Bitcoin Forum

there is currently a fake app for the Sparrow wallet in the apple store.
it is important to note that there is still no official app for this wallet for ios mobile phones!!!
please pay attention to this and only download the wallet from official sources. it can't be said often enough... the scammers will try anything to get their hands on your assets - so be careful!!!
here is a picture from the apple store and the screen for the 12/24 seed word recovery

https://www.talkimg.com/images/2024/02/27/Yl0J2.jpeg https://www.talkimg.com/images/2024/02/27/Yllbc.jpeg

I have not made use of sparrow wallet before, and if there were ever a need for me to make use of it, I could have been among the first set of people to fall victim to the fake wallet.
 
During this period, I like any kind of wallet I'm using to also have a mobile version on my phone for litre holdings, which I could have ended up going straight to the Apple Store to get this rubbish installed in my phone as I'm gradually making use of my Apple gadget more than my Android device.
 
I will really appreciate it if the official sparrow wallet site is also added to this thread so that I can get the proper information I need about it and use it someday.

Thanks for the information, I have an experience on this fake sparrow wallet.

My eldest bro downloaded it and he thought it was the really wallet on iOS but some how we were suspicious about it so we had to uninstall it. then we choose Bluewallet, I think people are really falling victim of this app because it bull season and new investors are trying there out new things and could fall victim easier. just like .y bro if we weren't together discussing I think by now he would have fall victim too.

well I really appreciate this information.

I also have a little question; is it possible that since he installed it already that there could be malwares monitoring his phone?

You never can tell because a fake app downloaded is prune to install malware into your device, it could not be the aim of this particular fake app developer maybe they wanted to trick the victims into sending bitcoin to fake address but still I will advice a formatting of that device and if possible sweep the coins you have on that particular wallet.

But if you have not imported any seed phrase in the wallet I can say the other seed phrase or keys on other wallets will be safe but there is a chance that a malware like that of clipboard will be infected on it

App Store is getting worse, This scam app was reported by craigraw over two months ago and yet it has not been taken down.

https://twitter.com/craigraw/status/1743573811230863813

App size is about 3 MB, so I do not think there is malware that could come with it, but you should not download it.

I tracked down the developer mentioned below, Gohar Khan, and got his LinkedIn profile. He identifies himself as Web Front-end Developer (UI Designer), and based on the size of that app, I assume it stores the wallet seed after you enter it.

https://pk.linkedin.com/in/goharkhan045

It is worth to note that Sparrow has no official app for any mobile platform whether for IOS  or for Android. In my view, the appearance of such  fake mobile app in the apple store evidences that this wallet  has gained popularity and found its niche  among those bitcoiners who value usability, privacy and security.

I only wonder how Apple employees   let pass this app unchallenged.

It is possible, but it's not really something anyone here can answer you from the top of their heads unless they have had first-hand experience with the app and seen what it does. It could have a clipboard malware, for instance. Copy a bitcoin address to your clipboard and paste it somewhere to see if the same one gets pasted or a different one. That way you can at least know if it's a clipboard hijacker or not.

But I think the whole point of this fake app is for the victims to import their seed phrases and send them to the fraudster who created the software. I don't believe there is a malware there.

Maybe app approval is not given by humans but by AI - and even if it is humans, it is not surprising that they have no idea what this is really about. The situation is no better when it comes to Google Play, where you have thousands of fake/malicious apps that quite normally pass under the radar - if any radar exists at all.

Check and verify everything before downloading, there is no other option.

Sparrow wallet is getting more popular and with popularity there comes more scammers.
Getting scam apps listed on g00gle store is not that hard to do, but it's not so often we see guys from apple making a mistake and allowing this crap on their store.
Funny that you can't report fake app to apple without installing it on your device ::)

If that app is as simple as one image containing “Enter your wallet seeds please,” it will most likely pass most of AI security check, and with 3MB size and the developer listed it as Front-end app, it will pass. The question remains as to why they did not remove it after all reports. I assume they received a lot of them during the last two months.

How can they list the fake Sparrow wallet app on the App store ? I thought Apple do a strong scrituty beofre list any app on thier Apple Store. If it was PlayStore, then I would have thought this could happen but never thought that Apple Store also lists fake apps  :o


They should check thoroughly all the apps that involve the financial markets / Wallet category as this is one category where we found a lot of phishing attempts too.

But what can I say if they do not remove the app after so many reports? Insider Job  ???

the Spparow wallet fake app is not the first to be released in the Apple store without any problems and will certainly not be the last
how such a fake app can be published in the Apple store or on Google store without any problems is also a mystery to me...

If he did not start the app then the chances of a malware infection are near zero.

Unfortunately he did start the app but never imported any wallet into nor even create a new one.

Fortunately, he got a new device that I'm guiding him to set up a cold storage wallet in it.

Haha. He said that users needed to install it in their smart phones to report. But it's very probable that the wallet could also install malware, no? I believe the best way to make Apple notice is to announce it publicly in X, plus the community should also be as loud as possible through liking and reposting.

I'm curious how common do scammers trick Apple's audit process for their walled garden.

I am not defending Apple Store policies here, but the description of the service, its violation of the terms of use, containing viruses or redirecting to phishing links is what makes them delete apps.
It is true that the name of this app is Sparrow wallet, but logo is different:

https://talkimg.com/images/2024/03/03/ynBqc.png https://talkimg.com/images/2024/03/03/yniMP.png

The size of the application is 3 MB and I assume that it is a single page asking the user to enter a wallet seed, there is no link to a phishing link, viruses, and AI scan that may lead to clean results.
Deleting this app would not be a priority for them if they did not receive many requests.

Already published on X https://twitter.com/craigraw/status/1743573811230863

Well.  Then I should create a very basic 'Credit Card Management' Application as well that only asks for your Credit Card information.

I get it if a malicious game gets published accidentally as a very rare exception.  I presume no Apple employee has to play the game to realize the fourth level of the game has some weird request of information.

But this is a Wallet Application.  Applications in this category should be thoroughly investigated before publishing.  A lot of the Apple users trust the App Store for being extremely rigorous and restrictive with which Applications are allowed.  I am not saying it is a good practice or habit to trust Apple and what comes through the App Store.  But I am just saying how things are.  Cryptocurrency scams are no longer a rare occurrence.  Particularly on Play Store, YouTube, Twitter, Email et cetera.

So I do not understand the 'accidental' approval of this Application.

Thank you for the information.

Sparrow Wallet may already be popular with Bitcoin wallet users. I don't know if that's true because I'm not a user so I use the word maybe.
Previously, regarding fake wallets on the App Store, I found information such as RABBY WALLET (https://pintu.co.id/news/72075-aplikasi-palsu-rabby-wallet-masih-berkeliaran-di-app-store). Again, I don't know whether Rabby Wallet is good or not.

Of the several cases of fake applications in the App Store, for iPhone users who don't fully know how to differentiate official apps from fake apps, this will of course be worrying.
When I think about it, the App Store is no different from the Play Store.