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If youve not heard of Mark Cuban, let us introduce him to you. For starters, hes a billionaire. Hes got a net worth of $5.2 billion as of this year. Aside from that, hes also known as a prominent shark in the hit reality TV-series Shark Tank. Last but not least, hes the owner of popular basketball team, the Dallas Mavericks.

But when youre rich, youll be a target for hackers. Sadly, these hackers came for Mark Cubans wallet. As a result, he lost a total of $870,000 worth of crypto assets. Luckily, Mark Cuban managed to move $2.5 million worth of $USDC from Polygon in time. Otherwise, the damage could have been much greater.

In his own words, he downloaded a version of Metamask with some shit in it. Before that, he was searching for something else on Google. It is highly likely that he had downloaded a fake version of Metamask. These fakes come in many forms, such as:

Once Mark Cuban downloaded this fake version, his Metamask began crashing. After the second crash, Marks funds were drained from his account. Yes, hacks usually happen very quickly. In a matter of seconds, millions can be stolen.

Looking back at this incident, Mark Cuban was a victim of a phishing scam. Simply put, phishing scams refer to hackers that impersonate legitimate entities. For instance, a companys email, app or software. When unsuspecting users trust these, hackers use this opportunity to seize valuable information. Such information could be your private data, credit card number, or even your crypto seed phrase. As you know, once you lose your seed phrase, your funds are as good as gone.

In Mark Cubans case, he could have keyed in his seed phrase into the fake version of Metamask. Or, the fake app could have installed malware onto Marks phone. In turn, said malware can then extract Marks seed phrase.

So, how can you avoid making the same mistake as Mark Cuban? To do so, youve got to understand that phishing uses social engineering. Thats the core of all phishing scams. Hence, as long as youre alert, you will not fall into the phishing trap.

What does being alert mean? That means double checking download links. Confirming URLs are correct. Not downloading anything through Google, in particular from sponsored ads. Before you take any action, think about how a hacker could be trying to gain access to your seed phrase.

On top of that, heres some helpful tips you can take to prevent yourself from phishing.

Hardware wallets, like Ledger, require you to approve transactions on the physical ledger itself. So, hackers cant access your keys online. They need your physical ledger too. This adds an additional layer of protection for your crypto.

Its advisable for you to keep your crypto assets in multiple wallets. In this case, you wont lose all your assets if one of your wallet gets hacked. We also recommend you keep your long-term crypto holds in a few secure hardware wallets. For crypto assets that you regularly trade, you can keep them on an online Metamask wallet.

Never key in your seed phrase into any shady emails, apps or chats. Do not even store it as a text file or picture on your phone. However, you may have to key in your seed phrase on your computer in some cases. If so, check the app or website again and again to ensure its legit. Indeed, you dont want to be like this guy below.

A mistake which Mark Cuban made was that he was not aware that he could be a target. Be aware that you could, at any time, be phished. With that, you will be less likely to fall victim. Some steps you could take are:

For more tips on avoiding scams in crypto, you can refer to our previous research here.

Well, I guess this isnt easy for Mark Cuban to follow. Hes a billionaire, and his crypto wallet is visible for all to see. But, you can follow this advice. By staying below the radar, phishers and hackers wont identify you as a target. So, avoid flashing your large stash of crypto online, and dont tell your friends about it too!

The crypto space has a long way to go in terms of security for its users. Hacks are rampant and common. Unlike conventional crimes, once you lose your crypto, its almost impossible to get it back. To avoid being phished like Mark Cuban, follow the above tips that youve just read. Keep your crypto safe with you, and youll be reaping the rewards in the next bull run.

Link:
Mark Cuban Was Hacked. How Not to Make the Same Mistake - Altcoin Buzz