📕 Better than Yesterday with BSCS #23: Your MetaMask got hacked! What to do?

🔓 While you can earn a lot from investing in crypto assets, there are also risks you’ll have to manage if you are to protect your earnings. Security lapses give hackers opportunities to loot people’s assets.

💬 What to do if your MetaMask wallet gets hacked? Let's find out in this session of Better than Yesterday with BSCS.

💠 Your MetaMask Just Got Hacked

If you realize that hackers have gained access to your MetaMask account or suspect attempts to hack into it, your response must be rapid.

Your main priority and the first step you should take is to protect your remaining investment from the attackers. Reach out to the MetaMask support team immediately and inform them that you suspect you have been hacked.

💠 How To Secure Your Remaining Funds?

You have to transfer all of them out of the compromised wallet to a secure one if you have more than one wallet. You must create an alternative wallet if you don't already have one.

The new wallet could be another MetaMask account or a different wallet entirely like a Trust wallet. The new account or wallet must be created with an email account different from the one you used to create the compromised wallet.

Besides using a fresh email account, you must use a different device from the one that got hacked. Some hackers gain access to your device and wallet by tricking you into installing malware. They then use this to get information about your login details and seed phrases.

If you use the same device despite the malware injected, the subsequent accounts you create will remain vulnerable to hackers. The malware/spyware they've embedded in your device will still detect the login details of the new accounts you create and then serve the data to the hackers. And the cycle continues.

To clean your device and prevent future attacks, you'll need to use an efficient malware cleaner to rid your system of the injected malware. Don't use the most common free antivirus software for this, as they can't mitigate these threats.

After you've created a new MetaMask account using a new email, in either a fresh device or a device already cleaned of all malware, move your remaining funds from the old account to the new one. This will protect you from losing everything.

If you're unlucky and the hackers have changed the login details of the old account and lock you out, then your funds are gone for good and the probability of regaining them is negligible.

💠 The Bitter Truth About a MetaMask Hack

One unpleasant fact about crypto wallet hacks, including MetaMask, is that it is almost impossible to recover stolen funds.

One of MetaMask's disclaimers is the warning that "transactions cannot be reversed".

Even if it is confirmed that you were hacked, the funds cannot be recovered. And they make it clear that they can't be held liable if your account is hacked.

Taking safety measures like moving out the remaining funds, if any, might not return your stolen investment, but it will save you from further exploitation. 

However, you can provide adequate information to MetaMask support to see if your funds can be tracked.

Since a hack or cyberattack is basically an unauthorized person gaining access to your wallet and making withdrawals you did not approve, at least you can track the destination of your funds.

Informing MetaMask will enable them to check the details of the receiving account in their database and block further attempts of the attackers to repeat similar withdrawals in the future.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this Better than Yesterday with BSCS session for using knowledge to prevent your MetaMask wallet from getting hacked!

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