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If your seed phrase is stolen.

Move everything to a new wallet now. Then read the rest. A seed phrase cannot be changed or revoked, so the wallet it opens is open to whoever has it, on every chain, for good.

Right now

  1. Create a new wallet with a new seed phrase, on a device you trust. Write the new phrase down offline.
  2. Move the digital assets from the old wallet to the new one, highest value first. Each transfer costs gas; that is the price of keeping it. Move the native coin, ETH on Ethereum, last: you need it to pay for every other transfer.
  3. Revoke token approvals on the old addresses so a contract you once allowed cannot drain what is left. Revoke.cash does this for most chains.
  4. Stop using the old wallet. Don't send anything to it again, and don't type the old phrase anywhere.
  5. Check how it happened once the funds are safe: a fake site, a support chat, a photo in the cloud, a phrase saved in notes.

Why it can't be undone

A seed phrase is not a password. It is the key, and the blockchain pays out anything the key signs. There is nobody to ask for a reset. Hardware wallets don't change that: the phrase on the card recreates the wallet on any device, and the makers say so.

You are not alone in this. Chainalysis counted about 158,000 personal-wallet theft incidents in 2025, about 80,000 victims, and about USD 713 million taken from individuals (Chainalysis, December 2025, as reported by The Block, 18 Dec 2025). Those are incidents, not people.

Next time: the same leak, with a Vault

Picture the same day with a GeoSafe Vault under your wallet. Your phrase leaks. Someone opens your wallet and finds what you left there. They ask the Vault for a withdrawal. Your phone buzzes: a request you didn't make. You tap Deny. Nothing moved. What you put in the Vault is still yours, and they still have only a wallet that can ask.

That is what a Vault is: a smart-contract account you own, under the wallet you already have, that needs your wallet and your phone to sign. Only what you move into it is protected, and it only ever pays out to the wallet you linked. Inside a Safe Zone you chose, your Approve goes through now; anywhere else it waits for the away wait you set and asks you again.

If the linked wallet's seed phrase leaks, your Vault stays where it is. Don't withdraw to that wallet; re-link the Vault to a fresh one from your phone. Like every protection change, that isn't instant, so a phone in someone else's hand can't redirect your Vault in one go. GeoSafe connects to the wallet you already have through WalletConnect and is open to wallet partnerships. A hardware wallet keeps protecting your key; the Vault protects what you move into it. Use both.

GeoSafe is an invite-only iOS app. Leave your email and we send your invite as places open. Request my invite

Questions

Can I change my seed phrase?
No. A seed phrase is the key itself, and a key cannot be reset. The only fix is a new wallet with a new seed phrase, and moving everything to it.
Is everything in the wallet at risk?
Yes. Every account the seed phrase derives, on every chain. Treat the whole wallet as open.
Can the funds be recovered once they have moved?
Almost never. Blockchain transfers are final. Report it to the platforms involved and to the police, but act first.
Would a hardware wallet have stopped this?
Not on its own. The seed phrase written on the card recreates the wallet anywhere, and the makers say so in their own guides. Keep it; put a Vault under it.
Does GeoSafe work with my wallet?
Ethereum and EVM chains first, through WalletConnect-compatible wallets. The iOS app is invite-only for now. Start small before trusting it with anything large.
What if I lose the phone the Vault is on?
Lose your phone? Your linked wallet plus your recovery places, places you chose at set-up and reproduce on a map, restore the Vault on a new phone. There is no seed phrase for the Vault to write down. How recovery works is on the Security page.

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