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Safety and scams

What is a seed phrase and how do you keep it safe?

A seed phrase is 12 or 24 words that let anyone who knows them take every coin in your wallet. Learn where to keep it, where never to keep it, and the tricks scammers use to steal it.

2 min read · Last reviewed: 14 October 2026

Your seed phrase is all your coins

When you create a crypto wallet, it usually shows 12 or 24 English words, something like apple river .... This is the seed phrase (also called a recovery phrase or mnemonic). Every private key in the wallet is derived from those words.

Whoever has the words can open your wallet from anywhere in the world and move every coin. They need no password, OTP or permission, and nothing can be reversed.

Three golden rules

  1. Tell no one. Not support teams, exchange staff, admins or friends. Anyone who asks is a scammer.
  2. Never store it online. No photos, screenshots, notes apps, email, cloud storage or WhatsApp messages to yourself.
  3. Never type it into a website or app. The one exception is restoring your own wallet on a new phone, and then only in the genuine app.

Where to keep it

Method Notes
Handwritten on paper Simple and common; protect it from fire, water and termites
Engraved on a metal plate Survives fire and water
Copies in two separate safe places If one is destroyed, the other survives

The words must be in exactly the right order and spelling, so double-check after writing them down.

How scammers steal seed phrases

  • Fake support: on Facebook or Telegram, "I can fix your problem, just give me your words to verify the wallet".
  • Fake websites: look-alike sites asking for your words to "sync your wallet" or "claim an airdrop".
  • Fake apps: counterfeit wallet apps that send your words straight to the scammer.
  • Pre-set wallets: someone hands you a wallet or hardware device already "set up", with words they chose. They can take whatever you put in it.
  • The "help me withdraw" trick: someone shares their own seed phrase and asks you to move coins out. To do it you must first send a "gas fee", which is stolen instantly.

This page does not recommend using any wallet or exchange. Crypto transactions are not permitted in Bangladesh; see the legal status. But if you already hold crypto or come across a scammer, this knowledge can save you from a serious loss.

Key points

  • Knowing the seed phrase means owning the coins.
  • Never share it, never store it online, never type it into an unknown site.
  • Anyone asking for your seed phrase is 100% a scammer.

Frequently asked questions

Can a lost seed phrase be recovered?
No. Non-custodial wallets have no central recovery system. The wallet may keep working while your phone does, but if the phone is lost or broken, the coins are gone for good.
Is a photo of my seed phrase in Google Drive safe?
No. If your cloud account, email or phone gallery is hacked, the seed phrase goes with it. The usual advice is to write it on paper or a metal plate and store it somewhere safe.

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