"Support" asked for my keys. I handed them over.

After a failed swap in my wallet I searched for MetaMask support and dialled a number from a sponsored result at the top of the page.

The person who answered said my wallet was compromised and needed to be “synced” to their secure servers before funds were frozen.

They stayed on the line while I opened a form that looked like an official troubleshooting page and pasted my 12-word seed phrase into a field labelled verification.

Within minutes the balance moved to addresses I did not control; on-chain transfers do not reverse.

Fake wallet support buys search ads and poses as help desks.

No legitimate wallet company will ever ask for your recovery phrase; whoever has those words has full custody of the assets.

While I was on the call I was focused on stopping a loss I imagined, not on the rule that seed phrases stay offline only.

When I finally opened the real MetaMask help article, the first line said they do not offer phone support—by then the wallet was already empty.

Money I had treated as long-term savings was gone; reporting to police and exchanges did not bring it back, but it documented the scam for the next person.

My seed phrase lives only on paper and a hardware wallet backup; support happens only inside the official app or docs I bookmark myself.

• Never share your recovery phrase or private keys with anyone who contacts you.
• Do not trust crypto “support” numbers from search ads; use links from the project’s verified site only.

For more help, see our Report a scam page and Spot and avoid scams guide.