Fake “wallet migration” emails copy exchange branding
The email says your account moves to a new wallet on Friday. It is a scam that ends with your recovery phrase…
Crypto news that waits for confirmation
Halden Crypto Desk (sample) reports on bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies, wallets, scams and the law in plain words. Every story shows how far it has been checked.
No prices, no tips, no predictions. Nothing here is financial advice.
Desk boardThu 16 Oct, 14:20 (sample)
- Scam alertFake “wallet migration” emails copy exchange branding6 of 6, confirmed
- LawLending platform collapse: court sets a date for customer claims6 of 6, confirmed
- DevelopingAn exchange pauses withdrawals after a security incident4 of 6, developing
- Checking“Free airdrop” posts spreading on social media1 of 6, checking, not reported
Each square is one of our six checks, filled in the order we made them; the yellow ring is the newest check on the board. Stories at fewer than four checks are not published. Stories and times (sample).
Before you buy or hold any crypto
Crypto can lose most or all of its value quickly, and payments cannot be reversed. Nothing on this site is financial advice: we report what happened and explain how it works, never what to buy or sell. There is no deposit insurance if an exchange or a wallet company fails.
Latest from the desk
What changed in networks, software, scams and the law this week, and what it means for people who use crypto.
Lending platform collapse: court sets a date for customer claims
Customers of a failed crypto lending platform can file claims until 30 December. What the notice says, and what it does not…
A network upgrade switches on: what changes for your wallet
Most people need to do nothing. Here is the short list of who does (sample explainer).
New to crypto? Read these in order
Six explainers, each one building on the last. Together they take about an hour, and you do not need to own anything.
1
A shared record of payments that many computers keep in step, and why nobody can quietly edit it.
8 min
2
A wallet holds keys, not coins. What a recovery phrase is and who can move your crypto.
10 min
3
What a fee pays for, why it changes by the hour and what “6 confirmations” means.
7 min
4
Tokens meant to track a currency, what stands behind them and what happens when that fails.
9 min
5
Giveaways, fake support, romance and recovery scams: the pattern and the tell for each.
12 min
6
The questions to take to a tax adviser or a lawyer before you do anything. We do not give the answers.
8 min
Claims we are checking
Readers send us claims every day. These have fewer than four checks, so we have not reported them. If you see one, treat it as unconfirmed.
A wallet app “stops working on 1 November unless you upgrade”
Emails and texts forwarded by readers
2 of 6, checking, not reported
We have the message and a second reader’s copy. The wallet maker has not answered yet. Do not click the link in it.
Messages saying a parcel fee can be paid at a crypto machine
Texts sent to readers in Springfield (sample)
3 of 6, checking, not reported
Three copies, and the delivery company’s own page says it never asks for this. Waiting for a security researcher’s read.
A celebrity live stream “doubles any coins you send”
Video posts shared on social media
1 of 6, checking, not reported
Every giveaway like this that we have checked has been a scam. Do not send anything.
“A new law bans holding crypto from January”
A chain message
0 of 6, no source yet
No source yet: we found no bill, filing or announcement.
Claims and counts (sample). A claim leaves this list when it is reported, or when we find it is false.
Six checks before we call it confirmed
A story goes out when the first four checks are done, marked as developing. It is marked confirmed only after all six. If a story was wrong, we say so at the top and log the correction.
1
Source
We find the original: the filing, the code change, the transaction on the ledger or the statement itself, not a post about it.
2
Second source
Someone independent of the first source confirms it, or a second document does.
3
Public record
Where a ledger, a code repository or a court record can show it, we look ourselves and link to it.
4
Right of reply
The company, project or person named gets the claim and time to answer. If they do not reply, we say so.
5
Specialist read
A developer, lawyer or security researcher reads the draft for what we got wrong.
6
Editor's sign-off
A second editor reads the story against the five checks before it is marked confirmed.
Four scams in our inbox every week
Most messages readers send us are one of these. They change names and logos, never the pattern.
Giveaways
A famous name “doubles” anything you send. The video, account and site are fake.
The tell: Anything that asks you to send first.
Fake support
A helper answers your public question and sends a page that asks for your recovery phrase.
The tell: Support that found you.
Romance and friendship
A new online friend shows you an app with growing profits you can never withdraw.
The tell: A stranger who wants to teach you to invest.
Pay-in-crypto demands
A fine, tax or parcel fee “only payable” at a crypto machine.
The tell: Any official bill paid in crypto.
Asked to pay in crypto, or to type your recovery phrase into a page? Stop, close it and ask someone you trust.
Six words you will meet
The terms that appear in nearly every story, in a sentence each.
Blockchain
A shared record of transactions, added to in blocks, that many computers keep identical copies of.
Wallet
An app or device that holds your keys and signs payments. It does not hold coins; the ledger does.
Private key
The secret that lets you move crypto. Whoever has it controls the coins.
Recovery phrase
Twelve or twenty-four words that rebuild your keys in a new wallet. Never type them into a website.
Confirmation
Each new block added after the one with your payment. More confirmations, harder to reverse.
Stablecoin
A token meant to keep the value of a currency. Only as safe as what stands behind it.
Not sure if it is true? Ask the desk
Send us the message, the link or the question. An editor reads every one and replies within three working days.