As these scams become more and more prevalent, it is now more important than ever to arm yourself with the necessary knowledge to avoid such scams:
Always be wary of who you are communicating with
A common way scammers like to get ahold of your crypto account is by impersonating law enforcement, social media personalities, as well as customer service support staff. If ever someone reaches out to you via email, Whatsapp, SMS, or any other form of communication asking for crypto payment or account verification to unblock your account, claim a prize, or by threatening that the account is under investigation, this is a scam, 100% of the time.
Verify the sender of the email, especially if they look like they are from Poloniex
Phishing scams are also quite common and were in fact the most common type of scams before text and Whatsapp scams. They involve a scammer sending an email or text that is made to look just like an official Poloniex email/text with the goal of getting you to enter your login information so that they can take control of your account. These emails usually try to convince you that you need to update your login information or claim a reward, giving you a phishing link to do so.
Please also refer to this support article which lists all of our channels and details how we will communicate with you as well as other common indicators that scammers are attempting to impersonate Poloniex: https://support.poloniex.com/hc/en-us/articles/360041708873-How-to-identify-legitimate-Poloniex-websites-social-media-profiles-and-communications
Never ever ever ever share your recovery phrase or account information
We will never ask for your private key, recovery phrase, or account credentials. Remember that whomever has access to your private key or recovery phrase will have access to your account, wallet, and thus your funds. If someone reaches out to you claiming to be Poloniex and asking for your account details, it is 100% of the time a scam. Be equally wary of anyone requesting you share your screen or recovery phrase with them.
Most cryptocurrency transactions are final
The reason why this matters, and why it makes it doubly important for you to be wary of scams, is that once a scammer takes control of your account and clears it of funds, there is very little that you or Poloniex will be able to do to recover those funds. Bitcoin transactions, as with most cryptocurrency transactions, are final.
What do we do (and what can you do) to protect yourself
We offer certain security features such as a self-freeze email when we detect that a new IP address has logged into your account. This is an automatic email that we send in the event of a new IP log-in that you can use to freeze all account activity. Our support staff is likewise here to aid you in any questions you might have regarding account security.
We also strongly recommend enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) as an added security measure to your account. This is basically an authentication method that requires you to not only sign in by entering account credentials, but also by entering a second piece of information in order to further verify your identity. Read here on why 2FA is important and how you can enable it:
https://support.poloniex.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039542934-Importance-of-2FA
In summary, make sure that you familiarize yourself with common scams and ways to protect your account, like never sharing your recovery phrase, private key and account credentials, as well as bolstering your security with 2FA. And again, we will never, ever reach out to you asking for any sensitive information. Be sure to practice these precautions in order to do your best to protect yourself.
For more information and resources on how to protect yourself, please visit our support page on account security: https://support.poloniex.com/hc/en-us/sections/360006455414-Account-Security
was originally published in The Poloniex blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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