# Blog: crypto scam patterns and wallet safety, answered

Source: https://pausebeforesend.com/blog/  
Last updated: 2026-10-24  
AI-assisted, human-reviewed by J (2026-10-24).

**What this is:** one question per post, answered in the first paragraph, then explained with dated links to primary sources: the FBI's IC3, the FTC, FinCEN, CISA, Chainalysis and wallet makers' own help pages. These are help pages, so none of them carry affiliate links.

## Posts

- [Address poisoning: how lookalike addresses steal crypto, and the 60-second fix](https://pausebeforesend.com/blog/what-is-address-poisoning/)What is address poisoning, and how do I avoid sending crypto to a lookalike address? · Last updated Oct 2026
- [Wallet drainers and token approvals: what you signed, and how to revoke it](https://pausebeforesend.com/blog/wallet-drainer-token-approvals/)How do wallet drainers steal crypto through token approvals, and how do I revoke them? · Last updated Oct 2026
- [Pig-butchering scams: the warning signs, stage by stage](https://pausebeforesend.com/blog/pig-butchering-scam-warning-signs/)What is a pig-butchering scam, and how do I spot one before I send money? · Last updated Oct 2026
- [Fake crypto support: how impersonators reach you, and the one rule that stops them](https://pausebeforesend.com/blog/fake-crypto-wallet-support-scams/)Is that really wallet support? How do I spot a fake crypto support agent? · Last updated Oct 2026
- [Seed phrase phishing: why no real site ever asks for your recovery phrase](https://pausebeforesend.com/blog/seed-phrase-phishing/)Should I ever type my seed phrase into a website or app? How does seed phrase phishing work? · Last updated Oct 2026
- [Crypto recovery scams: why "we can get your money back" is usually the second scam](https://pausebeforesend.com/blog/crypto-recovery-scams/)Can anyone recover stolen crypto for a fee? How do crypto recovery scams work? · Last updated Oct 2026
- [Airdrop and "claim" scams: why the free tokens in your wallet are bait](https://pausebeforesend.com/blog/airdrop-claim-scams/)Is that free airdrop safe to claim? How do airdrop and claim scams drain wallets? · Last updated Oct 2026
- [Hardware wallet setup: a safe, step-by-step checklist](https://pausebeforesend.com/blog/hardware-wallet-setup-safety/)How do I set up a hardware wallet safely? · Last updated Oct 2026

## How we write these

- The answer comes first, in plain English. The detail and the sources come after it.
- Each post links to the primary source for every claim and shows the date we read it.
- No coin calls, no exchange referrals, and no affiliate links on scam or help pages. See [disclosures](https://pausebeforesend.com/disclosures/).
- Each post shows a "Last updated" date. When we change a fact, we log it in the post's changelog.

Data we use often: [FBI IC3 2025 crypto complaints and losses by state (CSV)](https://pausebeforesend.com/data/ic3-crypto-2025-by-state.csv), copied from pages 57–58 of the [2025 IC3 Annual Report](https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2025_IC3Report.pdf).

Looking for something happening right now? See the [scam tracker](https://pausebeforesend.com/scams/).