Lost your crypto access code? Be wary, there‘s a scam for that too

A fter holding them for a few years, you have decided it is time to cash in your cryptocurrency holdings. The problem is, it is so long since you set up the digital wallet which manages them on your laptop, you have forgotten the lengthy access code. Stressed at the thought of losing thousands of pounds, you search and download a program which promises to recover the 24-word “seed phrase” which gives you access to your cypto assets. Unfortunately, the program was created by criminals and, once installed, harvests your personal details and passwords, as well as taking images of the documents on your system. Searching online for help to recover a lengthy access code can come up with a malicious tool out to harvest your financial details. Illustration: THE NEW YORK TIMES/AFP/Getty Images It may sound a niche type of fraud, but it is clearly lucrative enough for criminals to bother setting up fake websites directing people to their dodgy software. “Scammers are preying on people’s desperation to recover their cryptocurrency wallets,” says Alex Holland, of the HP Security Lab, which found evidence of the fraud. “Perhaps the victim has forgotten the seed phrase used to access their wallet. …