Crypto scam and wallet safety glossary
Updated
Short, plain definitions. Where a definition comes from a source, we link it. Where it is our own wording, we say so.
- Recovery phrase (seed phrase, Secret Recovery Phrase)
- The 12–24 words a wallet generates at setup. Anyone who has them can rebuild the wallet on another device and move the funds. Ledger: "You should never enter your 24 words anywhere other than directly into your device." (Ledger; The Crypto Times)
- Hardware wallet (signer)
- A physical device that keeps private keys offline and is used to approve transactions. (The Crypto Times) See the wallet safety guide.
- Secure Element
- The chip inside some hardware wallets that protects private keys. In the Oct 2026 CryptoBilis attack, the implant left it untouched, which is why integrity checks missed it. (BleepingComputer)
- Genuine Check
- Ledger's test of whether a device is authentic. Ledger warns it cannot detect added implants when the original Secure Element is intact. (BleepingComputer) Scammers fake this screen: see fake firmware updates.
- Supply-chain (distribution) attack
- Tampering with a product after it leaves the maker and before it reaches you. Ledger called the CryptoBilis case "a localized distribution attack." (Ledger)
- Phishing
- A fake message or website that pretends to be a trusted company to get you to hand over a secret, such as a password or recovery phrase. (Our wording.)
- Address poisoning
- Planting a lookalike address in your transaction history so you copy it by mistake. (MetaMask) See our guide.
- Vanity address
- An address generated to start or end with chosen characters. Scammers use them to make lookalikes. (Etherscan)
- Zero-value (dust) transfer
- A transfer of zero or nearly zero tokens, sent only to put an address into your history. It doesn't harm the wallet by itself. (MetaMask)
- Token spoofing
- A fake token that uses the name and symbol of a real one, such as "USDT," to make fake transfers look real. (Etherscan)
- Crypto kiosk (crypto ATM, Bitcoin ATM)
- An ATM-like machine that exchanges cash for cryptocurrency. Criminals often direct victims to send money through one. (FBI IC3) See Kansas & Missouri data.
- Kiosk spread (markup)
- The gap between the market price and the kiosk's price. Kansas law counts it as a charge under its fee cap. (HB 2591 §10)
- Government / warrant impersonation scam
- A caller poses as police, a court or an agency and demands immediate payment, often through a crypto ATM, to "clear a warrant." (Sedgwick County DA)
- Tech-support scam
- A fake pop-up or call claiming to be Apple, Microsoft or similar. It leads to a "fix" that requires moving money. (KMBC)
- Pig butchering (crypto investment fraud)
- A scammer builds a friendship or romance online, then steers the victim into a fake crypto "investment" they can never withdraw from. (FBI)
- Recovery scam
- A follow-up scam that promises, for a fee, to recover money you already lost. The FBI warns about these. (FBI)
- Wallet drainer
- A malicious website or contract that gets you to sign a transaction or approval, then moves your tokens out. (Our wording; examples are logged in the tracker.)
- Token approval (allowance)
- Permission you sign that lets a smart contract move a token from your wallet. Drainers abuse unlimited approvals. MetaMask lists "unlimited token approvals" among common scam methods. (MetaMask)
- TXID (transaction hash)
- The unique ID of a blockchain transaction. Include it in any IC3 report, along with wallet addresses and the kiosk location. (IC3)
- IC3
- The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, where you report online fraud: ic3.gov. It received 1,008,597 complaints in 2025. (FBI)
Changelog
- 2026-10-19: 20 terms.