easier. 

Additionally, some digital wallets require ‘identity verification, such as Coinbase. 

This requirement helps reduce fraud because users cannot make transactions on the blockchain anonymously. In addition, it provides another layer of security. 

How to Prevent Being in NFT Scams on Marketplaces

NFT scams happen all around us and all the time. So, we have to be careful when interacting at marketplaces like OpenSeas, Rarible, etc., and on Twitter or Discord communities because hackers wait for the right opportunity. 

Here’s a video of an example where a Youtuber recently scammed someone out of $600 for trying to buy a bored ape nft and ended up with a fake nft. 

Blue checkmarks are a good sign that the collection on the marketplace is reputable; however, scammers are clever and have learned how to use photoshop to overlay a profile picture with a fake blue checkmark. 

So do not rely entirely on the blue checkmark, instead double-check the contract address and make sure to use the official link when buying. 

Here are a few lists of resources you can reference in helping protect your NFT and crypto wallets.