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Heartbreaking! Cryptocurrency worth 50 million yuan vanished from a cold wallet overnight. According to Slow Fog Security's 23pds on the 6th, a crypto investor sought help, stating that he purchased an unverified hardware wallet through Douyin, and his assets were swallowed by a wallet that was tampered with from the factory.

While the police have not disclosed details, they have awakened crypto investors that the purchase channel of cold wallets is crucial!

Be Careful When Buying Cold Wallets Online

Non-official hardware wallets often have three hidden traps: first, the device is physically unsealed, with attackers preloading malicious firmware; second, the recovery Seed Phrase is pre-copied, so when the buyer activates it, they essentially hand over their private key; third, lack of original firmware updates allows hackers to exploit known vulnerabilities.

23pds warns:

"99% of 'brand new, unopened' or 'flash sale' cold wallets online are fake and likely have been tampered with."

Even if the device is intact, users accidentally leaking their Seed Phrase can also cause assets to vanish. Offline storage can isolate network attacks but cannot prevent physical theft or social engineering.

Official Purchase and Self-Initialization are the Baseline

Crypto Zone recommends purchasing only from official websites or authorized channels of brands like Ledger, Trezor, CoolWallet, and immediately initializing and updating firmware to ensure private keys are generated locally. Official channels also provide warranty and updates, reducing the risk of software and hardware being "abandoned".

Safety habits are equally important: avoid buying second-hand wallets; handwrite Seed Phrases offline and store them in separate secure locations; regularly check firmware versions; spread large assets across multiple wallets. These basic actions may not guarantee absolute safety, but at least prevent attackers from winning at the starting line.

Although Taiwanese users are less likely to buy cold wallets through Taobao and Douyin e-commerce, Taiwan still has common shopping websites selling "second-hand, unopened" "70% off original price" "limited-time flash sale" hardware wallets. Compared to official pricing, they are only a few hundred yuan cheaper but could result in total asset loss, so caution is advised.