{"id":52810,"date":"2024-12-23T04:22:14","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T09:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?p=52810"},"modified":"2024-12-23T04:22:14","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T09:22:14","slug":"cryptowallet-free-seed-phrase-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/cryptowallet-free-seed-phrase-scam\/52810\/","title":{"rendered":"You found a seed phrase from someone else’s cryptowallet: what could go wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI have a question. I have USDT stored in my wallet, and I have the seed phrase. How to transfer my funds to another wallet?\u201d<\/em> \u2014 we found a comment like this under a finance-related video on YouTube. And the seed phrase was revealed in full in the comment.<\/p>\n

This looked suspicious: even a complete cryptocurrency beginner should know better than to share their seed phrase with the entire world. We were wary, and for a good reason \u2014 this comment turned out to be a scam.<\/p>\n

Keep reading to find out what can go wrong if you somehow come across someone\u2019s seed phrase\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI give you the seed phrase, and you help me transfer my money to another wallet\u201d<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics. A seed phrase is a randomly generated unique sequence of dictionary words that together form a phrase needed to recover access to a cryptowallet. When someone shares their seed phrase \u2014 essentially the key to their wallet \u2014 it looks extremely suspicious. We then discovered similar comments, each containing the same recovery phrase and a request for help transferring funds to another platform. Notably, all these messages were posted from newly created accounts.<\/p>\n

<\/a>

In similar comments written from newly created accounts, supposedly \u201ccrypto newbies\u201d generously share their seed phrases<\/p><\/div>\n

Now, let\u2019s imagine for a second that someone reading one of these comments is a little unscrupulous and, instead of helping the newbie, decides to take a peek inside the wallet (after all, they have the key). Upon opening the wallet, they\u2019re pleasantly surprised to find it stuffed with USDT: a TRC20 token on the TRON network tied to the value of the US dollar. The wallet contains the equivalent of eight thousand dollars. Well, what to do next? The correct answer would be to remember that there\u2019s no such thing as a free lunch, and steer well clear of the wallet.<\/p>\n

\"Finding<\/a>

Finding several thousand US dollars in someone else\u2019s wallet looks like a lucky chance to get rich for a immoral person<\/p><\/div>\n

However, the scam assumes that our nefarious passerby will want to appropriate all or at least part of the cryptocurrency. But to withdraw USDT, a small fee must be paid in another currency: TRX (the TRON cryptocurrency token). Unfortunately, the wallet doesn\u2019t have enough TRX, so the thief tries to transfer TRX from their own personal wallet \u2014 only to discover that the tokens they transferred immediately ended up in a completely different, third wallet.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The list of transactions details the scammers\u2019 earnings<\/p><\/div>\n

The catch is that the bait is set up as a multi-signature<\/a> wallet. To authorize outgoing transactions in such wallets, approval from two or more people is required, so transferring USDT to a personal wallet won\u2019t work \u2014 even after paying the \u201ccommission\u201d.<\/p>\n

So, the scammers are impersonating beginners who foolishly share access to their cryptowallets, tricking equally naive thieves \u2014 who end up becoming the victims. In this scenario, the scammers are something like digital Robin Hoods, as the scheme primarily targets other crooked individuals. But this twist is nothing new \u2014 we\u2019ve previously covered a much more elegant crypto fraud scheme<\/a>, also aimed at unprincipled people.<\/p>\n

How to protect yourself from crypto scams<\/h2>\n

The way to protect against the above-described scam is quite simple: just be a decent person and don\u2019t try to get into other people\u2019s cryptowallets \u2014 even if the seed phrase is left in the comments of your favorite YouTube channel<\/a> or even slipped under your front door.<\/p>\n

In all other cases, crypto asset owners can follow these universal tips and recommendations:<\/p>\n