Author: Web3 Farmer Frank
Imagine being a patient holder who has endured a long bear market, finally transferring the hard-earned BTC from a CEX to a newly purchased hardware wallet, feeling secure with assets firmly in hand.
Two hours later, you open the App, and the wallet is empty.
This is not a hypothetical scenario, but a recent real event: An investor bought a hardware wallet on JD.com and stored 4.35 BTC, unaware that the device had already been pre-initialized by scammers, generated a seed phrase, and inserted a fake manual to guide users through a trap App connection process.
In other words, the moment the user activated the wallet, it already belonged to the hacker.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Recently, there have been multiple cases of users being scammed or losing all assets after purchasing hardware wallets on platforms like TikTok, JD.com, and Amazon, and if you carefully dissect recent similar security incidents, you'll find a mature "hunting chain" targeting hardware wallet sales is quietly taking shape.
(The translation continues in the same manner for the entire text, maintaining the specified translations for specific terms.)- First Binding Reminder: When activating a hardware wallet and binding the App, a prompt will appear saying "The device has been activated, is this a personal operation";
- Historical Activation Information Display: Subsequently, it is reported that the SafePal interface will synchronously display the device's first activation time and whether it is the first binding on this phone, helping users quickly determine if the device is brand new or has been initialized by others;
In addition, based on the author's actual usage experience, whether it is the SafePal S1 or S1 Pro using QR code interaction mechanism, or the SafePal X1 using Bluetooth for information interaction, they allow users to view the hardware wallet's SN code and historical activation time at any time after binding the SafePal App (as shown in the following image), to further confirm the device's origin and usage status.
This is due to SafePal's hardware wallet writing an SN for each device during manufacturing, and binding the device's hardware fingerprint information with this SN and saving it in the SafePal backend to further confirm the device's origin and usage status.
This means that when users first use this hardware wallet, they need to activate it before creating a wallet. During activation, the mobile App will transmit the hardware wallet's SN and fingerprint information to the SafePal backend for verification. Only when both match will the user be prompted that the hardware wallet can continue to be used, and the activation time will be recorded.
When other mobile devices subsequently bind this hardware wallet, they will also prompt the user that the hardware has been activated and is not the first use, and request a second confirmation.
Through these verification steps, users can almost identify second-hand traps or counterfeit devices upon first contact, thereby cutting off the first step of the gray industry's common attack chain.
For novice users who are first-time hardware wallet users, SafePal's visualized and traceable verification mechanism is easier to understand and execute compared to pure instructions or text warnings, and better meets the actual needs of fraud prevention.
III. Hardware Wallet "Full Process" Security Manual
Overall, for users first encountering hardware wallets, it does not mean that assets are safe just by purchasing a hardware wallet.
On the contrary, hardware wallet security is not completed with a one-time purchase, but is built by the security awareness of three stages: purchase, activation, and use. Any negligence in any stage could become an opportunity for attackers.
1. Purchase Stage: Only Recognize Official Channels
The hardware wallet's security chain begins with choosing a purchase channel, so it is recommended that everyone purchase directly from the official website.
Once choosing e-commerce platforms / live streaming channels, second-hand platforms like Taobao, JD, TikTok, and other non-official channels means exposure to extremely high risks—no cold wallet brand sells products through TikTok live streaming or Kuaishou links, these channels are almost the main battleground for gray industries.
The first step after receiving the goods is to check the packaging and anti-counterfeiting labels. If the packaging is unsealed, the anti-counterfeiting sticker is damaged, or the inner packaging is abnormal, one should immediately be vigilant and preferably check each item according to the official website's list to quickly eliminate some risks.
The more careful this stage is, the lower the subsequent security costs will be.
2. Activation Stage: Not Initializing is "Giving Away Money"
Activation is the core stage of hardware wallet security and the stage where gray industries most easily set traps.
A common method is for gray industries to pre-open the device, create a wallet, write in the seed phrase, then stuff in a forged manual to guide users to directly use this ready-made wallet, ultimately scooping up all subsequent transferred assets, like the recent JD imKey fraud case.
Therefore, the primary principle of the activation stage is to initialize independently and generate a new seed phrase. In this process, products that can perform device status self-check and historical activation verification can significantly reduce users' passive exposure risks, such as the aforementioned SafePal, which prompts during first binding whether the device has been activated and displays historical activation time and binding information, allowing users to identify abnormal devices immediately and cut off the attack chain.
3. Usage Stage: Protect Seed Phrase and Maintain Physical Isolation
During daily use, the core security of hardware wallets is seed phrase management and physical isolation.
Seed phrases must be handwritten, not photographed or screenshot, and definitely not stored via WeChat, email, or cloud storage, as any online storage behavior is equivalent to actively exposing the attack surface.
During signing or transactions, Bluetooth or USB connections should be short and on-demand, prioritizing QR code signing or offline data transmission, avoiding prolonged physical contact with network environments.
It can be said that hardware wallet security is never "completely safe upon purchase," but a defense line jointly constructed by users across three stages:
- Purchase stage: eliminate second-hand and non-official channels;
- Activation stage: independently initialize and verify device status;
- Usage stage: protect seed phrase and avoid prolonged network exposure;
From this perspective, hardware wallet manufacturers urgently need to provide users with a "full process" mechanism design like SafePal's first activation prompts and activation date and binding information display, so that the predatory chain on which gray industries survive can truly become ineffective.
In Conclusion
Hardware wallets are good tools, but never an ultimate protective talisman that guarantees complete safety.
On one hand, hardware wallet manufacturers need to promptly perceive market environment changes, especially designing more intuitive and easy-to-operate verification mechanisms in product design and usage processes for new users who are easily targeted by "predatory chains", allowing every user to easily determine the authenticity and security status of their device.
On the other hand, users themselves must develop good security habits, from legitimate purchase to initialization and activation, to daily seed phrase management, without skipping any step, developing security awareness throughout the entire usage cycle.
Only when the wallet's verification mechanism forms a closed loop with user security awareness can hardware wallets move closer to the goal of "absolute security".
