In another news of rising cryptocurrency scams, fake crypto wallets have been increasing on the Google Play Store due to Bitcoin’s growing price surges as reported by ESET researchers on 23 May.
Fake Trezor Application
The latest inclusion in the fake crypto app club has been of Trezor, a hardware cryptocurrency wallet. The fake app was registered by the name “Trezor Mobile Wallet” under the developer “Trezor Inc” and was available on the app store from 1 May. Further investigation revealed that the software behind this fake app was also related to another money scamming false application, “Coin Wallet – Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Tether.”
What the phony application did was enable a portal for users to create their e-wallets, which could then be used to store their cryptocurrency. The wallet was programmed to transfer crypto coins directly to the scammer’s address.
A rep from the Trezor team asserted that the application didn’t pose any threat to Trezor users although there is a looming cause of concern as the email addresses registered on the fake application could be used for acts of phishing.
This has been a repeating cause of concern as the company last year also issued similar warnings after fraudsters faked their hardware wallets.
A Growing Problem
As per ESET, over 1000 downloads have been recorded of the fake applications. Researchers speculate that if Bitcoin continues with its growing trend, there could be a further rise in the number of malicious apps on the app stores; both iOS and Android. They also advised the users to only download applications listed on the company’s website. In another app-centric crypto crime news, as reported on 30 March, a recent Android Trojan, Gustuff, has been attacking crypto exchange platforms as well as banks. This specific malware dominates heavily on international markets with a potential target of over 100 banking applications.
