Contracts hold logic and often hold funds. Once deployed they run exactly as written, which is a strength when the code is sound and a serious problem when it was written to take your balance.
Most wallet-drainer losses are contract interactions the victim authorised: the signature was genuine, the consequences were not what the interface described.
Related terms
Token approval
Permission you grant a contract to move a token on your behalf, which stays in force until you revoke it.
Wallet drainer
A malicious contract or site designed to obtain signatures that let it withdraw a victim's tokens.
Token
An asset issued by a contract on an existing network, rather than the network's own native coin.
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