How crypto money actually gets stolenhttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/lost-wallet-recovery-attempt/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/lost-wallet-recovery-attempt/A reader sent us their complete recovery log. It did not work. The reasons it did not work are the useful part.Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/exchange-failures-warning-signs/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/exchange-failures-warning-signs/Every major exchange collapse produced public signals before withdrawals stopped. Here is what they were, and what they look like in advance.Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/why-giveaway-scams-work/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/why-giveaway-scams-work/The oldest format in crypto fraud, still profitable a decade later. The reasons it persists say something about how people evaluate offers.Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/red-flags-checklist/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/red-flags-checklist/Five questions that catch the large majority of crypto fraud. None of them require any technical knowledge.Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/building-a-security-checklist/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/building-a-security-checklist/Everything on this site, reduced to a list you can work through in an evening and review annually.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/clipboard-hijacking/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/clipboard-hijacking/You copy an address, you paste it, and the string that arrives is not the one you copied. The whole attack is a few lines of code.Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/multi-stage-attacks/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/multi-stage-attacks/Sophisticated operations separate reconnaissance from execution by weeks. The early stages look harmless because they are.Wed, 26 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/pig-butchering/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/pig-butchering/Weeks of genuine conversation, then a platform you have never heard of. The economics of this scam explain why it is patient.Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/fake-audit-reports/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/fake-audit-reports/A published audit is treated as a safety certificate. Reading one properly takes ten minutes and changes what it tells you.Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/charity-scam-pattern/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/charity-scam-pattern/Crypto donation appeals after a disaster. The structure is identifiable within thirty seconds and the volume spikes predictably.Sat, 15 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/sim-swap-attacks/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/sim-swap-attacks/An attacker convinces your mobile carrier to move your number to their device. Every SMS code you rely on is then theirs.Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/screen-sharing-attacks/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/screen-sharing-attacks/A support session where the helpful person asks you to share your screen. Everything they need is visible without them ever touching your machine.Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/refund-scam/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/refund-scam/You are told you have been overpaid and asked to return the difference. The original payment is then reversed and you have sent real money.Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/fake-airdrops/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/fake-airdrops/Unsolicited tokens arriving in a wallet are not a gift. They are bait, and interacting with them is the attack.Sun, 02 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/recovery-scams/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/recovery-scams/Anyone who contacts a victim offering to recover stolen funds is running a follow-on fraud. There are no exceptions to this.Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/reading-a-scam-token-contract/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/reading-a-scam-token-contract/Four keyword searches in published source code identify most tokens designed to take money. No programming knowledge required.Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/address-poisoning/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/address-poisoning/The attacker sends you a worthless transaction from an address that resembles one you use. Weeks later you copy the wrong one from your own transaction list.Tue, 21 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/malicious-browser-extensions/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/malicious-browser-extensions/An extension with permission to read and modify pages can alter what your wallet displays. Several have done exactly that.Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/revoking-approvals-walkthrough/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/revoking-approvals-walkthrough/Five minutes on a block explorer, done monthly, closes the largest open exposure most crypto users have.Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/tax-mistakes-that-cost-more/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/tax-mistakes-that-cost-more/Several categories of crypto tax error produce a bill larger than the profit that generated it. All of them are avoidable with records.Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/discord-telegram-compromises/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/discord-telegram-compromises/A compromised community account is the most effective phishing delivery available, because the trust is already established.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/telegram-bot-scams/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/telegram-bot-scams/A bot that trades for you needs API access. What permissions it requests, and what it can do with them, determines everything.Mon, 06 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/documenting-an-incident/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/documenting-an-incident/What to record, in what order, while it is fresh. Everything that follows depends on the documentation and most victims produce none.Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/recovering-from-phishing-click/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/recovering-from-phishing-click/What you do in the first ten minutes decides how much is lost. A checklist in the order it needs to happen.Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/fake-hardware-wallet-packaging/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/fake-hardware-wallet-packaging/A device that arrives pre-initialised, with a card of words in the box. Every part of this is the attack, and it is sold through legitimate marketplaces.Sat, 27 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/compromised-email/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/compromised-email/Email is the recovery path for everything else. An attacker with it does not need your passwords.Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/insider-threats/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/insider-threats/Some losses come from within. The controls that prevent an individual from moving funds unilaterally are visible from outside and rarely checked.Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/screenshotting-your-seed-phrase/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/screenshotting-your-seed-phrase/The screenshot leaves your device within seconds. Here is the specific chain of events that turns a convenient backup into a total loss.Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/signature-phishing/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/signature-phishing/A signed message costs no gas, appears in no block, and can authorise the movement of everything you hold.Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/exit-scam-pattern-yield/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/exit-scam-pattern-yield/Withdrawals work for months, then stop. The sequence before they stop is consistent enough to recognise in advance.Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/sanctioned-addresses/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/sanctioned-addresses/Receiving funds that passed through a flagged address can freeze your account. The mechanics are worth understanding before it happens.Tue, 09 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/approval-exploits/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/approval-exploits/No hack, no stolen phrase. The victim signs a permission, and the theft happens weeks later. This is now one of the largest categories of loss.Sat, 06 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/malicious-search-ads/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/malicious-search-ads/The first result for a wallet's name has repeatedly been a paid advertisement leading to a phishing page. The defence is one habit.Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/malware-targeting-wallet-files/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/malware-targeting-wallet-files/Some families of malware exist specifically to find and exfiltrate wallet data. What they look for and where they find it.Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/exchange-social-engineering/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/exchange-social-engineering/Attacking the support process rather than the customer. What venues do about it and what you can do to make your account harder to take over.Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/rug-pulls-how-to-spot/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/rug-pulls-how-to-spot/The evidence is almost always public before the money disappears. Four checks, each of which takes about two minutes.Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/fake-job-interview-attack/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/fake-job-interview-attack/A recruiter approaches with a genuine-sounding role. The technical assessment contains the malware. This has cost the sector hundreds of millions.Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/nft-marketplace-traps/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/nft-marketplace-traps/Listing an item for sale requires granting a marketplace permission over your collection. That permission is what gets exploited.Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/deepfake-promotions/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/deepfake-promotions/A recognisable figure endorsing a giveaway, in video, convincingly. The format has changed and the scam underneath has not.Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/anatomy-of-a-fake-support-scam/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/anatomy-of-a-fake-support-scam/A reconstruction of a live attempt, in order, with the exact moment each piece of trust was manufactured.Fri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/compromised-front-ends/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/compromised-front-ends/The domain is correct, the contract is legitimate, and the page has been replaced. None of the usual checks help.Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/impersonated-founders/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/impersonated-founders/A direct message from someone who appears to run a project you use. The account is convincing and the request is always the same shape.Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/qr-code-substitution/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/qr-code-substitution/A physical attack on a digital system. Replace the sticker, receive the payments.Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/seven-ways-people-lose-crypto/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/seven-ways-people-lose-crypto/Ranked by how often they happen rather than by how dramatic they are. Only two of the seven involve anyone being hacked.Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/wallet-drainer-kits/https://cryptoscamwatchdog.com/wallet-drainer-kits/Drainer software is sold as a service with support, updates and a revenue share. Understanding the business model explains the volume.Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT