Times have changed and the age of physical money is waning. Of course, while people still use paper currency all over the world, it has taken a backseat while plastic money and digital currency have come to the driver’s seat. Wherever you go, people are paying money through their credit or debit cards, performing contactless payments through their smartphones, smartwatches, or even through biometric machines.

Along with all these, cryptocurrency has also taken the world by storm and has drastically changed the way by which we own and store money. Cryptocurrency refers to secret or cryptic currency since it has no physical existence and lies on a digital centralized ledger called the blockchain. Chances are that you have heard of bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency out there.

Nowadays, it has become very easy to buy or invest in cryptocurrency, and since it has no physical existence, you won’t have to go to a bank or currency exchange booth. Rather, your cryptocurrency exchange is all on the web, through websites, mobile applications, etc. All you need to do is to visit one of these platforms, choose your desired cryptocurrency, and make the payment in any physical currency, i.e. US Dollar, Euro, Pounds, Yuan, etc.

However, due to the influx of options available and the ease of access that cryptocurrency provides you with, it has also become incredibly easy for digital thieves, cyber attackers, and people of malicious intent to trick you into handing over your digital assets or penetrating into your personal devices to steal them. This is why it is also important for you to secure the devices on which you buy and invest in cryptocurrency, particularly your smartphone.

This article covers everything you need to know about cryptocurrency investments, as well as the increased need for device security when performing transactions, i.e. buying or selling or cryptocurrency. Let’s get right to it, without further ado.

Is Cryptocurrency Really Secure?

When you think about cryptocurrency investment, one of the very things that come to your mind would be whether it is really secure or not. You would think twice or thrice before performing a transaction that allows you to become a cryptocurrency investor, no matter how lucrative it may seem. You might already be aware that people have made millions out of their investments in several cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin.

In fact, people who bought bitcoin when it was for less than $10,000, and sold it at its all-time high price of $64,000, have experienced gains of more than 500%. This may also entice you to invest a few thousand dollars into the cryptocurrency, but it also means that you should be thousand times more careful.

Cryptocurrency is based on a centralized public ledger that records information for each and every transaction that takes place, and this makes it highly secure for cryptocurrency owners. However, what if someone were to steal your identity or credentials and make a transaction? The blockchain would identify it as a transaction that was made by you, and it would certainly do nothing to block it.

Therefore, cryptocurrency is highly secure on blockchain and can’t be accessed by hackers, no matter how hard they try. However, they can still find points of penetration in your device’s security or the platform that you use. Therefore, it is imperative for you to secure your smartphone, laptop, or any other device you use for investing in cryptocurrency.

Reasons Why Device Security is Critical for Cryptocurrency Investment

There are several reasons why you should check and double-check the level of security you have on your smartphone or any other device used for cryptocurrency investment. These reasons must be addressed and considered whether you are a novice or an expert investor. Moreover, even if you are spending a few hundred dollars to buy bitcoin, Ethereum, or any other cryptocurrency, you should keep these factors in mind.

Lack of Fraud Protection

As mentioned above, no matter how secure blockchain maybe, it won’t protect you if someone has decided to steal your identity or commit fraud in order to get you to send over your cryptocurrency assets to them. Regardless of which cryptocurrency exchange you use for investment, it would only protect your investment up to the extent that the control of your account is in your hands and you aren’t defrauded by another account user.

This is one thing in which cryptocurrency exchanges are quite similar to banks. If someone gets their hands on your unsecured smartphone or laptop in which your online banking account is logged in, they can remove any amount of money and send it to multiple accounts all over the world, thus stripping you of your hard-earned money. Moreover, if you complain to the bank, they won’t be able to protect you in any case, since you compromised your banking details in the first place.

Therefore, it is upon you to protect your smartphone and other devices, and also leave your cryptocurrency exchange account logged in your phone or laptop. This makes it a direct invitation for hackers or even thieves to steal all your cryptocurrencies, whether they are in the hundreds or the millions even.

No Recovery Process

Just as there is no fraud detection when it comes to cryptocurrency transactions and exchanges, there is also no kind of recovery process that can help you get your digital assets back, in case someone has defrauded you into transferring them or somebody has gained access to your cryptocurrency wallet or exchange app.

In such cases, even if you report a theft, the particular cryptocurrency exchange won’t be able to do anything to get you your money back, since they won’t be able to recognize or identify it as theft or fraud. Therefore, you have no way of getting your money back, and it will be a huge loss for you. This is why it is imperative for you to use whatever means necessary to secure your devices, in order to protect your cryptocurrency investments.

Hacked Smartphones

Since nearly every cryptocurrency exchange out there offers mobile apps to make it easier for users to invest in cryptocurrency, it has become even easier for hackers to make their way into their digital wallets, either by connecting to phones on the same Wi-Fi network and penetrating their firewalls or by remotely or physically installing a background app in the phones that keep cloning their passwords and login details.

Therefore, smartphone security is the only firewall against cryptocurrency theft, and it is something cryptocurrency investors have to consider before they lose even more money. Nearly billions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency are stolen every year since they have come into prominence and their investment has also rapidly increased. Even though cryptocurrency exchanges are trying to make it even more convenient for people to buy or sell cryptocurrencies, the risk is also becoming greater.

SIM Swaps

SIM swapping is a common method used by hackers and thieves to gain access to mobile users’ personal details and credentials, and it is used all over the world. It is used to transfer their mobile number from their devices to an entirely different SIM, which is controlled by hackers. Most apps and services on your smartphone make use of two-factor authentication, which involves receiving a text message with a special code on it, which has to be input in order to log into the app.

The SIM swap method involves the hackers gathering the users’ personal and identity details by impersonating their bank or any other entity, or by sending phishing emails. Once they have the details and your phone number, they can get in touch with your phone service provider and ask them to port the number onto their SIM. Since they have all the details the representative will ask them to verify your identity, the phone company will go ahead and port your number onto their SIM.

Once this is done, the hacker will be able to access your cryptocurrency exchange app, and even if you have two-factor authentication set up, they will receive the text message with the code on their phone, which means that they will have complete control over your digital assets in a matter of minutes. Therefore, it is up to you to protect yourself from such scams, as well as hackers who can manipulate your smartphone to gain access to your money. Currently, the only option to prevent this with some level of insurance is through Efani mobile which has a 5 million dollar insurance policy against this type of identity theft.

Lack of Cryptocurrency Regulation

One concern that most cryptocurrency investors have is that it isn’t regulated or recognized by any governing body or financial institution like the FDIC or the Federal Reserve. This means that there are no laws to protect the sale and purchase of cryptocurrency, and neither is there any mechanism in place to prevent the theft of cryptocurrency.

In a nutshell, you have no protection from fraud, theft, or social engineering scams, and if your smartphone is unsecured, then you have no other way of retrieving your digital assets. Therefore, it is highly essential and crucial to invest in the security of your smartphone before you install a cryptocurrency exchange app and use it to perform buying and selling transactions.

One way to keep yourself safe, to some extent, is to keep your account logged out from your phone and the website at all times, and only log in when you need to perform a transaction. Secondly, never perform these transactions or even log in to your cryptocurrency exchange app over a public or unsecured Wi-Fi network, as hackers are waiting to pounce on people who do so.

Last but not least, make sure that your smartphone has a pin or pattern that can’t be easily guessed, and that you also use an app that can be used to lock any app on your phone. Moreover, you can also make use of authentication apps like Google Authenticator to make sure that none of your passwords is compromised and that you can secure your cryptocurrency account to the maximum.

Although the cryptocurrency industry continues to evolve with the passage of time, and new security protocols and methods are implemented every now and then, there is nothing to save you from people with malicious intent, which is why you should take extra measures to protect your cryptocurrency investments.