Definition
A social engineering attack where scammers impersonate legitimate services to trick users into revealing private keys, seed phrases, or login credentials. The most common way people lose crypto.
Why It Matters
Phishing attacks are the number one cause of crypto theft. Recognizing fake websites, emails, and DMs that impersonate wallets or exchanges can save your entire portfolio.
Example
A user Googles 'MetaMask wallet' and clicks the first ad result — a fake site that looks identical to MetaMask. When they 'connect' their wallet, the site steals their seed phrase.
Related Terms
Seed Phrase
Wallet
Hardware Wallet
Security