Crypto wallet hijacking is the unauthorized takeover of a cryptocurrency wallet app, wallet credentials, or recovery secrets such as seed phrases and private keys. Once an attacker controls those secrets, they can sign transactions, move funds, replace recovery settings, or drain assets from connected accounts. The attack can target software wallets on a phone or computer, browser extensions, or the passwords and session tokens that protect them.
This matters because wallet security often depends on secrecy, not just passwords. In real attacks, hijacking can begin with phishing pages, fake software installers, malware that steals browser data, or social engineering that tricks a user into revealing recovery phrases. Defenders reduce risk by keeping wallet secrets offline, verifying download sources, using hardware wallets for valuable funds, and treating any exposed seed phrase as compromised. If wallet access is suspected to be hijacked, move remaining assets to a new wallet created on a clean device.