After this lesson you’ll be able to send crypto without the three mistakes that can’t be undone: the wrong address, the wrong network, and the lookalike address a scammer planted in your history.
A bank can reverse a payment. A blockchain can’t. bitcoin.org states it flatly: “A Bitcoin transaction cannot be reversed, it can only be refunded by the person receiving the funds.” Ethereum is the same.
MetaMask’s help pages say the only route after a confirmed transaction is to ask the receiver to send it back, and a receiver who was a scammer won’t.
So the care goes in before you press send, every time, including the hundredth time.
Receiving: read the address on the device
1
In the maker’s app, open the account and choose Receive.
2
The app shows an address, and the device shows the same address on its own screen. Compare every character. The point of the device screen is that malware on your computer can change what the app shows and can’t change what the device shows.
3
Copy the address with the app’s button, after the device has confirmed it, and send it to whoever is paying you.
4
Tokens on a network use the same address as the network’s coin. Your Ethereum address receives ether and any Ethereum token.
App screen: Malware on your computer can change what the app shows.
Device screen: Malware can’t change what the device shows.