Ethereum approval risks

Ethereum security feels like a moonlit forest where every branch can hide a danger and every breeze can whisper a warning, and yet the same forest gives us freedom to walk alone and carry our own treasures. Self-custody means you hold the keys and you hold the responsibility. The blockchain never sleeps and you can transact at any hour. A malicious smart contract cannot take your tokens unless you first give it permission. The setApprovalForAll function is the gatekeeper that lets another contract move your NFTs or tokens. Scammers trick people by asking for that approval through fake trading sites or bogus revoke pages. They will dress their request like a marketplace or a helpful tool. If a website asks you for an unexpected approval you should refuse. Most wallets warn you about approval requests, so pay attention to those warnings. Some scams drop junk NFTs with fake offers to lure you to an outside link. The offer itself usually cannot steal your other tokens. The danger is the link that leads to a signature request that gives away control. A newer and more cruel trick uses gasless signatures that read like a harmless click. These signatures can be crafted to list many tokens at zero price so that when you sign they can be used to transfer your assets. Only assets you have approved to a marketplace-like contract are at risk. That is why asset segregation matters. Keep your most valued items in a vault wallet with no open approvals. When you want to sell move them to a separate wallet and list from there. Raw transaction signing is another pitfall. An eth_sign style signature can authorize a full transaction if the parameters remain valid. Never sign raw transactions you do not understand. Address poisoning is a small menace where attackers create similar-looking addresses to cause copy-paste mistakes. Always double-check the destination before you confirm. The worst breach is a private key compromise. Malware can search your device and steal keys if they are stored there. Hardware wallets keep keys offline and are the strongest shield when used correctly. Store your recovery phrase offline on paper or metal and never upload it to the internet. Bookmark the sites you trust and avoid random links. Learn to read the messages you sign and decline anything unclear. Revoke unnecessary approvals with a trusted revocation tool. These steps are simple but powerful. Stay cautious, keep your assets segregated, and let the quiet logic of good habits guard your holdings as firmly as any enchanted sentinel.