Steemit Crypto Academy Contest / S7W6 - Careful, Has your Steemit account been hacked?
We all need to be aware that there are hackers and and scammers who are also desperate to steal the assets you have been struggling to accumulate. Yes, that is their purpose here and there is absolutely nothing one can do to prevent.
They might even be disguised as your friends out here with the purpose of trying to steal from you when there is any little or available chance. Since they are hard to be dealt with, the only option is for one to be vigilant and cautious out here. For they have several means and ways of trying to steal from you.
I am saying this because one would have gained some experience from such thing. As the popular saying goes, “experience is the best teacher “. Therefore it will now make them aware of such tricks and dubious ways theses hackers and scammers use to get users out here.
I personally have had my account hacked. It was a very sad experience for me.
If I could recall well, I happen to have fallen for some of their phishing link asking one to go and vote and the other one asking you to support a project or so. I actually did have knowledge about what these phishing link were but never had the idea of how they will be presented to me. Which then takes me back to what i earlier said about these hackers having so many tricks under their sleeves. So i actually happen to be a victim of one of their tricks.
In my case, my wallet wasn’t to their reach which was a result of me being warned by other caring and honest steemians out here to quickly go change my keys. What this scammers did with my account was to send out spam messages of phishing links to the various communities i joined and then also sent those links in a form of comments under the people i follow and the ones i don’t.
It was like they were after the whole steemit platform, for they were just sending phishing links here and there. I at then happen to have joined so many communities so they tend to be using that opportunity to get to so many people. But frankly speaking a penny wasn’t taken from my wallet and they were not able to initiate a power down. Which is a very lucky part of me.
So what i will suggest for us to do in other not to fall victims is for us to try and always be checking up for news updates from the steemblog homepage. Most of the initiatives going on within the steemit platform is made aware to the public on their timeline.
There is the need for us to also visit the communities we are in and check out for any news or updates related to such incidents. We can also try to contact our fellow steemians of that is not more convincing for us. Just for the sake of not falling as a victim to them.
Phishing links or suspicious links should be avoided in what ever form or way they come. These links are could either be links sent to you to help support a community or a link that will help you receive some rewards(tokens).
These are some of the very ways these hackers use to get to their victims. In the case of the reward pool, they will try to convince users that there is an ongoing reward distribution without any tangible reasons for the sharing of these rewards. If one is not cautious enough, they could fall victim for that type of trick.
Additional information on how to prevent one’s account from being hacked
- We should avoid sharing our private keys with others. Most of us happen to get our accounts hacked and our funds stolen by the people we share our keys with. This is because we tend to make it available to them so there is the chance that they will want to steal from us. No matter who the individual is we shouldn’t share our keys with them.
- We should try and use some protective tools on the devices we use for the blogging. These tools comes in the form of updates, VPNs and firmwares. These tools helps to protect our devices from hackers or scammers.
Lack of information is also one key reason why accounts still do get hacked. Most steemians are only concerned with blogging out here and accumulating funds but doesn’t reach out to the various means that updates the users on the platform on what is ongoing on the platform.
There is also the need for us to reach out to other steemians to discuss with them about the various phishing links sent to us which is promising us of reward or tokens.
I am actually referring to the steemblog and other timelines that updates us with news and current initiatives ongoing on the platform. So if in case a phishing link of reward distribution is sent to you, there is the possibility that you will know that it is a scam because it isn’t on any of the news time. There by keeping you away from it. In all, there is the need for us to research about how these hackers and scammers get to users on the steemit platform.
What i will say to such victims
There is the tendency that after the attack one could still become venerable to such attacks again. This is because they have been able to create a whole in your account which they would want to use again to visit your account again.
Some of the best things one can do prevent them is to;
Be cautious of any ongoing activities in your account. That is an initiated power down without your knowledge. Also, the sharing of suspicious link from your account to other users is a clear sign that your account is being tampered with so the best thing is to change your password immediately.
One has to refrain from sharing their newly changed password with others. By doing that there is the guarantee of your keys and account being saved from attack.
One should result to the use of protective tools on their devices and browsers. After an hack, there is a hole created for this hackers in your device or browser. So there is the need for you to protect your device with the help of tools like the use of a VPN and a browser which is more secure. Which makes it difficult for them to easily get to you.
After initiating an account recovery process, there is the need for one to refrain from any suspicious link sent their way by any user on the platform.
This is actually the first and best thing i will recommend to any hacked account.
Actually the private key is what grants us access to our funds or assets. But in the case of a hacked account generating a new private key is not recommended but rather the generating of the whole keys is what i think is safer. That’s new private and master keys.
Steps in re-generating a new key after a hack
- As a result of one being already logged in, you will have to navigate to your wallet from the above list of features to your right hand side and then click on walllet.
After the display for the wallet appears, you then navigate to the very top right corner and click on the three lines.
A list of drop down menu appears. Select change password from the list which then takes you to then next display menu.
You are then required to fill in the spaces provided by providing your information. After which you will have to click on the update button to then finalize your process. A new key will automatically be downloaded for you.
It will really hurt a lot if one day one wakes up to find out that their hard worked assets have been stolen from. Which is why i will like to recommend that we report such people to the authorities whenever we encounter them. In other to have a safe and smooth steeming experience out here.
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Curated by : @chiabertrand
Afortunadamente, no has pasado por la nefasta experiencia de haber sido tu cuenta hackeada, ni que pases tampoco y continua usando las medidas de seguridad que hasta ahora empleas, siempre con miras a extremarlas; tal y como expresas, nos hackean muchas veces por ignorancia y/o desinformación, así que este tipo de publicaciones es muy bueno hacerlas recurrentemente. Saludos cordiales.
Sams are becoming increasingly common on Steemit, so it’s important to understand how to protect yourself.
One of the most effective ways to avoid phishing scams is to only use links and websites that you trust. If you’re ever unsure, it’s best to conduct a quick search online to verify the legitimacy of a website or link before clicking it.
Additionally, be sure to double-check the URL of any website that you visit. Phishing sites often look similar to legitimate websites but have slightly different URLs.
Thanks for sharing brother man, I wish you goodluck in this contest.