Key points to remember:
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More than $2.4 billion was stolen in the first half of 2025, already surpassing the 2024 total.
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Everyday traps like phishing, toxic endorsements, and fake “support” cause more damage than exotic exploits.
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Strong 2FA, careful signing, hot/cold wallet separation, and clean devices significantly reduce risk.
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Having a recovery plan in place – with revocation tools, support contacts and reporting portals – can turn an error into a setback rather than a disaster.
Crypto hacks are still on the rise. In the first half of 2025 alone, security companies recorded more than $2.4 billion stolen in more than 300 incidents, already surpassing 2024 theft totals.
A major breach, the Bybit theft attributed to North Korean groups, skewed the figures upwards, but it should not attract all the attention.
Most daily losses still come from simple traps: phishing links, malicious wallet approvals, SIM swaps and fake “support” accounts.
The good news: You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to improve your security. A few basic habits (that you can implement in minutes) can significantly reduce your risk.
Here are seven that matter the most in 2025.
1. Ditch SMS: Use Phishing-Resistant 2FA Everywhere
If you still rely on SMS codes to secure your accounts, you are leaving yourself exposed.
SIM swap attacks remain one of the most common ways criminals empty their wallets, and prosecutors continue to seize millions linked to them.
The most secure solution is phishing-resistant two-factor authentication (2FA) (think hardware security keys or platform access keys).
Start by locking your most critical connections: email, exchanges and your password manager.
U.S. cybersecurity agencies, like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, emphasize this as they block phishing tricks and push-fatigue scams that bypass weaker forms of multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Pair it with long, unique passphrases (length beats complexity), store backup codes offline and on exchanges, and enable withdrawal allowlists so funds can only be transferred to addresses you control.
Did you know? Phishing attacks targeting cryptocurrency users increased by 40% in the first half of 2025, with fake exchange sites a major vector.
2. Sign hygiene: Stop drainers and toxic amenities
Most people don’t lose money on cutting-edge exploits; they lose them because of a single bad signature.
Wallet drainers trick you into granting unlimited permissions or approving deceptive transactions. Once you sign, they can drain your funds repeatedly without asking again.
The best defense is to slow down: read each signature request carefully, especially when you see “setApprovalForAll”, “Permit/Permit2”, or an unlimited “approve”.
If you’re experimenting with new decentralized applications (DApps), use a burner wallet for mints or risky interactions and keep your main assets in a separate vault. Revoke unused approvals periodically using tools like Revoke.cash: it’s simple and worth the small gas cost.
Researchers are already observing a sharp increase in thefts committed by drainers, particularly on mobile. Good signing habits break this chain before it starts.
3. Hot or cold: divide your expenses from your savings
Think of wallets the same way you think of bank accounts.
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A hot wallet is your checking account: ideal for spending and interacting with apps.
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A hardware or multisig wallet is your safe, designed for secure, long-term storage.
Keeping your private keys offline almost eliminates exposure to malware and malicious websites.
For long-term savings, write down your seed phrase on paper or steel: never store it on a phone, computer, or cloud service.
Test your recovery setup with a small restore before transferring large funds. If you’re confident you can handle additional security, consider adding a BIP-39 passphrase, but remember that losing it means losing access permanently.
For larger balances or shared treasuries, multisig wallets may require the signatures of two or three separate devices before a transaction is approved, making theft or unauthorized access much more difficult.
Did you know? In 2024, private key compromises accounted for 43.8% of all stolen crypto funds.
4. Device and browser hygiene
Setting up your device is as important as your wallet.
Updates fix exploits that attackers rely on, so enable automatic updates for your operating system, browser and wallet apps, and reboot if necessary.
Keep browser extensions to a minimum: Several high-profile thefts have been caused by hacked or malicious add-ons. Using a crypto-only browser or profile helps prevent cookies, sessions, and logins from infiltrating everyday browsing.
Hardware wallet users should disable blind signing by default: it hides transaction details and exposes you to unnecessary risk if you are cheated.
Whenever possible, handle sensitive actions on a clean desktop rather than on a phone full of apps. Aim for a minimal, up-to-date configuration with as few potential attack surfaces as possible.
5. Check before sending: Addresses, channels, contracts
The easiest way to lose cryptocurrencies is to send them to the wrong place. Always check the recipient’s address and network before pressing “send.”
For the first transfers, make a small test payment (the extra fees are worth the peace of mind). When dealing with tokens or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), verify that you have the correct contract by checking the project’s official website, reputable aggregators like CoinGecko, and explorers like Etherscan.
Look for verified code or ownership badges before interacting with a contract. Never enter a wallet address manually – always copy and paste it, and confirm the first and last characters to avoid clipboard swaps. Avoid copying addresses directly from your transaction history, as dust collection attacks or spoofed entries can trick you into reusing a compromised address.
Be extremely careful with “airdrop claim” websites, especially those that request unusual approvals or cross-chain actions. If something doesn’t look right, take a break and check the link through the official project channels. And if you’ve already granted any suspicious approvals, revoke them immediately before continuing.
6. Defense by social engineering: romance, “tasks”, identity theft
The biggest crypto scams rarely rely on code: they rely on people.
Love and pig butchering schemes construct false relationships and use counterfeit trading dashboards to show fabricated profits, then pressure victims into depositing more or paying fictitious “release fees.”
Job scams often start with friendly messages on WhatsApp or Telegram, offering micro-tasks and small payments before morphing into deposit schemes. Spoofers posing as “support staff” may then try to share your screen with you or trick you into revealing your seed phrase.
The message is always the same: real support will never ask for your private keys, send you to a similar site, or ask for payment via Bitcoin ATMs or gift cards. As soon as you spot these warning signs, turn off the ignition immediately.
Did you know? The number of deposits in pig butchery scams increased by approximately 210% year-over-year in 2024, even as the average amount per deposit decreased.
7. Prepare for Recovery: Make Errors Survivable
Even the most careful people make mistakes. The difference between a disaster and a recovery is preparation.
Keep a short offline “icebreaker” card with your key recovery resources: verified exchange support links, a reliable revocation tool, and official reporting portals such as the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
If something goes wrong, include transaction hashes, wallet addresses, amounts, timestamps and screenshots in your report. Investigators often connect multiple cases through these shared details.
You may not get your funds back immediately, but having a plan in place turns a total loss into a manageable mistake.
If the worst happens: what to do next
If you have clicked on a malicious link or sent funds by mistake, act quickly. Transfer any remaining assets to a new wallet that you fully control, then revoke old permissions using reliable tools like Etherscan’s Token Approval Checker or Revoke.cash.
Change your passwords, switch to phishing-resistant 2FA, log out of all other sessions, and check your email settings for forwarding or filtering rules you didn’t create.
Then, escalate: Contact your exchange to report destination addresses and file a report with IC3 or your local regulator. Include transaction hashes, wallet addresses, timestamps and screenshots; these details help investigators connect cases, even if recovery takes time.
The broader lesson is simple: Seven habits (strong MFA, careful signing, separating hot and cold wallets, keeping devices clean, verifying before sending, staying alert for social engineering, and having a recovery plan) block most everyday crypto threats.
Start small: improve your 2FA and strengthen your signature hygiene today, then expand from there. A little preparation now can save you from catastrophic losses later in 2025.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research before making a decision.
