Apple Plays Whack-a-Mole with Scam Bitcoin Wallets on its App Store

Wednesday, 10/08/2016 | 11:35 GMT by Avi Mizrahi
  • Apple responds to community criticism by removing dangerous clone Bitcoin wallet apps, but more are added all the time.
Apple Plays Whack-a-Mole with Scam Bitcoin Wallets on its App Store
Bloomberg

After several reports of people getting scammed and duped out of their funds by fake wallets on Apple's App Store, the Bitcoin community has came together to fight the phenomenon.

Knowledgeable people were encouraged to go over the options available, identify the problematic wallets and post the findings on the forums. The community then turned to warn Apple and asked the company to remove the apps before more unsuspecting users will fall victim to them.

Take the lead from today’s leaders. FM London Summit, 14-15 November, 2016. Register here!

One by one, most of the suspected offending apps have been removed from the App store by the Apple team and the community declared victory. However, some suspected problematic apps remained in the store, while new cryptocurrency wallet apps are being added all the time. Considering it is now obvious that whoever is in charge of vetting applications to the App store can't notice which are fake without the help of the community, it can be assumed that at least a portion of all new additions can be scams as well.

The reason users as well as the Apple team were duped is that some of the fake apps used a technique familiar to anyone following scam warnings in online trade - cloning. The clone apps stole the identity of legitimate companies, displaying their names or logos, thus falsely associating themselves with a trusted brand in the cryptocurrency or Blockchain industry.

If you are in the market for a new bitcoin wallet make sure to check reviews on trusted community forums beforehand and verify on the company's website that the link you are using to download is the current one and doesn't lead to a clone.

After several reports of people getting scammed and duped out of their funds by fake wallets on Apple's App Store, the Bitcoin community has came together to fight the phenomenon.

Knowledgeable people were encouraged to go over the options available, identify the problematic wallets and post the findings on the forums. The community then turned to warn Apple and asked the company to remove the apps before more unsuspecting users will fall victim to them.

Take the lead from today’s leaders. FM London Summit, 14-15 November, 2016. Register here!

One by one, most of the suspected offending apps have been removed from the App store by the Apple team and the community declared victory. However, some suspected problematic apps remained in the store, while new cryptocurrency wallet apps are being added all the time. Considering it is now obvious that whoever is in charge of vetting applications to the App store can't notice which are fake without the help of the community, it can be assumed that at least a portion of all new additions can be scams as well.

The reason users as well as the Apple team were duped is that some of the fake apps used a technique familiar to anyone following scam warnings in online trade - cloning. The clone apps stole the identity of legitimate companies, displaying their names or logos, thus falsely associating themselves with a trusted brand in the cryptocurrency or Blockchain industry.

If you are in the market for a new bitcoin wallet make sure to check reviews on trusted community forums beforehand and verify on the company's website that the link you are using to download is the current one and doesn't lead to a clone.

About the Author: Avi Mizrahi
Avi Mizrahi
  • 2727 Articles
  • 10 Followers
About the Author: Avi Mizrahi
Azi Mizrahi, expert in fintech trends and global markets, enriches readers with deep insights.
  • 2727 Articles
  • 10 Followers

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