When choosing a cryptocurrency trading company in Canada, it’s essential to choose one that is safe to protect your digital assets and personal information. This is also important in gaining peace of mind so that you can better focus on tracking and analyzing your investments and the overall market trends.
How cryptocurrency trading platforms protect your assets and information
Because these platforms hold significant sums of money, they are often the targets of hackers and other cybercriminals. Usually, the ultimate goal is to take over the accounts and steal the users’ funds. Hackers accomplish this by exploiting the vulnerable spots in the platform’s app or website and even the browser. A few ways they can do this are using malware, old-fashioned phishing, and social engineering.
In phishing, for example, what happens is that users receive an email with a link directing them to a fake or fraudulent site (which looks legitimate). When users enter their login information, scammers and hackers then use that to take over and empty the accounts. This happens not just in crypto but also in banking, e-commerce, email, and social media.
Although phishing has evolved through the years, the principle is the same, directly ask for the user’s login. Although it’s a classic trick, a few users still fall into this trap. As a result, crypto trading platforms add more security features and guide users on how to better protect their accounts. For example, it’s common for platforms to have a multi-factor authentication feature. Aside from your email and password, you might also have to enter a verification code sent to your phone. This is an extra layer of security to better protect your account (as most likely, hackers don’t have access to your phone).
Phishing and hacking happen every day, and cyber criminals seem to work 24/7. Their techniques are becoming more sophisticated, which is why cryptocurrency trading companies have to continuously invest in better security. Huge platforms can do that because they have more than enough financial resources and can hire the best analysts and engineers.
Security as an ongoing process
Security is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and improvement. Crypto platforms keep themselves updated with the latest security strategies and implement both social and technological methods to protect their customers’ information and assets.
Hacks, scams, and schemes are continuously evolving, which is why security measures should remain several steps ahead of cybercriminals. Also, it’s vital that security measures don’t have any vulnerable points the hackers can exploit. That’s because hackers only need to exploit one. This is why it’s vital that the platform is secure on all fronts.
What is the safest site to trade cryptocurrency?
For example, Coinberry continuously invests in improving its security features. They also keep themselves updated with the latest strategies cybercriminals use on hacks and breaches. This way, Coinberry can proactively safeguard its customers’ information and assets.
In addition, Coinberry also guides users on how to protect their own accounts and transactions. After all, most cryptocurrency hacks can be prevented through proper user behavior (e.g., enabling two-factor authentication, not clicking on suspicious links, using only trusted mobile apps, using a good antivirus program on phone and computer, using a different strong password for the crypto platform).
How to protect your crypto investments
Although risks are always present, there are reasonable steps you can take to protect your account, assets, and information.
The first step is to become aware of the most common threats and scams. With this awareness, you can quickly identify those scams whenever you see them (such as when you receive a suspicious email).
As mentioned earlier, phishing is a common scheme to get the users’ account credentials. They receive an email with a link that directs them to a legitimate-looking website or app. To protect yourself from phishing, it’s best to avoid clicking suspicious links. It also helps to inspect the sender’s email address first before reading the message. This way, you’ll know for sure that the message is coming from a sender you already know, or you’ve done transactions with before.
Another common scheme is through the use of malware. This can happen when you download and open a suspicious file, attachment, or software. This suspicious malware might then attack your digital wallet, empty your funds and accounts, and spy on your clipboards to see and steal your crypto addresses and other sensitive information. If you want to prevent that, it’s always a best practice to avoid downloading and opening suspicious files, attachments, and software.
There are several other schemes that usually result in getting the users’ information and then emptying the funds. There are also other schemes that result in large-scale deception and fraud. One such scheme is the pump-and-dump scam, where a group of investors “pump” certain crypto or token through hype. Once the crypto’s price reaches a favourable point, investors “dump” the crypto and take the profits. This will result in a sudden price drop of the crypto (and those who are brought into the hype will face huge financial losses).
Best practices in crypto investing
“Safety first.” This applies especially in finance and investing. With safety already taken care of, you can better focus on learning more about cryptocurrency, tokenomics, and blockchain. You can accomplish this by clicking only on legitimate links, keeping your sensitive information private and secure, avoiding downloading suspicious files, and keeping yourself updated on the latest schemes on crypto hacks and scams.
Once safety is guaranteed (or when most risks have been eliminated or minimised), you will have more time and energy to analyze the trends and compare the strengths of different blockchain networks and cryptocurrencies.
This will also help you make crypto investing somewhat passive and strategic, so you can minimise your losses and maximise your gains. Although crypto investing doesn’t always guarantee a profit, you can still minimise losses and protect your assets and information through reasonable measures. It’s especially the case when you’re just starting your crypto investing journey and choosing a cryptocurrency trading company.
