Fake crypto websites — convincing copies of real wallets, exchanges, and project pages — are one of the most common ways people lose funds, precisely because they don't require tricking the technology, only the person looking at the screen.
The single most reliable habit is to never rely on a search engine or a link in a message to reach a site that touches your funds. Search ads are routinely bought by scammers impersonating popular platforms, sometimes ranking above the genuine result. Instead, bookmark the official URLs you use regularly once you've verified them, and navigate from those bookmarks every time.
When you do need to find a new site, verify it through multiple independent sources — the project's official, verified social media accounts, cross-checked against each other — rather than trusting a single link someone sent you. Read the URL carefully, character by character: typosquatting (a near-identical domain with one letter swapped, added, or a different extension) is extremely common and easy to miss at a glance.
A padlock icon or "https" in the address bar means the connection is encrypted — it does not mean the site is legitimate. Scam sites can and do have valid security certificates; this check tells you nothing about who actually owns the site.
Finally, treat any site that asks you to connect your wallet or enter your seed phrase as higher stakes than ordinary browsing. If anything feels slightly off — an unfamiliar design, a permission request that seems broader than it should be, pressure to act quickly — stop and verify independently before continuing, even if it means missing a time-limited offer. A missed opportunity costs you nothing; a connected wallet to a malicious site can cost you everything in it.