Google Issues Warning Against A Fake Crypto Wallet that Steals Money

Date: March 24, 2020

A fake app, claiming to be a crypto coin wallet was recently found stealing money

On May 23rd, 2019, ESET Antivirus researchers reported that a Google Play Store app, using the name Trezor, claims to be a crypto coin wallet app, but is actually fake and developed with the purpose of stealing money. Google warns its 2 billion monthly users against this fake app. 

Experts at ESET have warned users about two such fake apps on Google Play that aim cryptocurrency investors.

Trezor’s page on Google Play Store might look legitimate but after it is installed, its name and icon changes from ‘Trezor’ to ‘Coin Wallet’  that starts with a generic login screen with no Trezor branding, thus spoofing for credentials.

The Coin Wallet is listed on Play Store as a crypto wallet, according to ESET. This allows this fraudulent app to steal all sensitive data.

ESET researcher, Lukas Stefanko, explains,

“The main purpose is to trick users into transferring cryptocurrency into the attacker's wallet - a classic case of what we named wallet address scams in our previous research of cryptocurrency-targeting malware.”

The app pretends to generate a unique wallet address for the user where coins can be transferred, but, in reality, it is generated by attackers and only they can access those other wallets. 

There are different wallets for different supported cryptocurrencies in total that are assigned to victims to get their money.

Some safety tips advised by ESET 

• Only trust cryptocurrency-related and other finance apps if they are linked to the official website of the service.
• Only enter your sensitive information into online forms if you are certain of their security and legitimacy.
• Keep your device updated.
• Use a reputable mobile security solution to block and remove threats.

ESET informed Google about the offending apps, which have now been removed from the Google Play Store.