Week in literacy
Five short literacy notes from primary wallet, protocol, and consumer-protection sources. Original paraphrases only—link out to read the originals. Educational content only — not investment advice.
1. Signing is not free just because gas is zero
MetaMask’s signature-phishing article describes a fake dapp that asks for an off-chain signature and says it is for a routine action, like a deposit or a listing. The signature actually grants a permission the attacker can use later, whenever they like. You don’t broadcast a transaction or pay a fee, so the moment of risk is the click, not a pending entry in your history.
Literacy takeaway: If you can’t say what a signature authorizes, decline. New walkthrough: signing messages vs transactions.
Source: Signature phishing — MetaMask Help Center (accessed 2026-10-23) — https://support.metamask.io/stay-safe/protect-yourself/wallet-and-hardware/signature-phishing/
2. Read the domain box in typed-data prompts
EIP-712 was created so wallets can show structured fields instead of an opaque hex string. Every typed message has a domain with fields such as name, version, chainId, and verifyingContract. The spec says the wallet should refuse to sign if the chainId does not match the active chain, and it lets wallets use the verifying contract for phishing checks.
Literacy takeaway: An unfamiliar domain name or verifying contract is a reason to stop and check. Related: how to read a wallet prompt.
Source: EIP-712: Typed structured data hashing and signing — Ethereum Improvement Proposals (accessed 2026-10-23) — https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-712
3. A permit is an approval you sign instead of send
ERC-2612 adds a permit function so a token allowance can be set with a signed message. Any address can submit that message on-chain. The spec notes that a deadline can be set so the permit effectively never expires, and that the signer can shorten the window by choosing a near-term deadline. Literacy point: the spender, value, and deadline fields deserve the same care as an on-chain approval.
Literacy takeaway: Permits are allowances in signature form. Background: what is a token approval?
Source: ERC-2612: Permit Extension for EIP-20 Signed Approvals — Ethereum Improvement Proposals (accessed 2026-10-23) — https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-2612
4. “Warning” and “Malicious” are labels, not guarantees
MetaMask’s security-alerts page explains two labels. “Warning” means a potential risk was detected. “Malicious” means high confidence of harmful activity, and the advice is not to connect or sign and to close the site. The same page says the simulations behind these alerts do not guarantee detection of all threats, so no label is not the same as an all-clear.
Literacy takeaway: Treat a warning as a stop, and silence as neutral. See transaction simulations and wallet previews.
Source: How to manage security alerts to protect your wallet — MetaMask Help Center (accessed 2026-10-23) — https://support.metamask.io/configure/wallet/security-alerts/
5. Surprise airdrops often point to a claim page
ethereum.org describes the airdrop-scam pattern. An unexpected token or NFT shows up in your wallet and directs you to a website to “claim” it. There you are asked to connect and approve, and that approval compromises the account or sends funds to the scammer. The safe habit is to research unexpected assets through official channels you open yourself, not through the asset’s own link.
Literacy takeaway: An asset you didn’t ask for is not an invitation. Patterns: common crypto scams.
Source: Ethereum security and scam prevention (airdrop scams) — ethereum.org (accessed 2026-10-23) — https://ethereum.org/en/security/
Educational content only — not investment advice. This digest paraphrases public educational pages for literacy. It does not recommend buying, selling, or holding any cryptocurrency or token, and it is not financial, tax, or legal advice.