---
id: 483
revision: '0'
language: en
title: Understand common crypto scams
---

[Status Wallet](./status-wallet-your-quick-start-guide.md) is decentralized and non-custodial, which means that no one but you has access to your [recovery phrase](../your-profile-and-preferences/understand-your-status-keys-and-recovery-phrase.md) and crypto. Status doesn't store your recovery phrase and has no access to it. You're the only person who has access to and manages your recovery phrase. This means that to keep your money safe, you can learn more about common crypto scams and how to protect your crypto from them.

## Learn how to protect your crypto

Think of Status Wallet as a personal safe you keep at home. Even though it has a bullet-proof body and a secure lock, anyone you invite into your house and share your code with can open the safe. The safe is the device you're using for Status, and the code is your recovery phrase.

:::tip
To protect your crypto, protect the device you're using for Status and your [recovery phrase](../your-profile-and-preferences/understand-your-status-keys-and-recovery-phrase.md).
:::

There are several scams common in the crypto industry, and you can protect yourself from all of them if you understand how they work.

### Status employee impersonators

The Status team never contacts you first. If someone messages you and claims to be working for Status, they're trying to scam you, so you should simply [block them](../your-profile-and-preferences/block-or-unblock-someone-in-status.md).

It's common for scammers to pretend to be employed at various crypto companies, inluding Status, and ask for your private data. Remember that anyone who asks for your recovery phrase is a scammer, with no exceptions.

### Fake websites

If someone sends you a link to a Status website and asks you to interact with it, they're trying to scam you. Avoid interacting with them and [block them](../your-profile-and-preferences/block-or-unblock-someone-in-status.md).

Scammers create fake websites that claim to be affiliated with various crypto companies, including Status. These websites often ask for your recovery phrase or other private data. There's only one official Status website, [status.app](https://status.im), and we don't have any others.

### Fake apps and browser extensions

Scammers can create fake apps and browser extensions that steal your recovery phrase when you try to import your existing crypto account.

When installing new apps on the device you use for Status, be extra careful. This also applies to browser extensions (add-ons). Always make sure you're downloading the app or installing the extension from the official website. You can also try looking up the company's or the extension's name and carefully reading the reviews. For extra protection, consider installing a trusted antivirus software.

If you used a third-party app or browser extension and now see outgoing transactions in your history that you belive you didn't make, check out [If you see transactions you don't recognize](./handle-transactions-you-don-t-recognize.md).

### Fake tokens

If you swap crypto using a third-party service, you may receive fake tokens that don't have any actual value but have a ticker similar to the original token's. For example, you may receive tokens that appear to be DAI but are actually worthless. Such tokens are not visible in your Status Wallet.

To protect your money, only use trusted crypto swap services.

### Address poisoning attacks

Scammers may send you a transaction that's very similar to the one you previously received or sent. Their intention is that you copy their address from your transaction history and send them crypto by mistake.

To prevent this, always double-check the address you're sending crypto to.

\*[ticker]: A ticker is a short combination of letters that represents an asset. For example, Ether's ticker is ETH, and Shibtoken's ticker is SHIB.