Cryptocurrency Theft: How Hackers Steal Crypto and How to Protect Yourself

When you hear about cryptocurrency theft, the illegal acquisition of digital assets through hacking, scams, or exploits. Also known as crypto theft, it’s not just a risk—it’s a daily reality for thousands of users. Since 2017, hackers have stolen over $3 billion in crypto, mostly targeting exchanges, bridges, and poorly secured wallets. This isn’t science fiction. It’s happening right now, and the most common targets aren’t big institutions—they’re regular people who didn’t know what to look for.

One of the biggest players behind these thefts is the Lazarus Group, a North Korean state-sponsored hacking team that uses crypto theft to fund weapons programs. They don’t break into vaults—they trick users into giving up their private keys, exploit broken cross-chain bridges, and run fake airdrops that steal your wallet connection. You’ll see this pattern in posts about fake airdrops like KCAKE or CSS, where scammers mimic real projects to lure you into signing malicious transactions. The same tricks work on beginners and experienced users alike. If you’ve ever clicked a link saying "claim your free tokens," you’ve walked right into a trap.

Another major cause of crypto hacks, large-scale attacks that drain funds from protocols or exchanges. is insecure cross-chain bridges. These tools let you move crypto between blockchains, but they’re the most attacked part of Web3. The $600 million Harmony Bridge hack and the $100 million Ronin Bridge heist weren’t flukes—they happened because the code had漏洞, and users trusted it anyway. Even if you’re not using bridges, your wallet can still be drained if you approve a contract you don’t understand. Many thefts happen because people click "approve unlimited" without knowing what it means.

Wallet theft is just as common. If you store crypto on an exchange that’s not regulated or doesn’t use cold storage, you’re at risk. Look at FTX Turkey or Arbidex—platforms that vanished overnight, taking users’ funds with them. Or consider fake exchanges like Zappy crypto exchange, which never existed but tricked people into depositing crypto. The common thread? No one verified the platform. No audits. No track record. Just promises.

And it’s not just about losing money. It’s about trust. When a project like Juicebox or LifeTime collapses, or when a token like BOOF loses 99% of its value, it’s not always market failure—it’s often fraud masked as innovation. The line between a failed project and a scam is thin, and thieves exploit that gray area.

But here’s the good news: most cryptocurrency theft is preventable. You don’t need to be a coder or a security expert. You just need to know what to avoid. Never click unsolicited links. Never approve contracts you don’t understand. Never share your seed phrase—not even with "support." Use hardware wallets for large amounts. Check if a project has a real team, audits, and active social channels. And if something sounds too good to be true—like a free $195,000 NFT box—it probably is.

The posts below dive into real cases of theft, scams, and security failures. You’ll find breakdowns of how North Korea funds its weapons with stolen crypto, why fake airdrops are the #1 scam right now, and how to spot a bridge hack before it happens. You’ll also see how projects like MochiSwap and Libre Swap disappeared without a trace—and why you should never trust a DeFi platform with no team or audits. This isn’t theory. It’s what’s actually happening. And now, you know how to protect yourself.