Metamask Wallet Hacked? Here’s what to do next.

In this article:

  • The 5 most common ways we see victims have thier Metamask wallet hacked
  • How to avoid becoming the next victim
  • What to do if your wallet has already been compromised

Everyone at Cryptonetic is a DeFi enthusiast. All of us are drawn to exploring yield-generating opportunities and sifting through countless projects to uncover gems amidst the noise of scams and Ponzi schemes. But, as you probably know, the world of decentralized finance isn’t without its challenges. One major downside? Using non-custodial wallets like Metamask. While Metamask is reliable and straightforward and while its security features have gradually improved, they still leave much to be desired.

Stories of “metamask wallet hacked” incidents flood forums on Reddit, Facebook, Telegram, and Discord. Wallets drained of thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of dollars are an unfortunate reality. Sadly, we regularly speak to victims of such attacks facing six figure losses. Worse still, their stories don’t attract any interest from law enforcement or recovery services, leaving them to bear the entire loss. In the world of non-custodial wallets, you’re fully responsible for protecting your funds. Not your keys = Not your coins.

If you’ve come across these horror stories, you might wonder if every Metamask user faces the same fate. The truth is, only a small fraction of users are hacked, however most victims are newcomers to DeFi who are unfamiliar with the precautions required. Even experienced users can make mistakes, and one misstep can be extremely expensive.

In this article, we reveal the top 5 ways that we see victims have their Metamask wallet hacked AND explain what you should do immediately if it happens to you.

Not your keys = Not your coins

How Metamask Wallets are Hacked

1. Exposing Your Seed Phrase

The single most common cause of a hacked Metamask wallet is exposing your seed phrase. Consider your 12-word (24-word ideally!) phrase to be the master key to your wallet. If anyone gains access to it, they are in complete control over your funds.

Be wary of phishing scams targeting your seed phrase. On platforms like Discord and Telegram, scammers often impersonate project support staff. Legitimate teams will never ask for your seed phrase. Things like “you need to resynchronize your wallet to fix the issue by entering your seed phrase in this encrypted secure website” are flat out scams and gibberish. Ignore direct messages, delete them, and never enter your seed phrase in ANY place. There is no reason ever to type your seed phrase anywhere, except when installing Metamask on another browser or computer and it should be on the app itself.

How to avoid:

  • Never store it digitally, whether on your computer, phone, or cloud storage.
  • Write it down on paper and store it securely in a safe or deposit box.
  • Avoid photographing it—hackers can exploit access to your photos on your phone.
  • Use a secure password manager like Dashlane or 1Password, though some users prefer physical storage only.

2. Signing Scam Transactions

Scammers may trick you into signing transactions that give them permission to access your tokens. Once authorized, they can drain your wallet. The only upside of this method is that one transaction generally can only put one asset class at risk, not the entirety of your holdings.

How to avoid:

  • Only interact with verified platforms and avoid shady sites.
  • Limit the spending allowance for transactions when possible to minimize potential losses.
    Research any unfamiliar site thoroughly before signing anything from your wallet.
  • When interacting with a platform, even if you are familiar with it, always look for the legitimate URL in trusted sources such as the official Twitter account, Coingecko, Coinmarket cap, etc.

3. Fake Versions of Metamask

Although rare, downloading a malicious version of Metamask can lead to disaster. Hackers often create fake websites that mimic Metamask’s official site, often advertising them through Google Ads. These counterfeit sites offer a seemingly functional wallet, but any funds added are instantly stolen.

How to avoid:

Always download Metamask from its official website, https://metamask.io. Verify the URL and avoid clicking on suspicious ads or links in search results. Check the URL carefully and look for simple, misleading spelling mistakes in the domain name such as mettamask, matamask and similar misspellings. Once installed, and before importing your seed phrase, click on settings -> extensions and ensure the extension ID matches the official one from the store.

4. Malware and Keyloggers

An infected computer can compromise your wallet. Malware and keyloggers can capture your password, or hackers might access encrypted files containing your private keys.

How to avoid:

  • Use a reputable antivirus solution and anti-malware tools Websites like av-test.org regularly review such tools in depth and provide rankings for all of them.
  • Consider dedicating a separate computer solely for crypto activities.
  • When the assets you are holding are worth a relevant amount for your personal situation, consider investing in a hardware wallet such as Ledger or Trezor, so that your private key is never stored on your computer. Don’t forget that a Metamask hot wallet, although encrypted by your password, still saves your seed phrase on your computer and malware can get to it. These wallets also provide 24-word seed phrases, which are way more secure than the standard 12-word seed phrases generated by hot wallets in Metamask (or any other wallet provider for that matter).
  • Always use a strong login password with at least 12 characters, mixing upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. The longer and more complex the password, the harder it is to brute-force.

5. Falling for Scam Airdrops

Fake airdrop promotions are a common tactic on Telegram and Discord. Scammers direct users to connect their wallets to fraudulent websites, where their tokens are swiftly stolen.

How to avoid:
If you receive a random DM about an airdrop or token giveaway, delete it immediately. Real projects rarely, if ever, promote themselves through unsolicited DMs. Sometimes an unexpected NFT or token might appear in your wallet which contains a URL suggesting you visit to ‘claim’ it. These are 100% scams and will lead you to a malicious website designed to cause harm and steal funds from your wallet. Be wary of Twitter announcements of legit airdrops, since they’re usually intertwined with fake ones trying to fool you.

Metamask wallet hacked? Here's what do next...

  • Don’t panic. All our worst decisions are made when in distress or under pressure.
  • Don’t interact with your wallet. If you have other investments or pending rewards and airdrops that need gas fees to claim or withdraw, don’t add any funds to the compromised wallet. Attackers will deploy ‘sweeper bots’ which disable you from being able to interact with your wallet by removing any ETH (or native coin of the blockchain at hand). 
    Furthermore, trying to access other web3 investment sites will be trackable by the attacker and may reveal other funds they can steal.
  • Don’t try to create a new wallet in Metamask. Although you will get a new wallet with a new address, it will have been created using the same master seed phrase and scammers will also have access to the new wallet address.
  • Contact a crypto asset rescue service such as Cryptonetic. We will talk you through exactly what to do next and assess what we can do to help. Although NO SERVICE can recover liquid tokens that have already been transferred away from your wallet, we can help rescue other assets and investments which are normally accessed from your compromised wallet before the scammer can. Imagine a staked position that requires a 7-day cooldown, you have the perfect window there to contact a service like ours and ensure everything is ready to recover your position before it unlocks.

Closing Thoughts

Protecting your Metamask wallet requires constant awareness and adherence to security best practices. While no method is foolproof, implementing these strategies drastically reduces your risk. If your Metamask wallet was hacked, take time to analyze what went wrong and contact a reputable asset rescue service.

Stay safe and invest wisely!