Phishing in crypto – how to ensure top email security
2023 already looks set to be another difficult year for cybercrime. Since 2020, the global incidence of hacking incidents, malware and phishing emails has only increased, and each year we have seen an increase of around 27% in total cybercrime incidents. Although the vast majority of this is aimed at businesses, that doesn’t mean that individuals are safe from the growing threat.
Especially for those individuals who are invested in cryptocurrency, the decentralized financial sphere is experiencing an increasing number of attacks. Since crypto is still not a regulated medium, it is much easier for those with malicious intentions to get away with cybercrime. For those who invest in crypto but are not sure how to protect themselves, this article is for you.
We’ll dive into everything you need to know about cryptocurrency phishing, demonstrate why it occurs, and exactly how you can start building better email security practices. Let’s dive right into it.
Why does phishing occur in crypto?
Currently, around 6.5% of all phishing attacks are exploited directly at crypto companies. This can include crypto PR businesses, DeFi exchanges, wallet services and more. Although this percentage is still less than 10% of the global sum of phishing attacks, we must remember that there are millions of attacks per year.
Cryptocurrency companies often host tens of thousands of user accounts. Many cryptocurrency platforms, although dealing with a decentralized currency, operate in a centralized manner, often holding the currency that a user purchases. This means they are a prime target, as they potentially have billions of dollars in cryptocurrency on their systems.
Some of the biggest crypto hacks and scams, even just in 2022, amounted to billions of dollars, showing how lucrative this can be for attackers. With that in mind, we must do everything we can to protect our accounts from unwanted users gaining access to them.
How do I protect my email account from cryptophishing emails?
Most businesses will have additional levels of email security in place to help keep them safe. But if you’re someone who wants to protect yourself from cryptophishing emails, we’ll outline some of our best defense tactics. If you use a cold wallet, you are the only one responsible for your cryptocurrency – meaning all levels of security come down to you.
The top tips to ensure you don’t fall for crypto phishing scams are:
● Understand the threat
● Make sure your firewalls are enabled
● Avoid action bias
Let’s break these down further.
Understand the threat
The very first step when looking to reduce your chance of falling for a cryptocurrency phishing scam is to understand why someone is targeting you. Most of the time, a person sending out phishing emails is looking for two things: account details and money.
Most of the time, the account details are the direct route to stealing your money or investments, which means that almost every phishing email will have something to do with one of these two things.
You are likely to encounter emails asking you to log into websites, enter your account details, enter your password or provide information that can be used to break your security questions.
And just because an email looks like it’s from a company you recognize doesn’t mean it’s true. Be sure to double-check the email against your address book if you’re not 100% sure.
Knowing what these emails look like will always be the first step towards recognizing them and then blocking the sender.
Make sure your firewalls are enabled
Firewalls are naturally included in the vast majority of email providers. These will keep out most of the spam content that arrives in your inbox. That said, not all email services come with the same level of phishing protection. Although Gmail and Outlook have their solutions, they are not 100% effective.
If you are receiving a large number of spam emails, please go into your accounts and check the current state of your firewalls. Likewise, if you’re still worried about emails coming into your account, you can always start working with an additional email security service that focuses more specifically on email.
Avoid action bias
Finally, let’s turn to one of the biggest causes of crypto phishing scams – action bias. Action bias is a human characteristic that makes us want to react to something urgent when it comes to our attention. Most of the time, this responds to an emergency with the speed it needs to quickly resolve the issue.
Emails should never be the place for action. Even if an email arrives in your inbox demanding that you do something ASAP, telling you that your account has been hacked, suspended, or that you have incurred a fee, you must never act quickly.
Always take a second to review the email. Ask yourself, is this coming from a known address? Does this email look fake? Can the information they ask me be used to break into my crypto wallet?
Understanding that many scam emails are trying to induce a rash decision will help you slow down and better assess the situation. Not everything is a rush – and when it comes to your crypto wallets, slow approaches are always safer.
Final thoughts
If you’re investing in cryptocurrency, you need to do everything you can to protect your money from hackers and scammers. As a decentralized currency, crypto is a big target, especially via phishing emails.
Considering that most phishing emails are only successful due to human error, if you consider the tips we’ve outlined in this list, you’ll be much less likely to succumb to an attack.
By incorporating these email security tactics into your life, you’ll be able to reduce your chances of falling for a cryptocurrency phishing scam. With that, you will be able to invest in this decentralized medium in the long run without encountering any security issues.
2023 already looks set to be another difficult year for cybercrime. Since 2020, the global incidence of hacking incidents, malware and phishing emails has only increased, and each year we have seen an increase of around 27% in total cybercrime incidents. Although the vast majority of this is aimed at businesses, that doesn’t mean that individuals are safe from the growing threat.
Especially for those individuals who are invested in cryptocurrency, the decentralized financial sphere is experiencing an increasing number of attacks. Since crypto is still not a regulated medium, it is much easier for those with malicious intentions to get away with cybercrime. For those who invest in crypto but are not sure how to protect themselves, this article is for you.
We’ll dive into everything you need to know about cryptocurrency phishing, demonstrate why it occurs, and exactly how you can start building better email security practices. Let’s dive right into it.
Why does phishing occur in crypto?
Currently, around 6.5% of all phishing attacks are exploited directly at crypto companies. This can include crypto PR businesses, DeFi exchanges, wallet services and more. Although this percentage is still less than 10% of the global sum of phishing attacks, we must remember that there are millions of attacks per year.
Cryptocurrency companies often host tens of thousands of user accounts. Many cryptocurrency platforms, although dealing with a decentralized currency, operate in a centralized manner, often holding the currency that a user purchases. This means they are a prime target, as they potentially have billions of dollars in cryptocurrency on their systems.
Some of the biggest crypto hacks and scams, even just in 2022, amounted to billions of dollars, showing how lucrative this can be for attackers. With that in mind, we must do everything we can to protect our accounts from unwanted users gaining access to them.
How do I protect my email account from cryptophishing emails?
Most businesses will have additional levels of email security in place to help keep them safe. But if you’re someone who wants to protect yourself from cryptophishing emails, we’ll outline some of our best defense tactics. If you use a cold wallet, you are the only one responsible for your cryptocurrency – meaning all levels of security come down to you.
The top tips to ensure you don’t fall for crypto phishing scams are:
● Understand the threat
● Make sure your firewalls are enabled
● Avoid action bias
Let’s break these down further.
Understand the threat
The very first step when looking to reduce your chance of falling for a cryptocurrency phishing scam is to understand why someone is targeting you. Most of the time, a person sending out phishing emails is looking for two things: account details and money.
Most of the time, the account details are the direct route to stealing your money or investments, which means that almost every phishing email will have something to do with one of these two things.
You are likely to encounter emails asking you to log into websites, enter your account details, enter your password or provide information that can be used to break your security questions.
And just because an email looks like it’s from a company you recognize doesn’t mean it’s true. Be sure to double-check the email against your address book if you’re not 100% sure.
Knowing what these emails look like will always be the first step towards recognizing them and then blocking the sender.
Make sure your firewalls are enabled
Firewalls are naturally included in the vast majority of email providers. These will keep out most of the spam content that arrives in your inbox. That said, not all email services come with the same level of phishing protection. Although Gmail and Outlook have their solutions, they are not 100% effective.
If you are receiving a large number of spam emails, please go into your accounts and check the current state of your firewalls. Likewise, if you’re still worried about emails coming into your account, you can always start working with an additional email security service that focuses more specifically on email.
Avoid action bias
Finally, let’s turn to one of the biggest causes of crypto phishing scams – action bias. Action bias is a human characteristic that makes us want to react to something urgent when it comes to our attention. Most of the time, this responds to an emergency with the speed it needs to quickly resolve the issue.
Emails should never be the place for action. Even if an email arrives in your inbox demanding that you do something ASAP, telling you that your account has been hacked, suspended, or that you have incurred a fee, you must never act quickly.
Always take a second to review the email. Ask yourself, is this coming from a known address? Does this email look fake? Can the information they ask me be used to break into my crypto wallet?
Understanding that many scam emails are trying to induce a rash decision will help you slow down and better assess the situation. Not everything is a rush – and when it comes to your crypto wallets, slow approaches are always safer.
Final thoughts
If you’re investing in cryptocurrency, you need to do everything you can to protect your money from hackers and scammers. As a decentralized currency, crypto is a big target, especially via phishing emails.
Considering that most phishing emails are only successful due to human error, if you consider the tips we’ve outlined in this list, you’ll be much less likely to succumb to an attack.
By incorporating these email security tactics into your life, you’ll be able to reduce your chances of falling for a cryptocurrency phishing scam. With that, you will be able to invest in this decentralized medium in the long run without encountering any security issues.
