My Recovery Phrase Has Been Exposed! (2024)

FAQs

What if my seed phrase is compromised? ›

Set up a new wallet and backup your secret phrase (commonly called a mnemonic, seed, or recovery phrase) securely. This is critically important because anyone who has your secret phrase has full access and control of your funds. Transfer any remaining funds in the compromised wallet to your new wallet's address.

Your 24-word recovery phrase (sometimes also called a mnemonic phrase, Secret Recover Phrase or seed phrase) is the master key to all your crypto accounts. Anyone gaining access to your recovery phrase can very easily clone your accounts on their own device (or software wallet) and spend your funds.

There are a few possible causes for this: Not lower case: Re-enter the word in all lower case letters. Misspelling: Correct the word based on your backup. Hidden punctuation: Remove any spaces, tab breaks, periods, commas, etc.

Anyone with access to your recovery phrase can steal your crypto funds without even having access to your Ledger device.

If someone has your seed phrase or private keys, they can potentially access and steal your cryptocurrency. This is because the seed phrase or private keys are what give you access to your cryptocurrency and allow you to spend or transfer it.

Seed phrases are highly resistant to hacking. Their complexity results in billions of combinations, making brute-force attacks impractical.

What is a secret recovery phrase? Your secret recovery phrase is the key to your wallet and controls access to all your crypto. A secret recovery phrase is a set of words that correspond to numbers. These numbers make up a seed integer that generates all of the private keys in your wallet.

The seed phrase consists of 12 to 24 simple words, randomly sequenced from a list of 2048 words. Here is an example of what a 12-word seed phrase can look like: carpet, cat, flower, chair, foot, river, make, image, amazing, three, say, shoe. The seed phrase is generated the first time a user sets up a wallet.

A private key, also known as a secret key, is a mathematical key that is used with an algorithm to encrypt and decrypt data. A seed phrase, AKA recovery phrase, is a series of words used to restore access to multiple private keys in a self-custody wallet. In cryptocurrency, security is everything.

If you do not have your backup phrase:

If you do not have your backup phrase, then, unfortunately, you have lost your wallet and all funds in the wallet.

Why is my secret phrase invalid? ›

Check you have written down properly, with no spelling errors. The words in your Secret Phrase should all be in the word list at the bottom of this article. If you can't find a word you have written down in this list, then try to find the closest word to it, as you may have written it down incorrectly.

If you are encountering this problem, the most common reasons are: The Secret Recovery Phrase (SRP) you currently have is not the one that restores the account you are looking for. In other words: you have the wrong SRP. The account you are missing was a secondary account created under the SRP you currently have.

One option is to transfer your funds to a temporary, outside account, reset your device, and create a fresh wallet with a 24-word secret recovery phrase. Then, you'd send the funds back to your new accounts in Ledger Live.

If you get the error “Invalid recovery phrase”, it's possible that you mistyped the word on your device. Go to the full list of words and use search (Control + F) on the page and carefully verify each word, one by one. Example: During the setup process, you wrote down your 24-word recovery phrase.

Crypto wallet manufacturer Ledger has officially introduced "Recover," a feature aimed at helping users recover their private keys. Despite its promise of a safety net, the feature has met skepticism and disapproval from a section of the crypto community.

If you notice that unauthorized outgoing transactions are occurring from your wallet, your wallet has likely been compromised. This may have occurred through a variety of means including, but not limited to: Downloading malicious software. Inputting personal information on a phishing website.

There is no way to 'reset' a wallet phrase or add a password to it retroactively. Once it's compromised, it's compromised forever. Note: if an attacker stole all your ETH but left some tokens in the wallet, be careful about putting in ETH for gas to move those tokens out.

You can't edit or change your Secret Recovery Phrase. Tip: Use the browser's search function (Cmd+F on Mac and Ctrl+F on Windows) to look for each word that you have written down, so you can check the spelling in your backup. If you can't find it, try the closest word.

If you lose access to your wallet and lose your seed phrase: You will lose access to your crypto assets. Seed phrases can't be changed or recovered, making them an effective security tool.