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If you only connected your wallet—and did not sign anything or reveal your recovery phrase or private key—the connection alone does not authorize token transfers in MetaMask’s documented connection flow. Disconnect the site, then check your wallet activity and token approvals. If you signed a transaction or permission, or shared a secret credential, take the stronger steps below. MetaMask’s connection guidance distinguishes connecting from signing.

First, identify what happened

A wallet connection, a signed permission, and disclosure of a recovery phrase or private key are different events. The right response depends on which one occurred.

  • Connected only: In MetaMask’s documented flow, a dapp can learn your public address and inspect public blockchain information, such as balances. The connection alone does not authorize token transfers. Disconnect the site and inspect your activity anyway. Wallet behavior and permission types vary, so consult the official instructions for your wallet.
  • Signed a token approval or permission: A token allowance can let a contract move tokens up to the allowance’s limits. Disconnecting the site does not remove an on-chain approval; check and revoke suspicious approvals separately.
  • Signed a transaction or another request: Review the exact request and its result. Without the wallet, network, and signed data, it is not possible to tell exactly what a particular signature authorized.
  • Entered or shared your recovery phrase or private key: Treat accounts derived from that secret as compromised. A new device does not make the exposed secret safe.
  • See a confirmed unauthorized transfer: Prioritize securing remaining assets, preserving evidence, and reporting the incident.

What to do now

  1. Stop interacting with the site. Close it. Do not revisit it to verify a reward or seek help, and do not enter your recovery phrase or private key. Ethereum.org says never to enter a seed phrase on a website; legitimate apps do not need it.
  2. Disconnect the site in your wallet. Open the wallet’s connected-sites, permissions, or dapp settings and remove the site. The exact label and path depend on the wallet. Disconnecting ends the connection but does not revoke an on-chain token approval.
  3. Review wallet activity and the relevant network’s block explorer. Look for unfamiliar transactions, contract interactions, approvals, or signature requests. When investigating an unfamiliar MetaMask transaction, check its date and time, recipient, dapp, and value. Do not assume that an unfamiliar signature was harmless just because no transfer is immediately visible.
  4. Check approvals for each affected network. Use the wallet’s approval checker or a trusted revocation tool, and revoke suspicious allowances. Revocation is a separate on-chain transaction, may require a network fee, and does not undo transfers that have already completed.
  5. If you exposed a phrase or key, prepare a fresh wallet. On a clean device or browser profile, create a new wallet with a new recovery phrase. Do not reuse a Google or Apple account that may also be compromised. If it is safe to do so, move recoverable assets to the new wallet, then stop using the old wallet and phrase. If a sweeper may be monitoring the old wallet, MetaMask cautions against sending more gas to it.
  6. If funds are missing, preserve records and report. Save the site URL and where you found it, timestamps, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, screenshots of the claim and wallet prompts, and messages. If tracing suggests funds reached an exchange, contact that exchange promptly through its official support channel.
  7. Ignore unsolicited recovery offers. Do not pay an upfront recovery fee or share secret credentials with anyone offering to help. A confirmed Ethereum transaction cannot be reversed by a central authority, and recovery promises may be a second scam.

How to report the site or loss

Ethereum.org’s scam help and reporting guidance lists Chainabuse and Etherscan for reporting addresses; PhishTank and Google Safe Browsing for phishing sites; and the social platform where you encountered the link. It also points to local law enforcement, including FBI IC3 in the United States, Action Fraud in the United Kingdom, and Europol in the European Union. Reports can help warn others or support investigations, but they do not guarantee that funds will be recovered.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

What a connection or disconnection does not tell you

A connection by itself is not the same as signing a transaction or approval. Likewise, disconnecting a site is not the same as revoking an on-chain allowance. Check the wallet’s activity and the relevant network rather than relying on the site’s appearance or the fact that it is no longer listed as connected. For a wallet-specific assessment, you need the wallet app, networks used, and records of signatures and approvals; never post a recovery phrase or private key while asking for help.

Quick Recap

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