I fell for a scammer and lost my crypto wallet

TLDR: Don’t get scammed, don’t listen to anyone on Twitter, follow the help protocols with any crypto wallet site you use.

I was looking at my transactions through my Metamask wallet and I was noticing that my UOS, RSR, and other coins weren’t showing up even though on Etherscan I could see that the transactions were linked to me. This was consistent via the web browser add-on, the mobile app, and even on the full site. So like anyone I sent a tweet to the universe in hopes of finding someone else who’s encountered the same issues and be lead to a quick resolution.

It wasn’t long before a Metamask Twitter account DM’d me about the issues I was having. This wasn’t my first go at getting help through their platform so it felt natural. I friendly greeting and my initial impression were that this was a real account. I glanced at the handle, the headers, and all the details related to the account and proceeded forward.

Now, I’m sure that they targeted me because the issue I was asking about was one that educated crypto people would just know how to deal with (and I do now). You can see how by through this Metamask help section FAQ.

This is where they knew they had me so they sent me this random block of words that confused me but seemed logical enough that it made me ask how to fix it.

“Okay, I just checked it now, contract server error, this is due to a synchronized error on your account. Your account has encountered a down hitting with hash script due to service error and glitch”

At this point, they will send you to what’s called a Wallet Restore that from what I’ve gathered essentially generates all the access they need through a QR code to your account. You click the link and send them the photo.

Congratulations, you’ve successfully given the scammer full access to your crypto wallet.

Now, from here they tell you to just wait but they also hint at helping you with rebooting any other apps that may be linked to your wallet; i.e. Coinbase, Trust, Airgap.

“Ok, hold on.”

After 8 minutes they successfully set up all the transfers of all the tokens I had in my Metamask Wallet to their wallet. Since I didn’t know how or what was happening because I wasn’t getting any notifications and my wallet wasn’t resetting I grew suspicious.

I looked again at the account name and there it was, a missing P in support. I had that sinking feeling and knew this wasn’t right. Frantically I went to find Metamasks support, their socials their FAQ, and whatever else to help discern who was who. Unfortunately, they don’t share in a concise manner who’s what but the damage was done.

While I was researching they asked me for my seed phrase. Do not ever, EVER give out that phrase to anyone. Even with full access to the account already this sealed the deal for me. I fell for a scammer.

When you call them out on it they give you the random bullshit responses that no they are who they are and I should trust them. “I’m here doing my job which is to assist you.”

Ok, it’s done. Now, what do I need to do? What did I lose? Who can help me? Is there anything left? Where do I stand with my listed NFTs on Foundation.app?

I knew I needed a new Metamask wallet stat. I made that. I discovered that they didn’t take everything and I had a few cryptocurrencies I could still pluck out of the wallet. I successfully transferred my B.20 to my new wallet but after that transaction, I was out of Etherium. My collectibles were still there and they didn’t want to touch them so I knew I needed to buy more ETH to pay for the gas fees to transfer the assets out. I knew I had to be fast.

I used my Apple Pay, dropped $110, and sent my first NFT without issue. I set up the transfer for the next one and just like that I couldn’t, they transferred the rest of the Etherium that was in the wallet to their account!

There’s nothing I can do. I’m not going to keep giving them my money so it’s time to cut my losses.

Ok, but what about my Foundation.app account? It’s linked to the Metamask wallet and if anyone purchases one of the NFTs listed it’s just going to go into that wallet. I bet I can just link my account to a new wallet and all is well.

Nope.

That’s right, as of this day the website links your Account to your Metamask and uses it to verify your identity so it cannot transfer the assets to a new wallet. CRAP! So now what? Unlist the NFTs, send me a new invite, and upload/relist again? GAS FEES. Every transaction has gas associated with it so there’s no other way to handle this. I’ll need more cash to throw at a mistake that I don’t have to do that with.

Cutting my losses one more time.

So this is where I stand right now. Metamask Wallet 1 is toast. Foundation.app account is toast. I’m out well over $800 and looking at hundreds more if I want to do it all over again on Foundation.

I’ve contacted all the support that I can and am waiting for resolutions or at least a conversation with someone but I have no hope for an outcome that will be in my favor.

Crypto right now is very High Risk, High Reward. I need to be more educated in the space and just jumping into it blind wasn’t the smartest idea.

My advice to you is to stop for a moment and learn to understand what is all of this. How does it work? What do all these new words mean? What’s the safest way to work inside of this new space while I build out all the new things in crypto, NFTs, and De-Fi.

Furthermore, don’t listen to some random DM on Twitter. Don’t fall into that trap. It feels like crap and demoralizes yourself. I was going to quit and stop doing all of this because of this but I have a better solution; let the people of the crypto world see and know just how this happens. Let the evil people in this world know they won’t win because we as a community will gather together to fend off their evil schemes.

I’m a fairly open book and I’ll admit that I should have had more caution when it came to this. I thought maybe it was just going to be an app reset, like clearing your cache or reinstalled that would fix my issues. It was not.

Well, you made it this far; come say on Twitter: @xrossfader or @xrossfader on IG. I’ll answer your questions best I know. I’m also going to keep sharing the saga as it unfolds on Twitter so the people who follow can see what the outcome is.

I also tried to warn people after the fact by seeing who they were talking with but the people I talked to had already fallen for the same scam. I got blocked by their account.

Don’t fall for the scams my friends, they suck. Thank you to all that reached out to me during the wild ride through Twitter, Slack, and messages.